Nearly 1,400 sign petition by architects, academics urging URA to gazette buildings
Almost 1,400 Singaporeans have signed a petition seeking the conservation of People’s Park Complex and Golden Mile Complex – structures completed in 1973 whose owners are attempting collective sales.
The petition was written by a group of architects and academics who are appealing to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to gazette theses buildings before they are sold. They also asked signatories to send their feedback on the subject. The first responses were submitted to the authorities last week.
Signatories to the petition include veteran diplomat Tommy Koh, homemakers, librarians, filmmakers, students and retirees as well as celebrities such as comedian Hossan Leong and singer Joanna Dong.
Mr Leong, 49, a former Golden Mile Complex resident, said he had plumbing problems in his unit but liked the place so much that even after moving out, decided to rent an office there. He said: “There were these little imperfections which were to be expected as we were living in an old structure. It is a pity that the building wasn’t more well taken care of over the years.”
Both buildings are halfway into their leases. The 16-storey Golden Mile Complex has some 400 shops, 220 offices and 70 apartments. People’s Park Complex is home to a podium of shops and offices, and a 25-storey residential block.
Those who signed the petition discussed the need to better acknowledge post-colonial, local architecture. Some said the buildings represent the aspirations of a freshly independent nation. Their designs incorporated Brutalist elements, which evoke unpretentiousness and power through concrete monoliths.
Critics say they are ugly, while residents note that the buildings are old and have not been well kept.
Netizen Ying Shu Heng, who commented on a Straits Times Facebook post that Golden Mile Complex had secured votes from more than 80 per cent of owners to launch the sale en bloc, said she has relatives who run a small business there. She said the air-conditioning system is “badly maintained” and some elderly workers there face respiratory issues. The residents declined to comment.
Ultimately, practicality wins out over sentiment, said shop owner Kea Chee Tong, 75, who has run Golden Watch Gold & Jewellery at People’s Park Complex since 1988. “Everyone has varying options and it is difficult to get a consensus. But if the price is right, even those who are undecided will want to sell their units and homes,” he said.
Dr Chang Jiat Hwee from the Department of Architecture at the National University of Singapore, who is part of the collective behind the petition, said the complexes, which were Singapore’s first high-density, mixed-use complexes, represent milestones in the Republic’s urban renewal process.
“This is significant because Singapore today is very much about high-density urban living and is celebrated globally as a successful model, established through these early experimental precedents,” Dr Chang added.
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