Don't Be Afraid Of Looking Ahead

Source : The New Paper, August 23, 2007

AS a 19-year-old I once scoffed at an architectural model of Singapore's new downtown area.

The model showed a gorgeous bay, futuristic buildings, expressways and stunning architectural structures.

It was reminiscent of a Joe Shuster depiction of Metropolis in a Superman comic book.

'Yeah right,' I thought, as I stood in front of the model at the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) six years ago.

I was then an intern with The Business Times, and had been sent to view the model as part of an assignment.

It was difficult to imagine that Marina Bay could look anything like that model.

After all, back then, the area consisted of nothing more than a few steamboat restaurants, a park, a couple of bowling alleys - and swamp land.

That's probably why I was momentarily unconvinced when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong presented a sneak peek at the future Punggol town in his National Day rally speech on Sunday.

With its pretty canals and waterfront homes, the housing area, as depicted on the slide show, looked too good to be true.

But should you be as sceptical towards Punggol as I was towards plans for Marina Bay's new downtown?

The new downtown I saw in the URA model is quickly taking shape before my eyes. I just haven't been paying much attention to the changes around me.

New structures are mushrooming in the Marina Bay area, the most prominent being the Esplanade, in all its spiky, glistening glory.

Then there's the Singapore Flyer, our giant ferris wheel on the Marina waterfront.

And, of course, we've seen the artist's impression of the Marina Integrated Resort, now a work in progress. The drawing promises a bold addition to our landscape unlike anything we've ever seen before.

In the blink of an eye, the construction sites at Marina Bay will be replaced by architectural works of creative genius. There will be new malls, bigger and more luxe than ever.

When that happens, I will have to take back all my flippant comments.

The changes in our landscape are happening so quickly that we forget, all too easily, what came before.

And that's where we allow scepticism to blind us to the possibility of things to come.

Where the Esplanade and Singapore Flyer used to be, there was only a quiet waterfront park. The parks, bowling alleys and restaurants in Marina South will soon, too, be a distant memory.

Six years ago, I was probably a little too hasty in writing off the possibility that our landscape could change so dramatically in such a short time.

This time, I won't be so quick to pooh-pooh the promises of what our future housing estates could look like.

Till they're ready, I'll be waiting with bated breath.