A centrepiece of the country’s first urban renewal zone, PPC was a significant update to Chinatown’s urban environment and provided the people with a cleaner and more manageable space for mercantile activities.

This reflected the state’s growing pursuit of liveability. The focus on providing vibrant urban spaces materialised in the form of the City Rooms, which were the first of its kind.

The Summary Statement of Significance presents 3 aspects - Architectural, Urban & Historical and Social, under which the values of PPC are showcased.

This introductory essay provides an overview of the multiple ‘histories’ of People’s Park Complex (PPC): the birth of People’s Park as a key social space in colonial-era Singapore’s Chinatown, and later, its evolution into a bustling commercial space as ‘zan zyu baa saat’; the post-independence, state-led ‘urban renewal’ programme which precipitated the ‘rebirth’ of People’s Park alongside comprehensive redevelopment of its surrounds; and the architectural development of PPC as a new modernist nexus for Chinatown, shaped by the avant garde ideas of the young architects of Design Partnership.

Docomomo Singapore chapter is deeply concerned by the announcement that People’s Park Complex has initiated the collective sale process. Designed by pioneer Singapore architects William Lim, Tay Kheng Soon and Koh Seow Chuan of Design Partnership, People’s Park Complex is one of post-independent Singapore’s most important modernist buildings from an architectural, urban and social perspective.

Docomomo Singapore is deeply saddened to learn of the unexpected passing of Elain Harwood, eminent architectural historian at Historic England and stalwart of the C20 Society in the UK last week.

Docomomo Singapore stands with Docomomo Thai in calling for United Overseas Bank (Thai) PCL to respect the significance of the Robot Building in Bangkok and sensitively preserve its iconic exterior.

Docomomo SG’s statement on the Passing of William S. W. Lim

As an international non-profit organisation vested in the documentation and protection of significant 20th century sites and neighbourhoods, Docomomo Singapore is highly concerned about the impending destruction of Marine Parade Community Building (MPCB) - a building and artwork of high architectural, artistic, social and historical value.

There is a large number and great diversity of buildings in Singapore that can be considered as modern. By modern, we are referring to not just architectural aesthetics but also constructional and environmental techniques, socio-economic processes, cultures, and political rationalities. The quantity and diversity are rooted in Singapore’s short but vibrant history variously as a colonial port city, a post-independent developmental state, and a contemporary global city. In this short introduction of the inventory list, we provide a brief sketch of how the shortlisted modernist buildings help to bring this rich socio-cultural history to life.

There's a new reason to preserve Singapore's landmark modernist buildings: the reduction of carbon emissions by extending their lives instead of demolishing them.