Transcript
A (0:09)
Singapore is expert at truly mixed use developments, often incorporating housing, businesses, recreation, health and food spaces all within one building or complex. These urban environments exemplify how the 15 minute city concept is exists in many forms around the globe and can adapt to different city contexts. You're listening to Tall Stories, a monocle production brought to you by the team behind the Urbanist. I'm Andrew Tuck. In this episode, Thomas Pineiro takes us to Tiong Bahru estate.
B (0:51)
The first hint you've arrived in Tiong Bahru comes from the curved semi open stairwells projecting from the white low rise art Deco flats. Then the bustle of modern Singapore seems to ebb into a gentler pace. Built in the 30s when the city was still a British commercial outpost, the estate was one of Singapore's earliest public housing developments. It introduced or reinforced planning principles later replicated across the island. Among them are the HDB flats, the public units under the Housing Development Board in which the largest share of the population lives. There's also the community center and one of the best hawker centres in town. All three are Singaporean staples. Thiamburu's buildings are products of an era when speed and optimism were central to the Zeitgeist. They display streamlined modern features such as speed lines, curved corners and porthole windows that nodded to the aerodynamics of ships, trains, airplanes and automobiles. At ground level, though, they carry a more local trade, the so called five foot walkways. These are covered pavements that shelter pedestrians from the region's harsh weather. Here they connect shop houses with apartments, many of which are also located directly at ground level. The neighborhood has grown more desirable over time, attracting a growing number of affluent newcomers. However, it's tough to compete for an apartment here. Longtime residents seem resolute in their decision to stay, even as home prices now often hover around a million Singapore dollars. The social mix becomes clear as you move through the five foot ways and catch glimpses inside the homes. Design LED apartments with nogushi paper lamps sit right next door to cluttered, frozen in time homes with original fixtures. Still, in this quiet neighborhood, the impression is of a community well lived in and generously shared. Common areas are lined with potted plants, incense burns on wall mounted shrines and there's the occasional bicycle tucked beneath the stairs. Across Jeon Bahru, architectural generations can be read as pre and post war, with the earlier blocks built to a more robust standard. Block 78, known as the Horseshoe block, was even equipped with a bomb shelter to accommodate up to 1600 people. The post war blocks, those with the curved stairwells I mentioned earlier follow a more open principle and are interspersed with green spaces with beautiful and tall palm trees. Also established in the post war period, Thionburu's community Center is regarded as the earliest in Singapore. Dating back to 1948, it offered amenities such as basketball courts, barber services and evening classes. From its early days, its importance is such that at one stage it even assisted residents with funeral arrangements. Like other community centers across Singapore, it serves more than practical functions. It reinforces civic sentiment and mutual respect, and this within a city defined by major differences in race and faith. In Tiong Bahru, street level commerce runs mostly through the pre war blocks. Design led cafes, bakeries, bookshops and art galleries sit alongside family run restaurants, provision shops and durian stalls. The latter cluster mostly around the Monkey God Temple itself housed in a shop house. It doesn't get a lot more straights than this. At the center of it all sits Tiang Bahru Market and Hawker Center. What began as a small wet market became a magnet for itinerant hawkers who grew gathered in an open space with only basic shelter and limited hygiene. In the 50s, the town cleansing department stepped in and a new structure rose, though it still proved hot and stuffy beneath a tired zinc roof. In the early 2000s, the building we see today was constructed. The exterior echoes the smooth character of its surroundings, while inside comfort and hygiene take priority. Circulation and open dining areas wrap around a landscaped courtyard and multiple ceiling fans drive airflow. Rows of fixed tables bring order and stainless steel furniture across the stalls. Cleanliness the ground floor houses the fresh Produce market, with fishmongers, butchers and vegetable vendors. Upstairs, it's all about eating and socializing. Options abound. There are over 80 stalls, with many longtime hawkers remaining in business carrying their recipes intact. You might start with the Ko Brothers Pig Organ Soup, a fixture here for close to 60 years, then pick up a drink at the multigenerational 33 Cafe, run by a family whose members grew up and went to school in Cheong Bahru. There are also wuton noodles, hokkien prawn mee, fried oysters, Cantonese roasts and my personal constant kopi with kaya butter toast. Stopping by this hawker center has become a small ritual of mine. Whenever I visit Cheon Bahru, I pause just long enough to grab a bite and notice the community's convivial interplay before heading out into the city where everything speeds up once again.