The Interplay between the City Identity and the Urban Experience
Brief: Megacities have been formed with tremendous speed and scale as the world gets increasingly globalized and connected with technology. What makes cities tick? How do individuals feel a sense of belonging to home amidst the accessibility to the rest of the world? Is globalization leading to cultural erosion and could this be a catalyst for better architectural innovations instead?
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Good city planning makes a city come alive with an identity of its own, manifested through a unique urban experience that only the particular city is able to give. As a Singaporean, I try to distill why the city is able to bring out the identity that the URA tried to evoke through the planning of the Marina Bay area, a waterfront and business district in the city centre – a key feature in many other cities similarly.
This post aims to document observations of elements contributing to successful city planning through looking at the nature of urban experience in Singapore, shaped by the interplay of its history, culture, and architecture. Singapore was ranked 9th in A.T.Kearney’s Global Cities Index 2014, measured against other cities in terms of 5 dimensions (business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience, and political engagement). Hence, Singapore can be reasonably considered as a “successful city” for the purpose of this post.
One of the key component of successful city planning – a centrally located business and leisure combined district in the town area – will be explored.
Throughout the phase of growing up, our environment continuously and consistently shapes our thoughts, perception, and individual identity. We see things through the lens in which we were exposed to, and we feel for the things that we are familiar with. Our sense of pride and belonging – the calling of a place our home – is often defined by our resonance with the image and the identity associated with the environment around us. It is with identifying with the city’s identity that we feel at home. At the same time, the construction and expression of our individual identity consistently shapes our surroundings, thus contributing to the enhancement of the city’s identity.
Our Little Red Dot
Singapore gives a feeling of connectivity and convenience, as the transport and road systems are relatively well constructed for accessibility to the majority of the country. Roads and expressways are lined with trees, shading excessive sunlight during the day and bringing us closer to nature, making the travelling experience more pleasant.
Especially in fast growing nations, the cities’ identity may be constantly changing – its fundamental culture and heritage may be at risk of being diminished through the influx of foreign cultures. New perceptions of the city may also be formed through the interaction between locals and foreigners. A city’s evolving identity should not be an issue for the society, and even less of a hindrance to urban planners. On the contrary, it works as a catalyst for urban planners to come up with ways to mitigate cultural erosion, as well as a propeller of constructive and positive social progress when cultural negotiations happen.
Building the individual and city identity – Marina Bay, SINGAPORE
Singapore has grown from a fishing village decades ago to a first world metropolis of the current time, boosting state of the art architecture, infrastructure, and an abundance of events contributing to the urban experience. In a city-state like Singapore, where the population comprises of a heterogeneous mix of individuals from various ancestries and with differing ethnicity and religion, an overarching city identity or culture is difficult to be identified. Thus, it is with the diverse experiences we obtained through our senses and interaction with each other that we identify with, and associate the meaning of home to. To a local, the Singaporean identity transcends beyond the types of food or number of heritage areas in the country, into an aggregate impression of the city that had manifested itself through our interaction with it – our urban experience.
Urban planning and strategic construction has been at the core of Singapore’s development since independence, and is the heart pumping the Singaporean identity through the veins of the city, into the individuals. In the past decade, the Central Region – inclusive of the Marina Bay area – has evolved into the prime district of Singapore, being the key area where things happen. It was constructed from a landfill – a strategy that Singapore takes on while fulfilling both goals of waste management as well as space expansion. In the future, the current Central Business District area that is in the Marina Bay area will be four times the size of the current one. Optimal planning with foresight is key to achieving the strategic goals from urban planning, and several contributing factors can be examined. Structures like the Marina Bay Sands, the Flyer, Arts Science museum as well as the esplanade are iconic ones that denote Singapore in the eyes of the international sphere.
Why are iconic structures iconic? How are spaces utilized by the intended users in the way that they are intended? Below are three elements that Marina Bay encompasses that ensured high utilization of the area without compromising on the quality of the experience.
