Where Death Lives in Singapore (A multi-faceted proposition placing 'Death' in Singapore)

TRIBUTE TO LENA TAN It is strange...and the feeling never sits well. This isn’t the first time a friend’s beloved mother passes away.

And though I vaguely recall her sickly looks. I never would have anticipated her sudden departure. I will not sit here pretending that we were close, in fact, I only have 2 memories of her, but ones I will keep forever. She was the loving mother of a friend, Evangelique. And she was a kind soul. I will never forget her openness of mind, the kindness of her heart, and the wisdom of her thoughts. It is strange... every year I seek to uncover the hidden stories behind death and architecture. The emotions, the beliefs, the spaces. This year, I unfortunate was able to experience it all as an observer. This year, I am reminded why this subject holds me so tightly.

This year, I am sorry for your loss.

- Eldon Ng

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My mother is a complex, living, breathing human being, it’s not easy to just to summarise her life in just one speech. Over the past few days, I’ve heard so many people speak about my mother and how their lives were impacted by her. Both her friends and my own were so moved by her as a person. On my end, I’ve gotten messages from friends in Australia who met my mom in passing, telling me how wonderful she is. People I haven’t talked to in years are reaching out to me and I know they feel a portion of my loss.

The past few days have felt like years and watching everyone’s grief is hollowing. To me, I feel like everyone only knew certain facets of my mother but I was blessed enough to see the full picture. I am almost entirely alone in my loss, save one Catherina James-kinder who is the only other person who saw all sides of my mom and loved and accepted her.

The loving, fun, mildly insane, strong but also flawed woman. She is a powerful force of nature and above everything is genuine.

Was. Using past tense to speak about my mother is a stab to my heart, every time I say ‘she was’, It’s like feeling the loss all over again, so the syntax of this eulogy will be a mess. I’m sorry, I promise I’m not stupid, I’m just struggling.

Speaking to most people, it’s obvious that the side of her that they saw most was Lena, the mother. It may be a surprise to you but when she was young, my mother didn’t even want to become a parent, she didn’t like children, she thought they were gross. It wasn’t until she had her own child that she carried a baby. When she and my dad decided to have Angelica, she threw her whole soul into becoming a mother. If you were to go into the computer room in our house and open up the top shelf of our rosewood cupboard, you’d find a slew of parenting books. From prenatal care, to how to raise an infant and even a book titled “what’s in a Chinese name”, she meticulously thought through ever single aspect of being a mother. From choosing the perfect names to the careful diets we were given, she knew what having children meant.

To say that we are her legacy is wrong, she was never that selfish. She allowed us to make our own choices and be our own people, have our own interests. She always said that the job of the child is to supersede the parent. She wanted us to excel, to do and be great and to be happy with what we chose. She is an exceptional mother, it was a gift she was blessed with.

So much so, that she began to adopt other people too.

She doted on her brother Darrin, cared for Charissa, beyond that of a sister and she loved my cousins like they were her own. Even outside of the family, she “adopted” clement and Jasper, treating and loving them like her sons, always open to listen and give them her unique brand of advice. She fed all mine and angelica’s friends and made them feel like they had a home in her. She is so full of love that it seems almost impossible that all of that is now gone.

I often joked about how my mom and I are connected by an invisible, umbilical cord, something that tethered us together. We always understood each other, even when slurring, gurgling and everything. I was like a translator in her last days, when her words were barely a whisper and no one could make out what she was saying. I understood her clearly, after all, I’ve had years of practice.

We felt each other’s pain, felt rage and indignation on behalf of the other and truly, TRULY understood each other. I could talk to her about anything and not find judgement, something so rare for another human being, especially since she was my mother. Some people said she was raising me wrong but she didn’t care. She had faith the person that I would become. She never once doubted me.

I don’t want to make this about me, but I lost the only person in my life who ever truly understood me. This kind of loss really has no words. It’s an insurmountable amount of pain. I know my mom is at peace but being alone sucks. It’s like cognitive dissonance. This whole process has been so cruel, ive learned so many new ways to define irony.

She told me before, that I saved her life and that if it wasn’t for me, she would have made the decision to leave this world earlier. I’m fortunate enough that I can say the same. In 2019 when she came to Australia to stay with me for 3 months, she saved my life. I was going through it and I remember the only reason why I decided to continue living was because she was on the way to me. I will treasure all the times we had like eating paomian on a balcony at 3am and just running about, raising hell.

My mom and I never had easy lives but weathered it together, through bouts of depression, struggles and fights. She was a mother but also a warrior, a fighter, a leader and child of god.

There’s so much more to say about her but for now, I’ll keep those moments with me.

I told my mother that no matter what she chooses, I wouldn’t blame her, I’d go on living and have a good fulfilling life, that I’d be happy. Although the plan was for her and I to go together when she was 100 and I 70, I guess I’ll just have to get to 70 on my own. It’s weird to think that I’m going to have to live more years than I’ve known her. It doesn’t feel right but this is how it is. The umbilical cord has been ripped out and I am now well and truly alone.

I always knew my place in this family, and it was beside my mom. Now that she’s gone, it’s like there’s no space for me. Even after yesterday’s service, I felt like I was alone because there was no mom to hide behind. Everyone had their people to be with but mine was in a casket. Everyone one tells me I’m not alone, but I am. This loss is profound and poignant, I feel it physically in the grief aches my body is giving me and in the emptiness in the base of my chest. I feel caught between a dream and reality, stuck in a liminal space, struggling to breathe.

But I made a promise, so I will breathe and so will everyone else. Moms happier and at peace now and we have to learn to live without her. It’s a loss but only for us and I’m sure she’s waiting for us, ready to welcome us with a big hug and some fresh bakes.

- Eulogy by Evangelique Poh

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CONSTANCE BRIEF [ABSTRACT] A new blueprint for a city that is continuously in process requires the formulation of innovative design strategies that amplify these qualities. The users’ participatory processes and new ideas of mapping individual experiences are considered through the Situationist International’s notions of psychogeography where the theory of the dérive, détournements, and plaques tournantes are employed to generate alternative approaches to document overlooked aspects. These transient, process driven and shifting ideas of use and site create new readings and meanings that will further Singapore’s stance as a garden city, and futuristic reputation for botanical constructs like climate altering domes and Supertrees. Utopian references ranging from colonial ambitions for ‘planting the world’ to Metabolist ideas of artificial land, megastructures and nature will be used to ‘Build Back Better’, and generate visionary, ecological and inclusive design proposals, conceived to embrace ensuing climate, economic and social uncertainties.

WHERE DEATH LIVES IN SINGAPORE MULTI FACETED PROPOSITIONS PLACING ‘DEATH’ IN SINGAPORE

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DESIGN SUMMARY

Death has no conclusion. In my studies over the past 13 weeks, the notion of Death manifests itself as an incomplete perception. Regardless of whether death is a right, a part of life, or even an arbitrary event that can be delayed or modified, death always presents itself with contradictions and gaps. In fact, each of our individual understanding and perception of death can be understood as our personal montage of experiences and beliefs that change over time, whether self-curated or induced by external factors; all of which carry their own weight and meaning. The author, however, to which death finds its definition takes many forms, ranging from the individual to the authorities and even religion. This semester, I take a deeper dive into the authoritative figures that aid in the construction of the notion we call ‘death’. This study ranges from the historical role of healthcare (doctors) from the early 17th Century to date, and the understanding of legislative measures found in Singapore which ultimately leads to the hypocrisy found in the repealing of Section 309 in contrast to Euthanasia policies. The identification of said hypocrisy confirms potential reforms and development of ‘Death’ in Singapore (where death lives?).

