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| Godown refurbished into Modern-style shophouse, Clarke Quay |
Do not belittle the seemingly passé façade of a shophouse in Singapore. Grouped into four historical districts, the unique colonial structures attest to the long-standing cultures and beliefs of different ethnicities that live and work together on the island: the Chinese in Chinatown, the Malays in Kampong Glam, the Indians in Little India, and a mixture from each ethnic group in the trading ports along the Singapore River. Thanks to the laudable efforts of the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) of Singapore, the governmental organization responsible for the conservation of local architectural heritage with strict guidelines about additions and alterations, shophouses today can remain firm on their original site to tell stories of the past beyond what meets the eye.
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| Early shophouse, Haji Lane, Kampong Glam |
Within one edifice, the shophouse cleverly accommodates commercial purposes on the first storey alongside residential spaces on the second or third storeys. Constructed between 1840 and 1960, the Singapore shophouse typically carries a height of two or three storeys with a pitched roof, and features timber beams and columns on the two sides of the frontage for infrastructure, timber floors, a timber staircase, one main door, at least one window on each storey, as well as a five-foot way. Multiple shophouses are erected side-by-side to form rows of contiguous blocks, separated by shared party walls that protrude above the roof by approximately thirty centimeters. Some houses possess an air-well, a forecourt and a rear-court while others contain only one or two of these three elements. On rainy days, rainwater accumulates in the gutter just beneath the ends of the roof then flows down the water pipes on one side of the house and into the drain on the road.
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| Transom windows and French windows on Transitional-style shophouses, Duxton Hill, periphery of Chinatown |
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| French windows on Early shophouses, Haji Lane, Kampong Glam |
Just as the key standard characteristics of the shophouse evolved through various styles (Early, Transitional, Late, Art Décor, and Modern), so too its windows developed and diversified based on different cultures among communities, and on the economic maturity of Singapore. The windows on shophouses demonstrate two dominant forms: the full-height French window and the half-height casement window. Both open outwards on the upper storey but the casement window on the first storey usually opens inwards to avoid obstructions along the five-foot way. The long and narrow French window, influenced by the Europeans via the British, occupies most of the height of the upper storeys whereas the shorter casement window takes up half the area to be opened at the height of the railing.
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| Early shophouse, Haji Lane, Kampong Glam |
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| Early shophouse, Haji Lane, Kampong Glam |
Two of the Early style shophouses (1840-1900) can be found in Haji Lane in Kampong Glam, having two short storeys and only one French window on the upper storey. Two small block-shaped vents above the window attempt to combat the issue of limited ventilation and entrance of natural light.
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| Transitional-style shophouses, Duxton Hill, periphery of Chinatown |
Transitional style shophouses (1900) introduce a third window on the upper storeys to minimize the area of walls and maximize the capacity for natural ventilation while the Late shophouses (1900-1940) mark the beginning of embellished timber beams and paintings above windows. In the row of three windows, the one in the center tends to be a French window while the accompanying left and right windows would be casement windows. The effect results in a neatly symmetrical exterior with the door aligning with the middle window, and the position of the windows on the third storey mirroring that of those on the second storey.
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| 157 Neil Road, The Baba House, Late residential shophouse, periphery of Chinatown |
The Chinese pride themselves in the exposition of traditional auspicious symbols and propitious words around their surroundings. The intricate paintings on shutters and transom windows of The Baba House on 157 Neil Road exemplify the richness of the Chinese culture, which reveals a sophisticated level of economic wealth in this particular household. The characters「種盛」(zhòng shèng) above the entrance literally translates into ‘abundance of seeds’, meaning a bountiful harvest. For the Wee family who inhabited and designed this house, they chose the words out of the desire for fertility (of sons), as they suffered many tragedies of early deaths in the household. Likewise, the recurring motifs of the lotus and the phoenix on their transom windows allude to their hopes for unity, fruitfulness and peace.
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| French windows on Late shophouses, periphery of Chinatown |
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| Late shophouses, periphery of Chinatown |
Unlike Kampong Glam and Clarke Quay along the Singapore River, Chinatown and Little India exhibit an abundant usage of fanlights and transom windows above the French and casement windows. On some shophouses in Chinatown, the colorful stained glass windows in the fanlights above the casement windows reminds of European Gothic cathedrals. The implementation of such a fanlight allows sunlight to shine on various colors on the glass and create interesting hues to be seen within the darker interior. Transom windows provide a scroll for artistic decorations and meaningful representations.
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| Late shophouses, Little India |
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| Early shophouses, Little India |
In Little India, the religious shapes of the star and crescent ubiquitously adorn the header of the French windows, explicating the significance of Islam to the local Indian community. This district also displays window frames that project outwards to generate depth and shadows, and as a result, provide more shade upon opening the windows. These frames act as fancy miniature pillars that illustrate curved carvings akin to that of Indian architecture in commemoration of their cultural roots.
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| Modern-style shophouses, Clarke Quay |
Shophouses in the Clarke Quay area best testify to the Art Décor-cum-Modern period (1930-1960) as they feature a third-storey balcony in addition to the Late style of center French windows and side casement windows. Unfortunately, this locale has been greatly commercialized for entertainment and tourism, misrepresenting its original state.
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| French windows, Haji Lane, Kampong Glam |
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| Early shophouse, Haji Lane, Kampong Glam |
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| Early shophouse, Haji Lane, Kampong Glam |
Windows have several fundamental programs: firstly, windows permit the circulation of cool, fresh air into the shophouse in the times of backward technology; secondly, windows allow natural light to enter the dark structure during daytime and, along with the vents, promote access to moonlight at night; and lastly, closed shutters provide privacy from the external environment while opened shutters allow the residents on the upper storey to view and participate in outdoor activities on the streets below, achieving a win-win situation of semi-private and semi-public spaces. However, for the modern dweller, this very effect of incomplete privacy potentially leads to insufficient privacy, especially in Kampong Glam where only a thin street separates the short rows of shophouses. Under the conditions of opened windows during daytime, the resident can easily peer into the interior of the shophouse across the street. Furthermore, timber as an anti-sound-proof raw material poses the problem of noise between upper and lower storeys, and between neighboring shophouses. Yet perhaps the people in those days did not care for noise levels as much as we do today.
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| Art-Decor-cum-Modern-style shophouses, Clarke Quay |
Just as the window connects the resident with the passerby, so too the entire shophouse bridges a relationship between the local and the foreigner: the tourist, with little knowledge about Singaporeans and the races, can study the houses in the four ethnic districts to grasp a brief understanding of the culture and beliefs of the neighborhoods. Aesthetically impressive on the surface, the colorful shophouses with its vibrant designs bear evidence to the growth and progress of Singapore as a nation of different races, cultures, languages, religions and cuisines. In spite of these rudimentary differences, the architectural unit of the Singaporean shophouse unites the Chinese, the Malays and the Indians under one national identity. The shophouse has become an open, public canvas for their own expression of their roots and values – whether in the form of decorative art, words, symbols, language, or food – to be shared with the Chinese, the Malay and the Indian to appreciate and enjoy together. No wonder Singapore celebrates racial harmony in her national pledge.
(Original photography by Sophie G.)
