November, 2018 Singapore Bicetennial
BR UTAL IST Inspired by Singapore’s Brutalist architecture
Modular Font
By Annie Wu
1 Singapore’s Brutalist architecture stand as reminder of the newly postindependence era in late 60’s and 70’s.
Singapore’s bicentennial commemoration 2019 is a time to celebrate and reflect on what’s made the country it is today. ...
Brutalist architecture reflects the ‘can-do spirit’ of those who built them. They represent a time when there was “much more belief and conviction in doing things on our own”, architect Weng Hin Ho says, rather than relying on foreign multinationals to come in and build an identikit city.
Brutalism as architecture in the raw, with an emphasis on materials, textures and construction, producing highly expressive forms.
It has a uncompromising approach to the display of structure and services, albeit in a steel building rather than reinforced concrete.
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Brutalist is derived from the French phrase ‘béton burt’ which translates to ‘raw concrete’. ... Vital infrastructure such as HDB’s are built in Brutalist style. Not only are they cheap to build (concrete) but the bulky structures also symbolise strength and power.
Brutalist architecture wasn’t built to decorate but be functional and utilitarian.
This font is a homage to Brutalist architecture within Singapore, in both contemporary cityscape and historical context.
I was inspired by People’s Park Complex and the Golden Mile Complex. The architects behind both are William Lim, Tay Kheng Soon and Koh Seow Chuan, of Design Partnership (DP Architects).
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People’s Park Complex 1 Park Rd, Singapore 059108
Opened in 1972 and built on the site of ‘People’s Park Market’ ...
The building a six-storey offices, and apartments -
is divided into two zones podium block for shops and a 25-storey slab block of 31 floors in total.
A three-storeyed atrium in the podium block with a sunken plaza was accessible from all sides of the building, with all shops visible at once. Residents in the high-rise had a roof deck to mingle in. At the time, the Complex was the largest and tallest shopping-cum-residential complex ever built in Singapore and the atrium was the first in Asia.
People’s Park Complex was internationally hailed as a masterpiece of 1970s experimental architecture.
The atrium was intended as ‘the people’s living room’, open at all hours for the residents of Chinatown to eat, shop and play.
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Golden Mile Complex 5001 Beach Rd, Singapore 199588
Completed in 1973, originally called Woh Hup Complex. ...
This 16-storey building is a mish-mash of 400 shops, 220 offices and 70 apartments. On one side the offices and apartments had unobstructed views of the seafront with terraces for small gardens. On the other side, the reversed tiers meant that each floor shaded the floor below from the sun.
In August 2018, it was announced that the building is going en bloc as 724 owners of 550 units have signed the collective sale agreement - representing 80.83% of the total share value of the development - and the required approval of 80% has been met.
The shallow, staggered profile allowed for better ventilation and lighting. The building has a ‘stepped-back terrace’ form, the first of its kind in Singapore.
The Golden Mile Complex was designed as a high-density, vertical self-contained city.
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Modules An arc, a line, & a cube, from these, nine modules are created. ... Golden Mile Complex and People’s Park Complex were the inspiration behind the modules. The arc was borrowed from the porthole windows found in both buildings. The line and cube are symbolic of building construction through the process of stacking and calculated repetition.
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R R R R R
R R R R R
R R R R R
R R R R R
R R R R R
R R R R R
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ABC DE FGHI J K L M N OP Q R S T U V WXY Z
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9 Round forms.
OQCG S Round-square forms.
BPR DJU M NVAW
Square forms.
EF LHIT Diagonal-square forms.
XKZY
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Stem
Cap X height
Base
Bowl
Cross-bar
Counter
Arms
SINGAPOR E Spine
Counter
Throat-spur
Leg
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BUILT IN A SURG E OF ARCHITECTUR AL CONFIDENCE