Through understanding the existing definition and spaces of ‘Death’, a series of proposals are made for the new undefined notion of death as well as the potentially birthed programs and spaces. These spaces are designed taking inspiration from Vertov’s “Man with a Movie Camera”. Vertov uses the juxtaposition of film and photography to highlight key moments of life in Russia, it is a summation of 3 years of filming in 5 different cities to create a narrative of a single space (modern Soviet Union) and a visual linkage of people all in a state of ‘visible fact’ that only the camera presents. He suggests that the images captured by the camera (mechanical eye, Kino-eye) reveal the purest form of real-life, and the editing process of said images creates a universal language that can be understood by all. Just as Vertov seeks to express the true narrative of life in Russia with the kino-eye, I too seek to unveil the components to the montage that is the spatial definition of death in Singapore with the translation of allegorical expression of the existing site conditions, or programmatic features. The project then uses the portfolio of curated spaces and focuses on Mandai as the key site facilitating death and concludes with a Master Plan of Mandai. The proposal is expressed in a revived and improved form of art, the Medieval Triptych. The goal of the Triptych is to suggest that the qualities of the Montage should and can be brought into Master Planning in hopes of deriving an infinite number of interpretations of what could be the new Mandai. In understanding the strengths and drawbacks of the triptych, the project attempts to capitalize on its qualities and resolve its drawbacks. The experiment is attempted in 2 mediums, a digital triptych and a physical. Both of which carry similar illustrations yet outstandingly different user interfaces.

The triptych being converted into a 21st Century tool for Master Planning suggests a new methodology to Master Planning and spatial design that is interactive and endless in interpretation even to the architectural untrained eye [creative user] by integrating the qualities of Medieval art and Montage.

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“This is our big mistake: to think we look forward to death. Most of death is already gone.

Whatever time has passed is owned by death.”

- Seneca

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PREFACE Stephen Hawking once said that we must be crazy to believe in a God and the Afterlife; it was crazy to believe that there was something more. We must also be crazy to think that everything in life miraculously makes sense. Death has always been an intriguing fear of mine. I have always pondered about our very existence and the termination of it. Where Death Lives in Singapore to me, is this conversation of the acceptance; my steady acceptance of death. These thoughts are the very ones I have each day of my steadily depleting life. I hope that in these reflections we might find new meaning and understanding towards both how and where we live and die.

- Eldon Ng

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AR5801 CONTENTS i. Tribute to Lena ii. Constance Brief & Design Summary iii. Preface iv. Prologue v Introduction 1. 12 Photos of Grieve 2. Allegorical Studies i. Man With A Movie Camera ii. Spaces as Organism iii. Mapping of Suicide 3. Where Death Lives in Singapore? i. Mandai Crematorium and Columbarium Center 4. Where Death Can Live In Singapore? i. The Void ii. Final Destination 5. Garden of Mandai 6. Healthcare Architecture [History of Hospitals] [Parallel Investigations] 7. Euthanasia Studies [Dying in Singapore] [Parallel Investigations] 8. Propaganda in Singapore [Parallel Investigations] i. Stop At 2 [Singapore and Birth Rate] ii. PinkDot [LGBT Movement] 9. Metabolist Architecture [Parallel Investigations] 10. Utopian Studies [Parallel Investigations] vi. Reference Text (s) vii. Reflection

Links For Project i. https://xd.adobe.com/view/d54213b0-297f-4286-9ca0-3ab3d50bb3b2-8011/ ii. https://youtu.be/bf3GOAKKOTY iii. https://issuu.com/nyk0737/docs/the_void_story_upload_4a9768d5751c4c 3

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PROLOGUE Death is inevitable; at least while we wait for technology to catch up with God. And so whilst we struggle to fight our very biology and reality of existence, where and how can we accept the current truth of living?

The journey of this investigation begins by the unfolding of our evolving understanding of Death and its allocated spaces. Should we finally free Death from its status as a taboo, where might be the spaces of conversation, acceptance, and newfound engagement? In this project, we narrate the story of Where Death lives in Singapore and seek to write the tale of where Death can live.

- Eldon Ng

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12 PHOTOS OF GRIEVE

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The Story of Death Death is admittedly one of the most complex phenomenons of Life. As foolish as that might sound, we go to immense lengths to allow ourselves to accept it. This segment sets the tone for how death is accepted and granted in Singapore today.

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Escalator to Auditorium

Mandai Crematorium & Columbarium 9

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Coffin Entrance to Auditorium

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Space of Grieve 1

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Funeral Ritual of Removing Footwear

Photos by : Eldon Ng 10

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Space of Grieve 2

Mandai Crematorium & Columbarium 11

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Entrance to Viewing Gallery

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Viewing Gallery

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Funeral Ritual Cloth Remains

Photos by : Eldon Ng 12

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The Cremation

Mandai Crematorium & Columbarium 13

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The Contractor

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Columbarium Space

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The Act of Remembrance

Photos by : Eldon Ng 14

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ALLEGORICAL STUDIES

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Beyond What We See What do we know if it’s all that we see? In this segment of the project, I find myself chuckling at the idea that Prof Randy Chan has prepared me for this. To see the Invisible.

Understanding spaces for what they are beyond the physical, what they might represent, and what they might even suggest. This segment uses ideas from Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera to better understand Montages and the juxtaposition of ideas to formulate new concepts beyond the existing.

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ALLEGORICAL STUDIES

Man With A Movie Camerae Dziga Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera is perhaps one of the most popular films to be used in Film Studies. His then unconventional approach to film and photography gave rise to the power of montages since its debut in 1929. Vertov’s approach of filming without Actors nor Audio is his form of rebellion and critic towards the then popularised cinematics of the Soviet Union. He questions the ‘truth’ portrayed in the films produced in Russia; many of which were propaganda. Vertov suggests that the Camera is perfectly capable of capturing and showing the truth and that there was no need for any secondary element - The actor, to be involved. In the film The Man With a Movie Camera, he tells us the story of a day in a life of a member of the Soviet Union, portrays the city waking up, both its people and the city itself. He juxtaposes the machinery of everyday use to the human being, begging the question of the city being very much an organism just as we are.

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ALLEGORICAL STUDIES

Awakening City, City As an Organism Dziga Vertov’s potrayal of the city starts with the juxtapositioning of himself as the film maker and the tool which he uses to film; the camera. Using this idea of composition, he then proceeds to explore the early hours of Russia, depicting scenes of its dwellers preparing themselves for the day. He forms the relationship to the city via the juxtapositioning of similar acts and moods that the city undergoes and expresses.

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ALLEGORICAL STUDIES

Allegory & Existing Spaces The very first attempt to an allegorical understanding of spaces and new interpretations starts from this attempt to give religious buildings new life and new programmatic possibilities by injecting these human body parts within. The organs themselves each propose a certain metaphor which can then steadily be translated to a programmatic understanding and hence spatial quality.sxz

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Escalator to Minaret’s Call to Worship

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Street Walkway to Mosque

ALLEGORICAL STUDIES

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Large Prayer Hall

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Front of Prayer Hall

Journey To Worship These images are my first attempt at allegorical drawings of spaces and experiences. This attmept features a Mosque and the experience of worship.

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ALLEGORICAL STUDIES

Suicide forest japan The entrance strikes fear, any visitor would take a second glance at their vehicle. Perhaps... never to see it again. He tracks through the forest, in hopes of finding a space. What might be the roots of the trees are now the very brains of each participant. He finds a view, settles above, and meets the darkness.

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ALLEGORICAL STUDIES

Psle suicide 2016 [ SG ] Upon receiving his results he anticipates the disappointment. Her expression seems to cling to every form of space and not just his mind.

Or.. has it always been his mind.

He presents the disappointment and takes cover in his room. He saw the escape, a new world, and he leaped.

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ALLEGORICAL STUDIES

2021 POLICE NSF [ SG ] He grabs the pistol from the armory and dashes the nearest washroom.

What might be his last time, he catches a glimpse of his reflection.

He finds a seat at the end stall, takes a final moment to sigh. He looks to God, oh where is he? Let’s see if we might meet him.

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ALLEGORICAL STUDIES

Speculative elderly suicide [ SG ] The Story of Loneliness speaks about the elderly who loses his/her presence in life and society. Eventually, it takes to the streets in hope of being observed, little by little it becomes but a sculpture, and steadily it melts, to... what was were talking about again?

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WHERE DEATH LIVES IN SINGAPORE?

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The House of Death I believe by now we have established, we can’t escape Death (refer to parallel studies). He is the great equalizer, he might very well be the almighty.

