Balestier Trail

Title: Balestier trail

Writeup: Or should I say, Balestier point and Sim Kwong Ho Shophouse .Balestier is a notable piece of living history with interesting arhitechual designs to its name.It was listed as one of Singapore's heritage trails on the heritage page and with good reason., while it is highly unlikely Sim Kwong Ho Shophouse may be torn down anytime soon, I can't say the same for the building Balestier point.While having won a Singapore Institute of Architects Honourable Mention Award in 1987, the building looks dusty and gray-ish now and olddddd.... Built in 1986, Balestier Point is an award-winning residential cum shopping development which derives its inspiration from the original cellular housing project called Habitat 67 designed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie in Montreal, Canada.

1986! The only credit to it's name is the design ! Stacked like Lego bricks, local firm RDC Architects attempted to balance the privacy of homes with the density of community living by separating the shops from the homes in this mixed-use development, where commercial and residential spaces are combined into one. A unique feature of this development is that all the homes have their own terraces and gardens in the sky. This takes advantage of our tropical climate to create high-rise greenery.

The shopping mall now is old, many of the shops vacant, the only few are bars and some jade shops catering to the older generaton.A young developer might buy the space and change the part of the shopping esatate or that part down in the near future, heck, the future is always uncertain.

Sim Kwong Ho Shophouse .Located opposite Balestier Point, this row of shophouses was built in 1926 by a female developer called Madam Sim Cheng Neo who also owned many other properties in the area. A conserved shophouse, it has recently been repainted for a fresher look, new glass panels refitted
 into it's windows.While time may go on, sometimes the old has to adapt to the changing times.
Group: DA0904
Name of student:Vickie Yong  

(( Did i  do this correctly?))