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Shaping the Day vs. Night Space
The Marina Bay area houses the Central Business District, providing a conducive environment for business interactions in the day due to the collectivization of many buildings and offices. Businesses find that having an office in the prime district of Singapore strengthens their brand and image, as it establishes a sense of success and achievement. It is also a convenient location for many people to get to work, as it is situated in the central south of Singapore. Thus, Marina Bay acts as an economic driver in the day.
However, when the sun sets, and night transpires, the buildings in the CBD recedes and forms the backdrop for the leisure activities in the night – the skyline that people enjoy while walking, eating, or taking pictures while they experience the bay area at night. It is in the night space whereby the former stress and rigidity of work no longer have a luminous presence over the area anymore. Structures like the Marina Bay Sands and the Singapore Flyer have been strategic structural constructions projecting a modern and cosmopolitan image of Singapore. It is these iconic structures that locals identify as a key feature of Singapore now, and important first impressions for travelers visiting Singapore from abroad.
Source: iLight Marina Bay news reports
Source: iLight Marina Bay news reports
Recently this year, Singapore’s biennale light festival, iLight Marina Bay 2014, was being held in Marina Bay showcasing interactive lighting installations by various artists around the world. In a beautiful night space with many key elements of structures that could be highlighted, optimal lighting is never widespread luminance but rather a layered and contrasted lighting that is able to bring out a positive emotional response from the users of the space.
Source: iLight Marina Bay news reports
Source: iLight Marina Bay news reports
In normal days, arts exhibitions in the nearby Arts and Science museum as well as musicals and theatres in the Esplanade add on to the cultural richness and diversity of Singapore, and the city’s night scene. The outdoor theatre outside Esplanade also showcases various music performances like rock music gigs and Chinese orchestra at night.
Hence, in the night, the Marina Bay – with transport networks deeming it a highly accessible place, along with a variety of activities for individuals to select from – boosts the arts and music scene, fueling social development.
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Balancing the Open and Closed spaces
In a scarce place like Singapore, it is important that architectural designs are functional and progressive, and land usage efficient. It is the more so in the prime district of Singapore, where land is the most expensive and desirable, and the height of buildings limited to 280 metres. While constructing tall towers and contributing to the tightly knitted skyline, the URA has not compromised the quality of space by adding in open spaces amidst the cluster of closed spaces. There is a reason for this: closed and open spaces serve separate functions, yet complementary ones.
Closed spaces tend to be formal and private areas where people engage in work. However, an individual’s physical and mental wellbeing will be severely affected if one does not have access to open spaces.
Open spaces manifest itself in the Marina Bay area as public spaces like the boardwalk connecting the entire bay area whereby the community can interact, or in the Makan Sutra hawker area, or in the rooftops or balconies on top of buildings. These in-between open spaces, though may not be highly visible, are what add the fine touches to the quality of the urban experience in the Marina Bay area.
Even the Gardens by the Bay area is designed with the “trees” (featured on the right) being in an open space while the domes are closed spaces (featured on the left).
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Advocating sustainability beyond resource renewability
Sustainability and green advocacy has been an increased topic of interest not only in the architectural community but also in many other fields, focusing on the efficient use of resources and energy so as not to compromise the living needs of the future generations.
This is a loose definition of sustainability; in the current times perhaps a more holistic definition of sustainability considering the social and psychological wellbeing of individuals is more “sustainable”, one that not only take into account the amount of greenery used in design, the types of materials and resources used nor the time period which a building stands to last, but rather the quality of memories that the space can create and last in the long term. It is sustainable when interaction with a space or structure strings together or evokes emotional response through journeying through the space, possibly triggered by the geometric alignment or the lack thereof, the lighting effects, the audio or sound inputs, the weather or degree of ventilation, and so on. Hence, good spatial design or urban planning takes into account the unique factors of the space of interest, rather than replicating a model that has worked before in another space into a newly available one.
In the recent years after the completion of the entire Marina Bay area, signature events are often hosted either ad hoc or annually. iLight Marina Bay, as mentioned, presented an interactive element to the area by using the skyscrapers in Marina Bay as the backdrop for the installations while at the same time allowing audiences to touch and alter the displays to create unique and dynamic memories. It also encourages families and friends to appreciate the richness of the lighting designs as well as understand that sustainability of energy is can be achieved by focusing on the quality, rather than quantity of light. The country’s National Day Parade is also held annually at the Marina Barrage.