With that being said. Death lives in Singapore. As much as we wish to ignore his presence, he still thrives, and we unwillingly acknowledge his existence. In Singapore, we find the various homes of Death. One of his most significant places of residence would be the Mandai Crematorium and Columbarium Center. In this study, we will look into the House of Death and how he lives, even within his home we find the spaces divided and segregated into what I call spaces of ‘Lies’ and spaces of ‘Truth’, with are the fairy tales we tell ourselves about ‘Life’ and ‘Death’. https://youtu.be/bf3GOAKKOTY

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Life

Death

Death in Life

Life in Death

The Elegant Equation There is life, there is death. There is life in death, and there will be death in life. What would be this expression of Life and Death? In the spaces of Life, we find our pitiful struggles for earthly desires and goals. We find ourselves seated within the steel cabin that carries us through and fro. We do not notice how in itself, we are losing life within those spaces; we are dying. As we live for our dreams, we use ideologies and understands of death to guide us. Whether religious or political. Likewise, this behavior exists in the realm of death. We find the very cubical-like homes we live in resemble the very shelves of the columbarium, as death captures our souls, we pray that there had been meaning to our lives.

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Mandai Crematorium & Columbarium Complex

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From a Distance What is Mandai as we look from a distance? Will we spot its rooms, will we find its doors? Imagine sitting at home or soaring from the sky, what would Mandai mean to you? It will mean its memories. The painful ones you have had, or the ones you are soon to make. The solemn moments during the funerals, the dreadful visits to hospitals and hospices. The subtle prayer for the afterlife. That is Mandai from a distance. It is not a building, but truthfully, a memory.

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AR5801 Mandai Crematorium & Columbarium Complex Site Plan 1:2000

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The Crematorium, The Columbarium As always in studying a site, one must hope to uncover the stories hidden within it. To reveal them, one must engage both the macro and the micro. In this segment, we look at Mandai as a whole, and we hope to understand the stories of the spaces within Singapore’s Home of the Dead.

We may have crafted its allegory, but perhaps it is time to place them into reality.

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Escalator from Basement

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Stairs to Viewing Gallery

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Unloading Bay for Coffin

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Back Path for Coffin

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Mandai Crematorium Complex Basement Plan Scale 1:500

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Sapces of Life and Death [Mandai] For Mandai Crematorium and Columbarium Complex as the Master Plan of Death, we will first need to understand the complexity of space within. The narrative of the programs is found within. Here we study each floor plan followed by its photographic analysis and finally its circulatory paths. The basement is its least essential space, followed by a highly related ground floor and 2nd floor.

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PICK UP POINT

FOYER 1

SWITCH ROOM 2 ASH COLLECTION LOBBY

WAITING HALL

ASH STORE

WAITING HALL

WAITING HALL

WAITING HALL

FOYER 1

WASHROOM

WASHROOM

TROLLEY WORKSHOP

STORE 3

AHU 1

Mandai Crematorium Complex Ground Floor Plan Scale 1:500

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VIEWING GALLERY 1

THEATRIC CONVEYOR

VIEWING GALLERY 2

ASH COLLECTION

CREMATION EXHAUST / FANS

SWITCH ROOM 2

FOYER 3

AHU3

LOBBY

TRANSFER CORRIDOR

TRANSFER CORRIDOR WASHROOM

VIEWING GALLERY 3

SERVICE HALL 1

SERVICE HALL 2

SERVICE HALL 3

SERVICE HALL 4

THEATRIC CONVEYOR

WASHROOM AHU 2

AHU 1

VIEWING GALLERY 4

Mandai Crematorium Complex 2nd Floor Plan Scale 1:500

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Spaces of Life and Death [Mandai]

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Spaces of Life and Death [Mandai] I believe by now we have established, we can’t escape Death. He is the great equalizer, he might very well be the almighty. With that being said. Death lives in Singapore. As much as we wish to ignore his presence, he still thrives, and we unwillingly acknowledge his existence. In Singapore, we find the various homes of Death. One of his most significant places of residence would be the Mandai Crematorium and Columbarium Center. In this study, we will look into the House of Death and how he lives, even within his home we find the spaces divided and segregated into what I call spaces of ‘Lies’ and spaces of ‘Truth’, with are the fairy tales we tell ourselves about ‘Life’ and ‘Death’.

Life

Death

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Auditorium 51

Viewing Gallery

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Surgical Room 52

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The Beginning of Tomorrow I apologize for shifting our fundamental beliefs of life and death.

It may be difficult to grasp and accept, but perhaps that is precisely why it needs to be questioned. Here we envision the spaces of Death that may be necessary tomorrow. By accounting for the changes in beliefs, what might these spaces be? Would these once spaces of grief transform into spaces of celebration instead? Would the practices of Death be adjusted or abandoned? In this segment, we also look into cryogenics as a potential form of post-life solutions and through its inclusive suggest potential designs.

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Fusion of Viewing Gallery and Surgical Room 54

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The ‘Last’ Supper

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Celebrating Continuity The ending, the final, the closing.

We often associate ‘Last’ with the meaning of termination. Should death be normalized and accepted in society, would we truly be grieving the closure of a well-spent life, or would we toast to the finale of his/her story. Perhaps it is also time to reconsider its second meaning of continuity. ‘To continue in time’, the latter definition of the word ‘Last’ would be the perfect verb to express our new notion of death. The celebration of cryogenics suggests the farewell of a person’s immediate existence with good wishes of the future he/she would wake up to.

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Sectional Iso Render

The Deck

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1. Upper Deck

3. The Hold

2. The Bow and Main Deck

4. Lido Deck On Route to Galley

5. The Cabin

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Setting Sail, Letting Go Grieve’s true face is realization. The theatrics of the viewing gallery is often the space of greatest pain. It could also potentially be the greatest space for celebration and farewell.

About the changes in the way, we view death, perhaps this core space that facilitates that final farewell should evolve too. By introducing elements of the last meal, we could very well see a development towards the isolating feeling of grieve towards a communal celebration of death. The restaurant/ cafe being introduced to the space introduces the public to be exposed to the concept of celebrating death, just like a bar of drunks, all cheering in synch, the joy of life, the joy of death.

Section

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Faceless Faith

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The Aisle

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The Wedding The wedding seat tables of up to 10, in each we find our friends trapped in bubbles on unwanted catching up and conversations. To which an axis of focus draws our attention, our best excuse for escaping conversation; sadly a challenge for those seated poorly. The climax of the wedding happens in movement and a moment of stillness upfront. These mark the spaces of importance in a Wedding.

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The Funeral We find ourselves in a funeral setting, the solemn chairs and tables, we gather in sorrow, to face the same entity, seemingly unfamiliar and apart.

In understanding the funeral and its procedures we understand the frontal spaces being reserved for its necessary rituals; regardless the religion.

We stand or sit distant from the one we claim to love.

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The Two Fates How can we design for these twisted fates? The axis of a wedding, and the axis for a funeral. Could these programs be mirrored on the same axis? This design seeks to uncover the potential spatial relationships that a wedding might have with a cryogenics funeral service.

Site Map 1:2000 [ Pond Emphasis ]

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4 3

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Roof Plan

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1. Submerged Aisle

3. Altar

5. Entrance

2. Dinning / Group Confession Space

4. Garden

6. Back of House

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Basement 1 Plan 7. Corridor of Cryogenics Chamber

9. Basement 1 Cafe/Viewing Deck

8. Basement 2 Confession Chamber

10. Kitchen Space 66

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Aisle of Change

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Aisle of Lost Time

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Iso Section

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Iso Render

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The Facade of Ceremony Where is the creative user within Mandai? Perhaps it is in its monumentality that we might attract the non-grievers to this seemingly solemn space. We might find a garden feature, a statue, or a tomb. Perhaps that is the space. To reintroduce it in beauty and life, a hidden cafeteria may just draw the crowds. We may just induce the curiosity of those uncertain and unaware of death. In its beauty, we should further consider programs that may occur. A wedding? A proposal? A suicide? It doesn’t matter. It happened in beauty. That is all we know and want.

1. Garden

2. Back of House 3. Basement 1 Cafe/Viewing Deck

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Sectional Iso Render

Perspective Render

A Monument for Us 72

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The Parallel Paths The Commitment to marriage, the commitment to the future. We find ourselves in faith that tomorrow will be better based on the decisions of today. We believe that our new partner will bring us towards a better life. Just as we believe that we stand a better chance to live tomorrow. We find these axes of commitment juxtaposed, we find these spaces providing for each other. A space for family, a space for conversation. More importantly, a space for celebration.

