Workmen's Flat at Kampong Silat by Jeremy San
Completion: 1949
Architect: Singapore Improvement Trust
The austere economic situation after the end of the Japanese Occupation placed a severe strain on the colonial government’s ambitious social welfare programmes in housing, education and healthcare. Prices of basic construction materials such as steel, granite and timber skyrocketed due to their scarcity. An architecture of economy – of minimum means employed to maximum effect – guided the hand of the public sector architect. The three-storey Workmen’s Flats at Kampong Silat are entirely constructed of lightweight hollow concrete blocks, with only four different block sizes used in building each housing block.
This high degree of standardisation went down to the smallest detail, such as planning of window and door openings in relation to the exact sizes of hollow blocks to minimise material wastage. The structural frame was formed by pouring cement into cavities inserted with steel reinforcement bars, doing away with timber formwork needed in conventional in-situ concrete construction. Finishes, one of most costly aspects, were also kept to minimum acceptable standards through alternative construction methods. Concrete floors cast on smooth plywood shuttering did away with floor and ceiling rendering altogether.
Wall plastering was also omitted, as the use of hollow blocks allowed paint to be directly applied on. Today, this rigorous approach to design, driven by great constraints of a difficult time, is evident in the faintly discernable blockwork on the walls and the hollow steel tube railings, in the stairwell of a typical block.
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Approximate Size: 1 m x 1.476 m. Framed.
This is the original print that was exhibited at “Moderns in Our Midst: A Photographic Tribute to Singapore’s Modern Architectural Heritage” in 2015.
UV Printing on 3 mm white DIBOND with 10 mm square aluminium channel on 4 sides. Print does not feature the artist's signature. No other framing options available. No certificate of authenticity provided.
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We also accept bank transfer or PayNow. Please contact us at admin@docomomo.sg to arrange for purchase directly with us.
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Completion: 1949
Architect: Singapore Improvement Trust
The austere economic situation after the end of the Japanese Occupation placed a severe strain on the colonial government’s ambitious social welfare programmes in housing, education and healthcare. Prices of basic construction materials such as steel, granite and timber skyrocketed due to their scarcity. An architecture of economy – of minimum means employed to maximum effect – guided the hand of the public sector architect. The three-storey Workmen’s Flats at Kampong Silat are entirely constructed of lightweight hollow concrete blocks, with only four different block sizes used in building each housing block.
This high degree of standardisation went down to the smallest detail, such as planning of window and door openings in relation to the exact sizes of hollow blocks to minimise material wastage. The structural frame was formed by pouring cement into cavities inserted with steel reinforcement bars, doing away with timber formwork needed in conventional in-situ concrete construction. Finishes, one of most costly aspects, were also kept to minimum acceptable standards through alternative construction methods. Concrete floors cast on smooth plywood shuttering did away with floor and ceiling rendering altogether.
Wall plastering was also omitted, as the use of hollow blocks allowed paint to be directly applied on. Today, this rigorous approach to design, driven by great constraints of a difficult time, is evident in the faintly discernable blockwork on the walls and the hollow steel tube railings, in the stairwell of a typical block.
__________
Approximate Size: 1 m x 1.476 m. Framed.
This is the original print that was exhibited at “Moderns in Our Midst: A Photographic Tribute to Singapore’s Modern Architectural Heritage” in 2015.
UV Printing on 3 mm white DIBOND with 10 mm square aluminium channel on 4 sides. Print does not feature the artist's signature. No other framing options available. No certificate of authenticity provided.
_________
Alternative payment
We also accept bank transfer or PayNow. Please contact us at admin@docomomo.sg to arrange for purchase directly with us.
Shipping
Free shipping within Singapore. Please email us at admin@docomomo.sg with any queries or to get a custom shipping quote if you live outside Singapore.
Completion: 1949
Architect: Singapore Improvement Trust
The austere economic situation after the end of the Japanese Occupation placed a severe strain on the colonial government’s ambitious social welfare programmes in housing, education and healthcare. Prices of basic construction materials such as steel, granite and timber skyrocketed due to their scarcity. An architecture of economy – of minimum means employed to maximum effect – guided the hand of the public sector architect. The three-storey Workmen’s Flats at Kampong Silat are entirely constructed of lightweight hollow concrete blocks, with only four different block sizes used in building each housing block.
This high degree of standardisation went down to the smallest detail, such as planning of window and door openings in relation to the exact sizes of hollow blocks to minimise material wastage. The structural frame was formed by pouring cement into cavities inserted with steel reinforcement bars, doing away with timber formwork needed in conventional in-situ concrete construction. Finishes, one of most costly aspects, were also kept to minimum acceptable standards through alternative construction methods. Concrete floors cast on smooth plywood shuttering did away with floor and ceiling rendering altogether.
Wall plastering was also omitted, as the use of hollow blocks allowed paint to be directly applied on. Today, this rigorous approach to design, driven by great constraints of a difficult time, is evident in the faintly discernable blockwork on the walls and the hollow steel tube railings, in the stairwell of a typical block.
__________
Approximate Size: 1 m x 1.476 m. Framed.
This is the original print that was exhibited at “Moderns in Our Midst: A Photographic Tribute to Singapore’s Modern Architectural Heritage” in 2015.
UV Printing on 3 mm white DIBOND with 10 mm square aluminium channel on 4 sides. Print does not feature the artist's signature. No other framing options available. No certificate of authenticity provided.
_________
Alternative payment
We also accept bank transfer or PayNow. Please contact us at admin@docomomo.sg to arrange for purchase directly with us.
Shipping
Free shipping within Singapore. Please email us at admin@docomomo.sg with any queries or to get a custom shipping quote if you live outside Singapore.
A portion proceeds from Jeremy San's work will go to Singapore Heritage Society and Jeremy San's estate.
About Jeremy San
The late Jeremy San Tzer Ning was an accomplished architectural photographer based in Singapore, who documented local as well as regional architectural works in Malaysia, Hong Kong and China. Schooled in RMIT, Melbourne, Australia as an interior designer, his graduation thesis was an ambitious photo-documentation project of modern heritage buildings, which also spawned his photography career.
Upon graduation, Jeremy practised as an interior designer in the architecture office KNTA, and also collaborated with experimental design studios HAM Architects, LingHao Architects and AT Lab on various competition and proposals. His design training and practice experience gave him an empathetic eye as a photographer capturing architecture – whether historic, newly completed, or even under construction – as well as urban landscapes. He has been engaged by leading design firms including Alsop, Foster + Partners, Atelier Liu Yu Yang, K2LD, Formwerkz, KUU, Farm Works, UOL, DPA and ipli. His works are widely published, including in journals such as ish, Cubes, and SA. He was also commissioned by Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to work on the Singapore 1:1 exhibitions (2005, 2007), and has collaborated with Studio Lapis on conservation documentation projects such as Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall. In 2012, he was awarded the Discernment Prize for the ICON de Martell Cordon Bleu photography awards.