Impact of Colonial Architecture on Singapore's Development

This report examines the colonial architecture of Singapore, focusing on the period of British rule from 1946 to 1963. It investigates the influence of colonial architectural styles on the development of the city, with particular attention to the Raffles Hotel and City Hall. The research explores the purpose and aim of understanding the impact of colonialism on Singapore's architecture, addressing questions about the effects of specific buildings and the expatriate population. A literature review provides context, highlighting the role of colonial architecture in Singapore's urban development and its connection to legacy tourism. The methodology includes qualitative research and data collection from archival sources. The report also considers ethical considerations. The findings emphasize the lasting impact of colonial architecture on Singapore's identity and infrastructure.

Running head: COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN SINGAPORE
COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN SINGAPORE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1
COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN SINGAPORE
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Background..................................................................................................................................2
Purpose........................................................................................................................................2
Aim..............................................................................................................................................2
Research Question...........................................................................................................................2
Literature Review............................................................................................................................3
Research Methodology....................................................................................................................5
Data Collection............................................................................................................................5
Research Approach......................................................................................................................5
Design Framework.......................................................................................................................5
Ethical Consideration...................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................7

2
COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN SINGAPORE
Introduction
The colonial architecture is when the architecture of a country is used in the development
of the infrastructure of the country it colonizes. The colonial architecture of Singapore in the age
of the British rule is the topic of research in the study. The British gained the control of
Singapore in 1946 after the Second World War and continued its supremacy till 1963. The era
was marked by an exceptional age in the architectural changes in the country (Eng and Savage
1985).
Background
Before the colonization too the Singaporean architecture was deeply influenced by the
western architecture, but since the colonization there had been a number of buildings constructed
which today stand out as marquees of the colonial period. These buildings include the City hall,
the Convent of Holy Infant Jesus and a number of other buildings. The research focusses on the
influence of the Raffles Hotel and City Hall in the modern architecture.
Purpose
The purpose of the research is to understand the influence of the colonial architecture on
the development of the city and the infrastructure of modern day Singapore. The research
focusses of the colonial influence on the architecture and the overall development in the modern
age.
Aim
The aim of the research is: To understand to the influence of colonialism in the
architecture of Singapore.

3
COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN SINGAPORE
Research Question
The questions to be studied in the research are:
 What are the effects of the Raffles Hotel on the architecture of Singapore?
 What are the effects of City Hall on the architecture of Singapore?
 What were the effects of the expatriate population on the colonial architecture in
Singapore?
Literature Review
The literature review focusses on collecting the data about the colonial architecture from
Singapore from various sources.
According to Yuen (2011), the development of the city of Singapore in the modern era is
dependent on the colonial era’s development of the modern age of the development of the city.
Before the advent of the globalization in the city of Singapore, the colonial architecture played a
very important role in the development of the city’s infrastructure to its modern ways. One of the
important aspect of the colonial age building in the city was that they borrowed extensively from
their colonizers. One of the important aspects of the era of development was the fact that the
different architectural influences of the western world is quite evident in the architecture of the
old city of the colonized age. It boasts of a number of buildings of different architectural
influences ranging from the gothic age influence of the buildings to the neoclassical buildings
(Hosagrahar 2012). The advent of the western architecture in a way served as a gateway of the
modern day Singapore. The colonial buildings stand out in the age stand out in contrast to the
different buildings of the city. The colonial era buildings have a stark resemblance to the colonial