1. Submerged Aisle 2. Corridor of Cryogenics Chamber 3. Basement 2 Confession Chamber

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Sectional Iso Render

Perspective Render

Frozen in Time 74

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The Twins of Conversation As briefly touched on on the previous page. We find the spaces for conversation about either program could very well provide for each other. The celebratory and rounded seats of the wedding that allows our guests to focus on our love. And the confined spaces between these walls, a safe haven for sincere conversations and goodbyes.

1. Submerged Aisle 2. Dinning / Group Confession Space 3. Basement 2 Confession Chamber

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Sectional Iso Render

Perspective Render

The Bleeding Light 76

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The Tales of Acceptance We now acknowledge his presence, we now acknowledge his being. We probably know where he lives, but little do we know about his potentials.

In this segment, we will uncover potential spaces where death might find his head to rest. We will uncover new programs within spaces of life given this new acceptance of death in Singapore today.

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Covered Walkway

Yishun Avenue 11 79

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Staircase Landing

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Void Deck Communal Space 1

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Underside of Staircase

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Void Deck Communal Space 2

Yishun Avenue 11 81

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Lift Lobby

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Spaces of Life [Residential] The study of the Void Deck and other residential spaces begins with a series of photographs that highlights these commonly found spaces regardless of the neighborhood you are from in Singapore. Here we find sheltered walkways and communal spaces that have little expression nor function.

The Void Deck in itself is already an inclusive space that suggests the acceptance of the creative user as it presents itself as a bubble of potential. Here we seek to express the concepts of contemplation and accessibility to death through engaging these ‘formless’ spaces. The next segment then studies the generic floor plan of a Void Deck, to which an allegorical drawing is presented and a formal design is proposed.

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Outside 7-11

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Covered Walkway

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Perspective Render

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The Constant Reminder Memento Mori, to remember to die.

Just as we find the development of our sidewalks, perhaps we want to improve on the message it sends. In the quiet nights may we find reminders of death being apparent in life. That we might take the time to sit and consider what we have been doing in our lives and what our options are.

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Section of Intervention

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Elevation of Intervention

Subtle Escape Here in Singapore, we find the dubious of activities within our stairwells.

Sex, Drugs, Crime. Well, let us just call them sins. These are often ideas associated with the stairwell some of these practices are steadily being accepted as social norms. The stairwell being the host of these acts suggests its ability to hide these acts of humanity, what I might even call ‘truths’.

The acts that we refuse to accept as part of living. Perhaps it is in this context that the idea of Death in conversation should be brought into these spaces as part of its ability to express supposedly inappropriate realities.

Memento Mori, to remember to die.

Just as we find the development of our sidewalks, perhaps we want to improve on the message it sends. In the quiet nights may we find reminders of death being apparent in life.

That we might take the time to sit and consider what we have been doing in our lives and what our options are.

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Void Deck Communal Space 1

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Sectional Iso Render

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Together We Weather Knowledge is power and so is the knowledge of Death. Should we proclaim that death is but a fundamental aspect of life, then the availability of its knowledge should be accessible to all. Here in the void deck, we find a potential space of a communal library that should include the topics of death. The form of this space should be simple and nonconfrontational. Just as all knowledge, it should be a pursuit of interest.

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Elevation of Intervention

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Perspective Render

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The Bank of Emotions Perhaps just as we drop our mails, a space to depart from our emotions and thoughts of death is just as important. Here on the underside of life, the space we find abandoned below the stairs could be the space where we allow our thoughts to be free. A space of cover, perhaps an ideal space for conversation.

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Section of Intervention

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Sectional Iso Render

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The Hot Seat Spaces of contemplation can be easily accessed through design.

Existing spaces of interaction can be transformed with simple additions that reflect various psychologically proven configurations. Here we uncover how a generic 4 stool void deck space can be revitalized through the understanding of ‘Chairwork’, a psychological chair arrangement that is used to allow people of distress due to the unresolved issues with deceased loved ones to communicate and recover.

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Elevation of Intervention

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Arch Between Columns for Urns

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Urn Display for Lift with Reflective Porch Behind Letter Box

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Reflection and Weed Chamber for Staircase

Confession Room

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Narrative The Void Deck in its allegorical form suggests a spine of circulation running through its corridor. Another pair pierces the structure as our mode of vertical ascend. The messenger birds perch around this spine where we would also find our ritualistic behavior of communication.

The Spaces allow the transfer of burden brought about by Death for it provides ideal shelter for the heart to speak, the ear to listen, and the mind to digest.

https://issuu.com/nyk0737/docs/the_void_story_upload_4a9768d5751c4c

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SCENE 1

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The End

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The End

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The Days We Lose Public Transportation is an essential part of living and daily rituals. Perhaps it is within these spaces that the reflection of Death is most apparent.

Should we be given a new perspective of how we mindlessly spend our lives through an endless cycle of work, we might just snap out of it and embrace living. Just as much as the idea of living is crucial, this is perhaps in simplest of terms, the best space for publicity.

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Advertisement Board with Benches

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Bridge and Water Feature Roof

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Staff Door

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Platform View

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WHERE CAN DEATH LIVE THE IN RIGHT SINGAPORE? TO DIE

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Reflective Journey [Entrance]

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New Garden of Eden

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Reflective Journey [Entrance] Moving forward, the metaphor and spatial experience are that of moving towards the future. The close-to-chest level water feature provides to perfect reflection of our faces as we journey from one end to the other, there perhaps is no better moment to reflect upon ourselves than during this quiet walk.

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Face of Reality Where might we store these bodies?

Should publicity of cryogenics as a profitable industry, how we would place these by-products within our cityscape. Here we find a subtle metaphor of burial. The calm waters reflect our faces upon us. Hinting that we might be next.

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Plan of Intervention

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Escalator Landing

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Sectional Iso Render

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First Tier Viewing Gallery The rhythm of the mundane might very well be the perfect metronome for reflection and contemplation. Death as we know it is married to the element of time, and time to the rhythm. To which if we juxtapose them could perhaps make us question our use of time in mundane and possibly meaningless activities. Should we be open to the ridiculousness of our lives, maybe we might just improve how we live it.

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New Garden Of Eden As all reflection there should be a form of realistion and space for the expression of our thoughts. Here we find the New Garden of Eden where we juxtapose the slowness of life in nature and the rush of life, between this contrasting relationship we find a Wall of Truth where thoughts can be scribbled and expressed freely for all to see.

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The Garden of Mandai

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The Tales of Expression The triptych first made its appearance in the Middle Ages, adorning the altarpieces of churches. Relaying stories of the bible and functioning to aid prayer, triptychs were an important way of visualizing Christianity and showing devotion.

In this segment, we explore how this mode of expression allows me as a designer to expand upon new narratives and spaces within those that exist in the earlier weeks.

The collaging and arranging of existing work into their allegorical forms and spaces within the layout of a triptych produces new modes of thinking, both spatial and programmatic. The resultant designs will then be re-examined and juxtaposed within a new layout of the triptych to arrive at its final allegorical form. https://xd.adobe.com/view/d54213b02 9 7 f - 4 2 8 6 - 9 c a 0 - 3 a b 3 d 5 0 b b 3 b 2 - 8 0 11 / screen/4ffe1d9e-7d91-46f8-bccf6a0abc362848?fullscreen

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What are we looking at?

Do you see yourself in the frame?

Perhaps a memory, an experience?

Do you foresee yourself in the frame? A future, a destiny. Or are we just an observer, neither in it nor free from it? Umberto Eco once said that the value of any text is its ability to be misread. That the presence of gaps is what allows us to interpret the work of others and to find new meanings in the existing. Here we find what seems to be a collage of images about the idea of Death in Singapore.

Yet I urge you to truly consider what you see from the image and where this project hopes to go.

Just as the nameless and arbitrary figures, we find within, who are you in this image? Where are you in viewing this image? And What are you thinking about? Indeed as Eco says that the frames are what limits the reader, what informs the reader of the scope of discussion and hence it is probably perfect that we find this image here, the premise has been set, it is about Death and its future, but yet what about it? I would let you decide.

