The architectural present - hypertopia in Singapore

• Author(s): Rosmaninho, João ; Lopes, Margarida
• Date: 2025
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10773/44689
• Origin: RIA - Repositório Institucional da Universidade de Aveiro
• Subject(s): Hypertopia; Singapore; Architecture; Urbanism; Simulacra
• Document Type: Book part
• Language: English

Description

Singapore has seen architecture emerge as a potent force driving economic, visual, social, and political gains. Despite its limited land area, Singapore has transformed from a swampy island into a first-class metropolis since 1965, symbolizing urban progress and spatial innovation. The city-state is considered a successful model due to a combination of shedding its past and embracing a future-oriented approach, aligned with short-term global aspirations. This article outlines a framework consisting of four topics, each introduced and concluded with specific texts. The narrative trajectory commences with the portrayal of the city as an artistic creation and progresses towards its untamed depiction, akin to a jungle. This evolution represents the transition from art to authenticity, from civilization to savagery, thereby unveiling Singapore’s inherent duality. Additionally, the article incorporates four images, each corresponding to a specific theme under discussion, reinforcing the correlation between visual representation and textual content. Through these four topics, the city of Singapore is analysed from the viewpoint of a “thematic speculative”, unveiling its characteristics stemming from the “exploration of new perspectives”. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that this article draws from a master’s dissertation. While it does not cover every aspect of the research, it does touch upon significant points explored in the dissertation.