Unique Singapore architecture, the shophouse

[redstone]

The shophouses of Singapore!
Shophouses were built from the early 1820s right to the 1970s.

Ranging from 2 to up to 5 storeys tall, these little buildings have a business facility on the ground floor and residential (usually the owner of the business) on the top floors...

Most of the older ones built pre 1930s are very ornate and beautiful.
Many of these shophouses had been turned into chic hotels, budget hotels, offices, hostels and even integrated into condos.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/rotpics03/sh.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/redstone2/shgey2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/rotpics03/sh2.jpg

http://img220.exs.cx/img220/766/ecrsh43zj.jpg

[redstone]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v133/RafflesCity/besar.jpg
^Peranakan (Straits Chinese) style

http://files.photojerk.com/RafflesCity/weirdsh.jpg
^Arts centre

http://img140.exs.cx/img140/5959/ren9yd.jpg
^Shophouse row integrated into a hotel highrise, Hotel Rendezvous

http://files.photojerk.com/RafflesCity/shbal.jpg
http://pachome1.pacific.net.sg/~mippy/besarsh3.jpg
^Heavily decorated ones...

http://img122.exs.cx/img122/3880/shaerial.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/17585722.jpg

[Cliff]

WOW! Very nice pics! Are shophouses only found in Singapore?

[babystan03]

WOW! Very nice pics! Are shophouses only found in Singapore?

I don't think so.......:yes:

[RafflesCity]

Thanks for posting some of my pictures redstone ;)

[kiku99]

very unique:)

[loureed]

Beautiful and ornate. They give Singapore another layer.

[redstone]

Thanks! :D

They are generally overlooked....
There are 3 shophouse conservational areas all around the CBD, which resulted in a very narrow skyline.

Some of these little buildings have towering skyscrapers as their neighbours. :)

[redstone]

http://img119.exs.cx/img119/314/ksrdshp8gd.jpg

http://img27.exs.cx/img27/6246/sh1929a7hv.jpg

http://img43.photobucket.com/albums/v133/RafflesCity/sha.jpg

http://img145.exs.cx/img145/3656/keongsaik56td.jpg
Art Deco shophouse at a fork, Chinatown

http://img50.exs.cx/img50/6231/flatironsh.jpg
Shophouse at a fork with a tower, Boat Quay

[Sonic from Padova]

great pics, there is a big contrast of old and modern architecture of the city!

[Ashok]

nice pics

[redstone]

http://e.1asphost.com/sssc/Panoramas/6a.JPG
^Chinatown Heritage District, with the skyline in the background

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/85view.jpg
^Overview of Chinatown

http://img32.exs.cx/img32/9342/dscn04049uq.jpg
^The glass canopy is the entrance for Chinatown MRT (subway) station... :runaway:

http://img170.exs.cx/img170/4607/dscn20031ys.jpg
^Simpler designs....

http://img190.exs.cx/img190/3684/csq48kb.jpg
^The little yellow shophouse on the right is the original style of the shophouse. No ornamentation very minimal deco. These are the oldest kind of sshophouse dating to the 1830s. The more ornate ones are 'newer' ones.


Shophouses can reflect the owner's ethnic group, affluence and period it was built. The most unique are blended styles. :cool:

Decorative tiles meant Peranakan style. Bamboo-shaped green roof tiles meant the original owner was Chinese, for example. ;)

[RafflesCity]

In addition to Chinatown, there are several other districts that contain clusters of shophouses, including the conservation areas of Little India & the traditional Malay area of Kampong Glam.

[szehoong]

WOW! Very nice pics! Are shophouses only found in Singapore?


Shophouses are also found in Malaysia. This unique architecture are found in all cities and towns in Malaysia. ;)

In fact the city of George Town in Penang had more shophouses than Singapore and the historical city of Melaka combined. And Melaka had some of the oldest shophouses in this region. Malaccan shophouses are usually of the Peranakan origin. :)

[redstone]

Any pics? :D

[jlshyang]

Georgetown, Penang have even more of this shophouses and more variety ompared to Singapore's!! A lot of them can be found in downtown Georgetown co-existing with modern architecture. However, most of the shophouses in Penang are not very well maintained and preserved like in Singapore.

[redstone]

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/5804/c0hr.jpg

http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/2074/c12cl.jpg
Smile! :D

[Arpels]

great pics!!

[RafflesCity]

Many of the preserved shophouses install lighting to enhance their beauty at night:

Here is an example of one:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/rotpics03/balnite.jpg

[samsonyuen]

I may sound crazy, but it looks like an old Western town in the US, but Asianized.

[babystan03]

Some handheld night pictures in Chinatown

1.
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e126/ylstan02/Chinatown%20Handheld/DSC_0001.jpg

2.
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e126/ylstan02/Chinatown%20Handheld/DSC_0015.jpg

3.
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e126/ylstan02/Chinatown%20Handheld/DSC_0021.jpg

4.
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e126/ylstan02/Chinatown%20Handheld/DSC_0035.jpg

5.
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e126/ylstan02/Chinatown%20Handheld/DSC_0018.jpg