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Unspoiled Axis, Landscape & Origin Point Garden Of Earthly Delights 137

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Repeated Archittecture

Hieronymus Bosch A Dutch painter, Bosch grew up a religious soul with most of his believes originating and manifesting within the church walls. To Bosch, the preaching and lessons from the church are defined as the truth. Here we observe and study the Garden of Earthly Delights, one of Bosch’s few but amazing works.

In which Bosch depicts sin and the consequences that follow.

To Bosch, these drawings are not fictional depictions though designed to strike fear, to the man of faith like himself, this is very well the reality. Taking concepts from Vertov’s Man With a Movie Camera, how then shall I depict the truths of our new Mandai.

How then will I convey this new acceptance of Death within Singapore?

Repeated Characters & Entities

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The Inspiration to Conversation In Chairwork we observe how the position and facing of the participants allow for conversations that we might not expect to ever have. Reflecting on these spatial arrangements, what might be the one to learn about death?

The visual axis, the movement into space. In this design, I propose that the student need not face his teacher.

After all, the learning and discovery of death are personal and highly reflective. The pressure of facing the instructor might obstruct this process.

The form should also stray from the ordinary rectilinear space but rather manifest a semi-circle. This ensures that all students are provided with the same intimacy with their instructor.

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CLASS ROOM SECTION A SCALE 1:75

CLASS ROOM PLAN SCALE 1:75

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The Last Lesson There is no door, for all are welcome.

Instead, what we find is a portal. To those who are willing, we find a stand for the instructor, for he will provide the brief to this experience. To those who are curious, but not ready to take the leap, a viewing gallery is provided for their quiet observation.

Sectional Iso Render

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Section A

Section B

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Ground Floor Plan

Second Floor Plan

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The Embrace There had been no expectations of what this classroom might be. Yet as I study its plan I observe how it reflects the kindness of two palms that provide. Perhaps its allegory is how we might better express its spatial experience to those who are keen yet unable to understand its architectural expression.

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Hands Of Contemplation

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Axis of Acceptance What would a Garden of Death pay respects to? How would it bring peace to any individual striken by the fear of death? How would ‘Acceptance’ be seen as a program within a space?

These drawings are a schematic understanding to this new space. The space for contemplation, focused on the idea and possibilities of death, all foreshadowing our inevitable demise that is the cremation of our bodies.

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Garden of Acceptance [i] The Garden physically embraces this axis as it faces the existing crematorium and columbarium complex. The spaces of conversations and contemplations all pay tribute to the chimney to which the smoke of death leaks into the world.

Section Cut

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Axis of Time

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Garden of Acceptance [ii] What would be the sound of death?

Perhaps the sound of time passing.

Here we find a pair of waterfalls surrounding the garden to generate the noise of time passing. Giving contemplation a sense of time passing.

We also juxtapose death and life by using a large dead trunk and a comparably small but growing tree.

The bark of the dead tree is perhaps where we might find the confessions and thoughts of death within this space. A diary that keeps our secrets.

Section Cut

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Deafening Silence 164

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Open your heart, open your mind The Initial inspiration to the cover was the allegory of openess. To suggest to the viewer that the contents within are those that demand the flexibility of thought and the willingness to see beyond the boundaries of today. The backdrop is an abstraction of the promotional posters that were made earlier this semester that first sparked this entire conversation. The act of openning the triptych is a symbolic expression of the commitment to being open to the discussion within.

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Open your heart, open your mind [II] The cover was then modified to hold more significance to the contents within. By structuring the parties and the concepts involved in hierarchy, the user can always refer to the cover as a form of reminder and checklist to the considerations that need to be taken whilst engaging with the discussion within.

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AI K TOR

UPPER SELETAR RESERVOIR

Residential Park Water Body

Cemetery Open Space Civic & Community Institution

Special Use Reserved Site

NEE SOON MEDICAL CENTRE

NEE SOON CAMP LIVE FIRING RANGE

Mandai Site Plan 1:10,000

MANDAI CREMATORIUM & COLUMBARIUM

HIBISC

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SINGAPORE ZOO

MANDAI PARK CONNECTOR

The Story of Mandai Mandai is a vast site. Stretching far and wide it holds an entire water catchment area and vast open spaces.

Should we truly consider the potentials of Mandai and our new acceptance of Death, we should not be surprised that intense upgrading should occur within this region of Singapore.

MANDAI MRT DEPORT

ULU SEMBAWANG PARK CONNECTOR

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SINGAPORE ZOO UPPER SELETAR RESERVOIR

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MANDAI PARK CONNECTOR

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NEE SOON MEDICAL CENTRE

NEE SOON CAMP LIVE FIRING RANGE MANDAI CREMATORIUM & COLUMBARIUM

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SINGAPORE ZOO UPPER SELETAR RESERVOIR

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MANDAI CREMATORIUM & COLUMBARIUM

Abstraction of Mandai As the point of the triptych is not to decisively place objects within Mandai, there is no absolute need for the entirety of the site to exist within it. Only abstracted components to which the developments may occur are necessary.

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UPPER SELETAR RESERVOIR

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MANDAI CREMATORIUM

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Mandai Crematorium Elevation The Triptych [01] The first attempt at constructing a triptych mad a fairly interesting argument. What might we find within its main panel? Here we see me attempting to place objects that we may be familiar with within the image. What did result however appears to be a collage of programmatic spaces that did not allow for further intepretations.

School Template Elevation [ACS(BR)]

MRT Template Elevation [Canberra] 176

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The Triptych [02] The side panels are understood as the ‘infinite’ list of possibilities in the conversation of designing for death.

Each element possesses its own rule to construct and be curate. The geometries were elemental as which was deemed easy to manipulate. The medieval triptych would propose a single explanation and abstraction as the mainboard seeks to only inform 1 message. However, with the construction of the site 2 panels, almost ensures that the interpretation of space arriving from individuals side panels is endless. To counteract the limiting act of collaging in the first attempt, the central panel detail is replaced with provocative and dialectical text. Each parchment consists of a quote related to death that I stumbled across this semester. And to each, I have included a sentence or word that suggests our new acceptance of death. How then should the user utilize the text to spark the imagination, I’ll let them decide.

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“Each part of it throbs with the life of the whole, and the whole is in the life of each part. A true artistic representation is at the same time itself and the universe, the universe as individual for, and the individual form as universe. Every accent of the poet, as well as every creature of his imagination, encloses the entire destiny of mankind, with all its hopes, its illusions, its pains, its joys, its grandeur, and its misery, the entire drama of reality, incessantly becoming and growing out of itself, in suffering and pleasure.”

-Benedetto Croce

The Triptych [03] The new triptych is to be read as a free interpretation of Mandai. Given our analysis of the Ghent Altarpiece, we understand that regardless of the multiple interpretations that might be available from the allegories of various religious texts, its end definition stays the same, a didactic conversation. This new 21st Century triptych offers us an opportunity to derive multiple interpretations from the information offered to result in an endless interpretation of Mandai

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The Triptych [04] Umberto Eco speaks of the frames of art being somewhat its limitations.

The idea is that the frame refuses the opportunities of the creator user to imagine beyond what is possible.

Which is in this case, outside the frame. An imagination barrier. Hence, using a website, the triptych is uploaded and an interactive feature is designed for it. This feature allows the triptych’s panels to be zoomed in or scrolled within, giving a proper sense of infinity that there are possibilities beyond those that are immediately available in its current frame.

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Completed Triptych [open]

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Completed Triptych Close Up [back]

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Close Up [hinge]

Close Up [drawing]

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Columbarium Corridor Floor

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Columbarium Corridor Wall

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Cremation Theatre Wall [semi-open]

Cremation Theatre Wall [open]

The triptych in its physical form transforms with the surrounding context in which it is placed. Given that I have constructed the physical triptych at a 1:1 scale, it is possible to experiment and imagine the physicality of this medieval art in the 21st Century.

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MRT Platform [closed]

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MRT Platform [closed]

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MRT Platform [closed]

MRT Platform [closed]

As we can see, even when placed within the spaces where this triptych derived its inspirations and meaning, it doesn’t provide much value.

Hence, considering the abilities of technology and web design. Perhaps we can induce the site context in the way we design the web pages that house this 21st Century Triptych.

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The Triptych in The Station Perhaps what is lost within a digital triptych might be the physicality of space and the ambiance that each space provides.