4
COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN SINGAPORE
architecture of the buildings of the agwe in Europe and the colonial architecture of the then
colonies.
According to Henderson (2001),the advancement of legacy tourism fortifies these targets
as it is a `powerful power in the development and support of national character since it depends
upon the memorable images of the country as a methods for pulling in sightseers'. Legacy
tourism likewise produces income as an attractive ware, an impact which the realistic experts
completely appreciate. The loss of a lot of Singapore's assembled frontier and vernacular legacy
in the surge towards modernisation would, in this manner, damagingly affect traveler numbers.
The experience of colonization isn't, consequently, a reason for shame, yet rather of pride in
accomplishments ensuing and Raffles recognized as the figure who made this conceivable. The
treatment of Raffles influences an intriguing complexity to that to concurred to other
conspicuous pilgrim figures, for example, Cecil Rhodes. Generally, legislative and religious
organizations have a tendency to have held their unique purposes and physical structures with a
few special cases; versatile reuse, characterized as adjustments that allow `old structures to serve
a contemporary capacity.
As pointed out by Chun, Hassan and Noordin (2005), the colonial architecture in the city
of Singapore and the colonial countries have developed and adapted according to the climatic
needs of the colonists in the colonies. It is because of this that the architecture in the city of
Singapore and the oriental countries consists of large areas of rooms and the aerating areas.
Moreover the colonial buildings of an area also have an influence of the different colonies which
the colonizers colonize. The presence of Little India and Little China in Singapore is a good
example of this. The colonial buildings not only include the different buildings of the colonizers
influence but also the buildings which depict the influence of the other colonies who moved to

5
COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN SINGAPORE
the country during the age of colonization (Li 2007). The western influence started much early
Singapore being an important trade route it had the western influence way before the
colonization period.
Research Methodology
The research method of the research will be qualitative as it is a research about the
architectural changes in an area.
Data Collection
The data collection methods will be based on the archived data of the buildings’ histories
and the developmental aspects of the different buildings in the city. The data about the historical
facts of the buildings and their history are to be collected from the archives (Shultz, Hoffman and
Reiter-Palmon 2005). The archival research will help in understanding and analyzing the data
related to the different aspects of the research.
Research Approach
The research approach of the research will be descriptive focusing on the various aspects
and the effects of the colonialism on the architectural development of the city. One of the
important situations that are presented in the research are the development of the colonial
architecture and its influence in the development of the city.
Design Framework
The design framework of the research should be exploratory depending on the data
collected from the various resources and the archives for a proper analysis. One of the important
part of the research is understanding the historical and the cultural and the social scenarios in this
context.

6
COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN SINGAPORE
Ethical Consideration
While conducting the research a number of ethical considerations should be heeded on
for it to be proper. The data collected should be from true sources and the due credits should be
given to the sources for providing the data for the research.

7
COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN SINGAPORE
References
Chun, H.K., Hassan, A.S. and Noordin, N.M., 2005, September. An influence of colonial
architecture to building styles and motifs in colonial cities in Malaysia. In 8th International
Conference of the Asian Planning Schools Association.
Eng, T.S. and Savage, V.R., 1985. Singapore landscape: a historical overview of housing
change. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 6(1), pp.48-63.
Henderson, J.C., 2001. Conserving colonial heritage: Raffles hotel in Singapore. International
Journal of Heritage Studies, 7(1), pp.7-24.
Hosagrahar, J., 2012. Indigenous modernities: negotiating architecture and urbanism.
Routledge.
JOHNSON, E. and SYLVIA, M.L., 2018. Secondary Data Collection. Clinical Analytics and
Data Management for the DNP, p.61.
Kong, L. and Yeoh, B.S., 1994. Urban conservation in Singapore: a survey of state policies and
popular attitudes. Urban Studies, 31(2), pp.247-265.
Li, T.L., 2007. A study of ethnic influence on the facades of colonial shophouses in Singapore: a
case study of Telok Ayer in Chinatown. Journal of Asian Architecture and Building
Engineering, 6(1), pp.41-48.
Shultz, K.S., Hoffman, C.C. and Reiter-Palmon, R., 2005. Using archival data for IO research:
Advantages, pitfalls, sources, and examples. The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, 42(3),
p.31.

8
COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN SINGAPORE
Yuen, B., 2011. Urban planning in Southeast Asia: perspective from Singapore. The Town
Planning Review, 82(2), pp. 145-167.