Three Ecologies of Tropical Singapore

Architectural Dissertation, 2020

10,000 words

My undergraduate dissertation interrogates the definition of tropicality in the context of Singapore, with reference to its architecture, history and culture. As contemporary Singapore provides a range of suburban conditions (from Erik L’Heureux’s modern houses to traditional kampongs), all of which coexist as part of her tropicality, the paper seeks to investigate the definition of tropicality and its underlying assumptions.

Through my research, it was evident that temperate-centric, colonial prejudices of tropicality pervade much of the related literature. Hence, the need for an alternative, non-Western mode of critique in evaluating Singapore’s tropicality became apparent. To do so, the paper draws from the works of selected Western and local academics, and proposes three ecologically-driven lines of inquiry: a critical evaluation of ocularcentric tendencies; openings to the wider understanding of Singapore’s subjectivities and accommodation for ‘vegetal being’; and a concomitant study into an ecology of socio-environmental patterns.

The graphics of this dissertation are intended to evoke the local Singaporean culture — the bright orange palette alludes to Singapore’s ubiquitous hawker tables; all chapter titles are translated into the four official national languages of Singapore, which can also be commonly seen on public signage; a Singlish word, an example of the local lexicon, is inscribed on every page and accompanied by relevant graphics.

Please find below a selection of pages from my dissertation.