The environment is truly changing and uncontrollable, with its definition and its viewership changing each moment. Here we find the triptych utilizing the side panels of the glass barrier. As the train doors open and close, the interactive screen changes the contents that are displayed., drawing the curiosity of the commuters and perhaps stopping them from their mundane rituals to pause and think.

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The Triptych in The Void Deck Likewise, the Void Deck provides life in its realm, it in itself is a space capable of transforming in form, program, and most definitely users. It is not even far-fetched to suggest that the emotions involved are interchangeable to the program. Hence, the centerpiece that is often identified as the key image of the triptych, should very well be the site of discussion, in this case, the Void Deck. The side panels, whatever they may depict, shall be dependent on the event occurring within the centerpiece.

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PARALLEL INVESTIGATIONS

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Making The Case Understandably the question “Where Death Lives in Singapore?” is one with a much broader scope of social and/or philosophical background. And to talk about the topic requires more than just curiosity but also research and understanding of Singapore’s position and perhaps even references from similar issues both historical and present day. To which a vast study was conducted to understand a breadth of topics.

1. Healthcare Architecture 2. Euthanasia Studies 3. Propaganda in Singapore These studies are observably presented in a much different manner, the inspiration takes the form of a newspaper/website. Where I hope to juxtapose the reality of these facts with potential propaganda and bombarding publicity to suggest the actuality of the situation in those moments. It is in this concept of mixed media and information that we find the creative user lost in a sea of potential interpretations, to which, the truth is blatant but up for debate. https://xd.adobe.com/view/d54213b0-297f4286-9ca0-3ab3d50bb3b2-8011/

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HEALTHCARE ARCHITECTURE

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History of Healthcare Should we decide to make a criticism on the existing format of the healthcare industry, We would first require to take a deep dive into the history of the system. To understand the tree we must most certainly connect with the roots. Hence I have taken the first week to travel into time to understand and analyse the rise of the modern hospital.

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Roosevelt Hospital, New York City, view of male ward, 1893

Should we decide to make a criticism on the existing format of the healthcare industry, We would first require to take a deep dive into the history of the system. To understand the tree we must most certainly connect with the roots. Hence I have taken the first week to travel into time to understand and analyse the rise of the modern hospital.

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Ng Teng Fong Hospital, Singapore 2012

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HEA LTH C A R E PREMIERS

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EARLY 18TH CENTURY CAST STARRING

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LATE 18TH - 19TH CENTURY CAST STARRING SERIES REGULAR GUEST STAR CAMEO

GOVERNOR PATIENTS DOCTORS & NURSES ARCHITECTURE

20TH CENTURY CAST STARRING SERIES REGULAR GUEST STAR BACKGROUND

DOCTORS GOVERNMENT ARCHITECTURE PATIENTS

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Illustration by: Eldon Ng

The early 18th Century was perhaps the beginning of Hospitals. They were primarily conceived as spaces of Charities where the poor and less privileged went to seek support. Healthcare and recovery were not the primary concerns of these ‘healthcare institutions’. It often had little professional help within. They were run by religious group members and focus on spreading the gospel through in-bed chapel services. In this era, hospitals weren’t popular and in fact, many claimed that they potentially caused more harm than good. Without proper staff and logistics and planning, cross-contamination resulted in a high death rate than staying at home. It was in this chapter of humanity where Doctors were lower than the wealthy who could afford to be treated at home.

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Illustration by: Eldon Ng

Towards the late 18th Century to the Early 19th Century. Doctors began to attain more skills through practice. Hospitals were steadily becoming secular and it became a perfect space for experimentation and education in the medical field. The hospitals were then tools controlled by the government to ensure that the less fortunate recovered and provided aid to the economy. The early 18th Century Charity concept was abolished and instead, hospitals provided aid in terms of food and cheaper healthcare. This ensured that citizens did not become reliant liabilities to society. Doctors were also steadily given a position in the layout of hospital wards through the primary design was still state-driven.

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Illustration by: Eldon Ng

In the 19th Century, the hospital became a much significant space for experimentation and learning. Doctors soon took over as the authoritative figure within. Germ-theory and other medical advancements gave Doctors the position to bargain, not to mention, as rates of recovery increased, the profession steadily grew in reputation. Hospitals became an avenue for Doctors to gain that recognition, eventually, the hospital became in service to the medical practices of the profession. The walls and floors were all bleached in terms of design with little to no concern for aesthetics. Only what was deemed medically relevant stayed.

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Illustration by: Eldon Ng

Beyond the 20th Century, we find ourselves in quite a role reversal. We find our healthcare industry dominated and control by the professionals themselves. Doctors and staff become the ruling party of the industry. Or... is that the case? Studies have shown that the wealthy are instead the true kings behind the curtains. As they pour their wealth into the test tubes that are supposedly going to prolong their lives. We find the riches and wealthiest spending their life savings fighting our very biology, going against expiry.

Funny how that very same funds can be used to provide the very basics of healthcare to the poorest of our people.

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Oratory

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Plan of The Past Understanding orthographical drawings are a crucial skill in an architect’s journey. This would be no different in this project. We begin our journey with the understanding of the Hospital plan of the past. The plan suggests a linear and direct relationship with the spaces of worship and spaces of healing. This would be the beginning of understanding life, death, and its relation to an intangible element. Whether religion, the future of science, or even uncertainty.

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EUTHANASIA STUDIES

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Fight of Our Lives Euthanasia is not in any way a new concept. It was developed as early as the early 20th Century. The sudden enhancement in medical technology gave rise to a series of changes in the healthcare industry. Such changes range from the dynamics between doctor and patient, the trust and faith in technology, and even the steadily diminishing idea of death as an inseparable aspect of life. All of which gave rise to the debate that is today, the fight for our right to die.

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Hard to Swallow Pills Henry R. Glick, Professor of political science and research associate at the Institute on Aging at Florida State University, sees no end to medical innovation and the power of doctors and new machines to prolong life – and the resulting labialise for the elderly and the seriously ill.

“Changes in the technology and the practice of medicine, couple with traditional medical training and ethics that champion conquering disease and reserving life, and doctors’ fear of liability for discontinuing treatment have all created a spectre of a lingering death for many terminally ill or comatose patients and the growing elderly population,” says Glick. “Modern medical tools are valued lifesavers for accident victims and those suffering from reversible serious illness or undergoing surgery, but the new technology can also be a threat to the elderly and the hopelessly ill who inevitably will die, but not quickly or easily because the same machines that preserve life can exacerbate inevitable death.” Technological advances during World War II dramatically changed the prognosis of the dying patient as well as the mind-set of the nation. Penicillin, first used in military hospitals, and, later on, other antibiotics, enjoyed widespread use and were responsible for the control of acute and communicable disease. By the 1950s technological wizardry has come to the forefront with stunning results.

The decade was alive with possibilities. For they saw that while many of the patients they treated indeed survived because of this machine, not all of them survived to become functional in the way they had been before being overtaken by illness. A number of them were not dead, but in some ways, they did not seem to be alive. They lingered, lingered in this never-never land between functioning life and death.

And as some of his patients remained in this state, had come to face dilemmas to which he had no solution. Where should we draw the line and acknowledge the freedom to live and the right to die?

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Irony In Law The Investigation of the Ethical Codes and Penal Code establishes the Legal Standings that the Singapore Government and Healthcare system takes. It appears that there is the option of Advance Medical Directive (AMD) which in summary, allows you to legally request for medical professionals to stop attempting to save your life should you be faced with a terminal condition.

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The Joke of Our Victory Base on the given policies and legislation, it appears that the government’s concerns are on the ‘responsibility at which ‘death’ s being administered Considering how suicide is now legal, yet other forms of Euthanasia are not, the idea of the ‘enabler’ seems to be the key disagreement. This is substantiated by the fact that AMD is ironically legal.

AMD suggests that death is natural and the medical professionals merely allow it to take place. Yet it merely pushes the responsibility away from the professionals and places it on ‘nature’.

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Post Human World?

