Across the Kallang River from my apartment block is the Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital. I can see the small complex from my bedroom window; three modern buildings with tall windows, rooftop gardens, a cubist facade. It's inviting like a hotel. What I like most are the thick vines that hang from each balcony. Bushy yet threadlike, a dense cascade that sways under the rain and wind. The hospital looks fuzzy to the touch--a far cry from the typical imposing medical institution.
It is quite common for buildings in Singapore to have greenery overflowing down their outer walls. The built enviornment is a mimicry--the ubiquitous Rain Trees that tunnel the highways and umbrella the riparian paths, for example, are draped with jutting ferns, coats of moss and flowers, shooting spines and silky bunches, a layered canopy sheltered by a flat-topped crown that cannot but blossom amidst such abundance of water, sun, warmth. The city emerges from an equatorial dream.
Lee Kuan Yew envisioned a garden city from the beginning, and the national approach since has been full-throated. From the CBD skyscrapers to the airport, the MRT stations, the art deco neighborhoods, concrete is meshed with life.
Their style is a peaceful manicured softness, an abandoned yet welcoming allure. The caress and gentle of something slow, natural, geologic. It blunts the harshness of a city of millions. It soothes the contours of humanity.
I took pictures of the buildings I liked most (plus a crazy tree). The integration of foliage is prevalent, and the layering is omnipresent. This is the 21st century rainforest.
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