Source : The Straits Times, Feb 15, 2008
MY CONDO Clementi Park was built in the 1980s. It is a rambling, spacious and spread-out estate with 494 units on a million sq ft of land. There isn't a condo like it anywhere in Singapore. In the heart of my condo lies the unspoilt woods of Clementi Park. The hillside terrain, mature trees and park-like atmosphere would never be planned in the hustle-bustle world of today with its too-close buildings and utilitarian maximisation of land.
Apart from the Clementi Park hill, the blocks of the condo were built to match the undulating character of the land. Blocks were built into the hillside so a fourth floor apartment could be four storeys high from the front, but on road level at the rear. Unique stepped structures with charm and quaintness are surrounded by utter greenery.
Today, we marvel at conservation houses of 100 years ago for their historical value. Too many of them were demolished before we could fully appreciate what their loss would mean to us. I wonder if 50 years from now, our children's children will find unique estates like Clementi Park of historical value architecturally? In any case, for its stunning internal nature parks, it is already worth preserving.
In view of the urban renewal to Singapore's old condos which is happening at an astonishing rate, perhaps we should stop the demolition of mature estates for now. Enough. Let's look at the buildings of the past two, three or four decades with a different eye. They are a part of our history too.
Susan Prior (Ms)
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