As we steadily uncover the unsettling policies and loopholes within the healthcare system, one can only wonder if we are headed into a ‘PostHuman’ World? It appears that our government advocates dearly to the idea of life being intrinsically good, regardless of how it is being lived; or is that a mere cover-up. This global emphasis on technology has brought mixed blessings. The increasing medical possibilities have had, in general, very positive effects. More patients survive, fewer patients have severe handicaps, and certain suffering is reduced. On the other hand, medical advances in diagnosis and treatment have also made it difficult to get off the inexorable medical treadmill.

Society began its infatuation with technology as a result of this infectious excitement. The medical community was no exception. It began functioning under what is known as the “technological imperative”: the belief that it is obligated to use whatever medical treatment and technology are available, for as long as possible, however, small the potential benefit, however high the emotional, mental, physical or financial cost to the patient and his or her family.

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Envisioning Singapore For as long as we are discussing about Singapore and the future of what we define as ‘well-being’, it would seem to suggest that there might very well be a shift in daily rituals that would also shape the way we perceive our world. This illustration suggests a change in the HDB Void Decks such that they are no longer mindless leisure and social activities such as bird-appreciation, instead, it might very well be an open connection to the web where one might be able to upload his or her consciousness to the web for joy.

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THE RIGHT TO DIE TH RIGHT TO DIE THE RIG TO DIE THE RIGHT TO DIE THE RIGHT TO DI THE RIGHT TO DIE TH RIGHT TO DIE THE RIG

HE RIGHT TO DIE THE GHT TO DIE THE RIGHT O DIE THE RIGHT TO IE THE RIGHT TO DIE HE RIGHT TO DIE THE GHT TO DIE THE RIGHT 2 42

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New Propaganda, New Era, New Path The ideas explored in the poster suggests a potential narrative to what the process of Euthanasia might be.

This ranges from over the phone/ online consultations, face to face meet ups whether individual or group, it also suggests a potential annonymous conversation. In light of these potential activities, there are some connotations to what the spatial experience might be, which in some way hints of a potential site(s). On top of the idea of Euthanasia and its conversations, the poster also includes the possibility of Digitalising the Human Conscious, and potential Cryogenics. The diagram on the left then proposes a mapping of a potential client’s experience when he or she explores their very own conversation on their right to live or die. The mapping illustrates the various options available as well as the taken routes. It is important to note that the mapping only signifies a beginning, life, which would be the essential as a start point for anyone to converse about death. The mapping then does not imply the moves taken by any individual post assuming their role as a ‘life’. The mapping does imply however that Rebirth, Unassisted Death and Euthanasia are ends which are unreversable.

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A World of Freedom or Lies?

Singapore, our Garden City has always prided itself as a Democratic Nation. ‘Regardless of Race, Language or Religion’, is perhaps something we are all familiar with, yet are we truly living a life of ‘Equality’ if we are not even permitted to freedom of our actions? The United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly states in Articles 1 to 4, “All Human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood”, “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religions, political or other opinions, national or social origin, property, birth or another status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or intentional status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty”, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of person”, and finally, “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms”.

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AR5801 Stop At 2 In this regard, we can explore the different notions of propaganda and potential removal of rights as the Singapore government attempts to intervene in the way we live. One of the most prevailing examples would be the ‘Stop at 2’ campaign in which the government seeks to disincentivize having children and placing various barriers. The next notion of state-driven propaganda would be the enforcing of false lively ambitions. Each of these posters suggests an ideal state of life which begs the question, are who truly the authors of our existence, or are our lives written by the states.

PinkDot [LGBT] Beginning with 2015, we find the headline ‘28,000 gather at Hong Lim Park’ along with a ‘plan view of the site suggesting the number of people involved, providing a false sense of ‘freedom of speech. It was later in 2017 when the images were used to highlight the ‘types of people who are seen parading at Pink Dot. This could very well be targeted at existing parents who might attempt to discourage their children from associating themselves with them. These views as observed are taken in close up to each individual/group participant at the parade. And finally, we find ourselves in 2019 where the government seeks to reconcile what was deemed as discrimination. Here we find once again a semi-close view of participants freely engaging in rallies and celebrations.

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Buildings That Grow The idea of metabolism is not one unheard of in the architecture community, since its early beginnings, it has presented the world with a new perspective of living and dwelling. The notion that our buildings are capable of living and growing just as we do, suggests periodic changes and ever improving potentials. The proposal also suggests that society could very well be living on a single organism (architecture) just as we have been occupying this single planet.

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The Birth Of Metabolism Kawazoe who suggested the term “Metabolism” when they examined Kitake’s Marine City project. Kawazoe recalled that he chose this name because metabolism, as the organic function of material and energy exchange betwee living organisms and the exterior world, is the essential process of life.20 In addition to its biological meaning, the literal translation of metabolism in Japanese, shinchin taisha, also embodies the idiomatic meaning of “out with the old, in with the new.” It thus came in line with the architects’ notion that the city should be capable of continuous growth and renewal – a process, they believed, as impotant as an organism’s natural metabolism.

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“Metabolism” is the name of the group, in which each through his concrete designs and illustrations. We regard opment from atom to nebula. The reason why we use su sign and technology should be a denotation of human so ural historical process, but try to encourage active metab

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member proposes future designs of our coming world d human society as a vital process – a continuous develuch a biological word, metabolism, is that we believe deociety. We are not going to accept metabolism as a natbolic development of our society through our proposals.

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The Birth Of Metabolism ii The group however did not reach a consensus on the meaing of “metabolism” in architecture. According to Kurokawa, who started his career as an architect in this movement, “each of the members joined the group with a different opinion about what the Metabolist movement was; there was no articulated theory on metabolism at the very beginning.”22 Rather, the architects were inspired by a vague connection between the city and the principle of life, exploring its meaning through various design approaches.

This was reflected in the manifesto of the group, Metabolism: The Proposals for New Urbaism, published at the World Design Conference.

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Plant Type Community 1960 He proposed shopping, amusement, and office blocks for one of Tokyo’s busiest commuter hubs. His illustration shows a group of futuristic skyscrapers with jagged edges and a silhouette that resembles a forest. The development was to include offices for 50,000 people, 10,000 parking spaces, and multiple levels of railway platforms at the center. Maki pointed out that the huge multi-level shopping center was expandable: ‘‘Floors will be extended freely vertically and horizontally: shop areas, access lanes, and passageways are also freely exchangeable depending upon needs at a given time.’’

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“Architects, need to understand more keenly their role in society, and to address the underlying sociological and psychological unease of contemporary citizens before determining how, where, and what to build.”

-Kiyonori Kikutake

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Kiyonori kikutake He advocated beginning a design not with a preconceived program – a list of rooms – but with questions about how one relates to, and lives among, one’s surroundings. An unfettered horizontal view and independence from the ground plane defined for him an ideal situation for the urban dweller; all else in the Sky House’s design, including the impeccable construction detailing, followed from this conviction.

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AR5801 I want to be a shell.

I want to be a shell. In the peaceful world I do nothing but opening and closing my shell. Nothing can be better than this. This is the “heaven of lazy people.”

Soon the time will come that everything will be done by machine. The only thing we have to do will be dreaming. It seems that I have become a shell, deep into all kinds of illusions. Suddenly I think of a wonderful plan. Yes, let’s do it! I get up.

I want to be a god, I want to be a god. I hear the voice from heaven. I am a prophet. Well, maybe I am a god myself. I order architects to build four-dimensional “universal architecture,” so the plan must be drawn in three-dimensional geometry. Who will draw it? Masato Otaka? Kiyonori Kikutake? Or Noriaki Kurokawa? But the architect can only build three-dimensional space. I am the only one who can grasp the four-dimensional space. So, I deserve to be a god.

I want to be a bacterium.

I want to be a bacterium. Mad, dogmatic, and fanatic are the negative words put on me. But being a god is too insipid. Perhaps I stick too much to the image of “myself/” I must cast away myself-consciousness and fuse myself into mankind and solely became part of it. I have to reach the state of selflessness. In the future, man will fill the whole earth, and fly into the sky. I am a cell of bacteria that is in constant propagation. After several decades, with the rapid progress of communication technology, everyone will have a “brain wave receiver” in his ear, which conveys directly and exactly what other people think about him and vice versa. What I think will be known by all the people. There is no more individual consciousness, only the will of mankind as a whole. It is not different from the will of the bacteria.