The Marina Barrage, although seemingly poses as a stark contrast to the old Fullerton House building a short distance away, complements it well. Together, the old and new buildings around the bay contribute differently yet simultaneously a little “Singaporean-ness” that allows Singaporeans to identify with as their home. Even if the Marina Barrage or the Fullerton House were shifted in their entirety to a different city, it still wouldn’t be Singapore.
Besides boosting the Arts and music scenes, the Marina Bay area also acts as a venue for leisure joggers or competitive dragon boaters to engage in sports.
In the Marina Bay area, the above mentioned spatial elements – complementary functionality, open and closed special contrast, as well as emotional sustainability – are present, thus deeming it to be a constructive space that adds to the urban experience and city identity in positive ways.
Portraying Dynamism in Asia’s Key Economic Hub – Victoria Harbour, HONG KONG
Similarly, the cities of Hong Kong and Shanghai (ranked 5th and 18th respectively on the same Global Cities Index) and are well developed cities also have waterfront areas which adds constructively to the identities of each city.
Like Singapore, Hong Kong grew as a trading port city in the nineteenth century. Victoria harbour acted as the lifeline of Hong Kong, as trade in and out of the city is mainly conducted there. While some of the old Singaporean architecture have been kept (like the Fullerton House) amidst the range of new skyscrapers, the buildings along Victoria Bay are mostly new, as the development plans for the “Central” region of Hong Kong failed to consider architectural conservation in its goals to achieve a well-developed waterfront.
Iconic buildings like that of the Bank of China, HSBC Bank, and International Financial Centre are also structures that allow people to draw the parallel with Hong Kong, manifesting itself along with the entire Victoria Harbour as a crucial part of the Hong Kong city identity.
In the nights, periodic light shows Symphony of Lights highlight the key features of the skyscrapers, and bring the city alive.
Source: Google images
Source: Google images
The buildings are connected by a boardwalk, with a stretch of it known as the Avenue of Stars featuring statues of significant film stars or scenes to celebrate the successful Hong Kong’s Film Industry. Film distills and showcases a country’s culture to a great extent. The sculptures on the Avenue of Stars perhaps subtly evoke memories in individuals of moments they spent watching some of their favourite films.
Source: Google images
Source: Google images
Annual music festivals like the Clockenflap festival as well as countdown parties have also found its way to the bay area, making use of the wonderful skyline as the backdrop of the events as the events add musical vibrancy to the area. Memories fostered from such nights will be impossible if not for the coordinated city planning and development allowing Victoria Bay to be a conducive and interactive platform.
Source: Google images
Reminiscing the past, Cultivating the Future – The Bund, SHANGHAI
Like Singapore and Hong Kong, the Shanghai’s city identity has also been greatly contributed to by a waterfront area, The Bund. The name refers to the area on the West bank of the Huang Pu River, featuring more archaic buildings in contrast to the new developments on the Eastern Bank (Pudong).
Source: Google images
Source: Google images
Iconic structures like the newest addition – Shanghai World Financial Centre, the Pearl tower, Jin Mao Tower had helped bring Shanghai the name of being a urban first tier city of China. The Bund similarly is a conducive venue for 4D light shows as well as annual countdown events and the Strawberry Music Festival.
Conclusion
In conclusion, thriving cities are a result of successful city planning which brings about and across a city identity – one that works for the betterment of the city, bring locals together as well as foster deep impressions for travelers.
Three features – being functional for all times of the day, balancing open and closed spaces, and crafting emotional sustainability – allow city identities to be brought across and ultimately enhanced by the individuals’ urban experiences. Perhaps in the near future when the expressway network is to be enhanced, we can get to see the complex intertwining elevated expressways of Shanghai in Singapore.
Despite the successful elements in city building, many issues have also been evoked (eg. Traffic congestion, light pollution, CO2 emission, overall unhappiness, high stress levels), bringing the relationship of health and urbanization into question. The mentioned issues will be further discussed in future posts.
Archinoob On The Run 