POEM BY KAWAZOE

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The world of our dreams Thomas More suggests that a utopia might very well be the future of humanity. In his book, he depicts a fictional character, Raphael Hythlodae, a traveling missionary here to spread the good news of Utopia. Though as tempting as the world of Utopia might be, it is not perfect, or at least it is made evident.

Thomas proceeds to then challenge his fictional character and world, criticizing its values and believes, an ironic yet ideal representation of the conflicts that might arise from attempting to determine a Utopia.

Nathaniel Coleman argues in his book as well that a Utopia is essential in the minds of humanity for it ensures a forward-looking mentality, though he does question the feasibility of the creation of an actual ‘Utopia’. After all, history has shown that a realworld Utopia does not exist.

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S i r t h o m a s m o r e Sir Thomas More, son of Sir John More, a justice of the King’s Bench, was born in 1478, in Milk Street, in the city of London. After his earlier education at St. Anthony’s School, in Threadneedle Street, he was placed, as a boy, in the household of Cardinal John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor. More’s “Utopia” was written in Latin, and is in two parts, of which the second, describing the place (Nusquama, as he called it sometimes in his le ters— ”Nowhere”),

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D a v i d h u m e Generally regarded as one of the most important philosophers to write in English, David Hume (1711–1776) was also well known in his own time as an historian and essayist. A master stylist in any genre, his major philosophical works—A Treatise of Human Nature (1739–1740), the Enquiries concerning Human Understanding (1748) and concerning the Principles of Morals (1751), as well as his posthumously published Dialogues concerning Natural Religion (1779)—remain widely and deeply influential.

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In the 19th Century, the hospital became a much significant space for experimentation and learning. Doctors soon took over as the authoritative figure within. Germ-theory and other medical advancements gave Doctors the position to bargain, not to mention, as rates of recovery increased, the profession steadily grew in reputation. Hospitals became an avenue for Doctors to gain that recognition, eventually, the hospital became in service to the medical practices of the profession. The walls and floors were all bleached in terms of design with little to no concern for aesthetics. Only what was deemed medically relevant stayed.

Frank Llyod Wright's Broadacre City 1935

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REFERENCES

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Adrian Forty The Modern Hospital CAMERON., WILLIS, JULIE. GOAD, PHILIP. LOGAN. 2020. Architecture and the Modern Hospital: Nosokomeion to Hygeia. S.l.: ROUTLEDGE. Measure of civilization the hospital thought of jacques tenon on the eve of the french revolution Adams, Annmarie. 2008. Medicine by Design: The Architect and the Modern Hospital, 1893-1943. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Farmer, Paul. 2013. Reimagining Global Health: An Introduction. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Kisacky, Jeanne Susan. 2017. Rise of the Modern Hospital: An Architectural History of Health and Healing, 1870-1940. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.

7. Heng, Rachel, and Francesco Graziosi. 2019. Suicide Club. Milano: Casa Editric Nord.

8. ENGELHART, KATIE. 2021. Inevitable: Dispatches from the Right to Die Movement. S.l.: ST MARTIN’S PRESS. Silvera, Adam. 2017. They Both Die in the End. New York: HarperTeen.

METABOLIST 1.

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Lin, Zhongjie. 2006. City as Process: Tange Kenzo and the Japanese Urban Utopias, 1959-70.

Urban, Florian. 2012. “Japanese ‘Occidentalism’ and the Emergence of Postmodern Architecture.” Journal of Architectural Education 65 (2): 89–102.

Lin, Zhongjie. 2022. Kenzo Tange and the Metabolist Movement: Urban Utopias of Modern Japan. Routledge.

Kiyonori Kikutake Structuring the Future Landscape paradigms and posturban spaces Tamari, Tomoko. 2014. “Metabolism: Utopian Urbanism and the Japanese Modern Architecture Movement.” Theory, Culture & Society 31 (7-8).

The Cultural Legacy of Metabolism: Global to Local

READING THE CITY 1.

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Koolhaas, Rem. 1980. Delirious New York.

Colonna, Francesco, and Joscelyn Godwin. 2005. Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. London: Thames & Hudson.

Zukin, Sharon. 2011. Naked City: The Death and Life of Authentic Urban Places. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Eco, Umberto. n.d. The Open Work. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Sadler, Simon. 2001. The Situationist City. Cambridge (Mass.): The MIT Press.

Debord, Guy. 2021. The Society of the Spectacle. Critical Editions.

Sorkin, Michael. 1993. Local Code: The Constitution of a City at 42°N Latitude. New York, NY: Princeton Architectural Press.

PHILOSOPHY 1.

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Become What You Are by Alan Watts Nature, Man and Woman by Alan W. Watts The Sublime Object of Ideology (Second Edition) (The Essential Zizek) by Slavoj Zizek The Way of Zen by Alan W. Watts The Moving Image of Eternity

ART 1. Digitalis, Universum. 2021. “Closer to Van Eyck.” Closertovaneyck.kikirpa.be. Accessed November 3. http://closertovaneyck.kikirpa.be/ghentaltar2. piece/#home.

“Ghent Altarpiece by Van Eyk - Explained.” 2020. YouTube. YouTube. May 28. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCrk4I7NFfE&ab_channel=StoriesOfArt.

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WHERE DEATH LIVES IN SINGAPORE SINGAPORE 1. “Lessons for the United States.” 2011. Lessons from PISA for the United States, 227–56. doi:10.1787/9789264096660-12-en.

2. Hermes. 2018. “Too Problematic to Legalise Euthanasia.” The Straits Times. November 11. https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/too-problematic-to-legalise-euthanasia.

3. Migration. 2016. “Euthanasia: A Matter of Life or Death?” The Straits Times. January 19. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/euthanasia-a-matter-oflife-or-death.

4. Hermes. 2016. “Enhancing Singapore’s Secularism.” The Straits Times. February 4. https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/enhancing-singapores-secular5. ism.

6. Hermes. 2018. “In a Secular State, Laws Cannot Be Tied to Religion.” The Straits Times. September 26. https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-inprint/in-a-secular-state-laws-cannot-be-tied-to-religion.

7. Koh, Tommy. 2018. “Section 377A: There Is a Difference between a Sin and a Crime.” The Straits Times. September 28. https://www.straitstimes.com/ singapore/section-377a-science-religion-and-the-law.

8. Kurohi, Rei. 2019. “Majority of Singaporeans Uncomfortable with Religious Leaders Speaking up on LGBT Issues: IPS Study.” The Straits Times. October 31. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/majority-of-singaporeans-uncomfortable-with-religious-leaders-speaking-up-on-lgbt-issues.

9. The Singapore Medical Council: Ethical Code and Ethical Guidelines. 2002. Singapore: Singapore Medical Council.

10. Seng, Loh Kah. “WITHIN THE SINGAPORE STORY: The Use and Narrative of History in Singapore.” <i>Crossroads: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Southeast Asian Studies</i> 12, no. 2 (1998): 1-21. Accessed September 5, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40860676.

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“Most people would find the picture of our universe as an infinite tower of tortoises rather ridiculous, but why do we think we know better? What do we know about the universe, and how do we know it? Where did the universe come from, and where is it going? Did the universe have a beginning, and if so, what happened before then? What is the nature of time? Will it ever come to an end? Can we go back in time? Recent breakthroughs in physics, made possible in part by fantastic new technologies, suggest answers to some of these longstanding questions. Someday these answers may seem as obvious to us as the earth orbiting the sun – or perhaps as ridiculous as a tower of tortoises. Only time (whatever that may be) will tell.”

- Stephen Hawking

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Reflection So what is Death and where might he live? Just as Stephen points out on the lack of understanding of Time, why would Death be any different?

Perhaps we will never know. I wouldn’t dare suggest that in a single semester I have turned over every stone that lies in this question, though I must acknowledge my struggle to stay submerged in thought. What has surfaced is a series of concepts that portray the acceptance of this truth.

Though we may never know who he might be, we are certain where he might live. I hope the semester was as insightful for everyone as it has been for me. A reflection not at the end, but an endless one since the beginning. I hope we have all learned much from Constance and much from within.

-Eldon Ng

91198143 nyk0737@gmail.com h t t p s : / / w w w. l i n k e d i n . c o m / i n / e l d o n - n g a2612a198/ Nyk0737

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