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UrbaneSpaces Profile and Articles
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1). What counts as luxury in the Singapore Real Estate Market
1. A HUGE bathroom, with the requisite his and hers sinks and standalone bathtubs(i love the claw-footed ones but the modern egg-shaped ones like those in Hills and Grange Residences are pretty swank too).
2. More than 3000sqft of space- brand new. Older apartments make the 3000sqft mark easily, with newer developments typically characterized by teeny flats, and selling at more than $1000psf.
2). Shopping for a chic pied-a-terre in Singapore
An article in the International Herald Tribune talks about the variety of ‘modern luxury condos’ that have been developed in Singapore. Whilst good workmanship and quality of materials have been cited as factors that make Singapore’s condominiums desirable and have allowed its property market to be categorized as aspirational , the rush to tap into the renewed interest in private properties and the craze for ‘modern’ design has spawned varying interpretations of modern, contemporary architecture.
3). The death knell of the en bloc purchase
Was that a little too dramatic? I was honestly surprised by the success of the en bloc process of Habitat 1- the development quite recently received a major facelift and now has an enivably sleek, modern pool area, a soignee entrance, huge swivel doors of glass with oak handles connecting the reception area to the pool and an incredibly happy guard sitting behind the lit onyx reception area(he has a streamlined, flat screen computer monitor via which he monitors the goings- on in the building).
4). The specter of the spectacle- re-creating simulacra
Have not been able to shake off my sense of dramatics-
Guy Debord, leader of the Situationists International, warned of the 'Spectre of the Spectacle'- where one work of art inspires its own set of reproductions and is copied over and over again, further distancing us from the real experience.
Showflats, a space where 'apartment living' or quite often, 'aspirational living' is re-created, have de-generated into copies of one another.
5). How Conservation Got its Groove Back
Tacky- sounding title that but conservation efforts have been given an entirely new facade with new developments that have incorporated conservation buildings within the development.
Technically a necessity(since it's a conserved building you can't raze it down and that conserved building happens to sit squarely on your coveted plot of land..), developers have been quick to turn the conserved building into a distinctive marketing advantage.
6). Cluster houses- the urban compromise
Increasingly well-(and possibly, unrealistically) landscaped, I've previously dubbed cluster houses as the 'urban compromise made palatable'- where a garden space is sometimes allocated to your plot, providing a feel of living in a landed property without the associated costs and maintenance.
Whilst most of the cluster houses involve mid-range private.
7). Lofts as a State of Mind
I know that in my early days in real estate, I advertised an 'apartment with the feel of a converted warehouse loft'- and all it meant was a brand new penthouse within an edgy, fashionable development that generously inculcated the use of perforated steel on its staircases leading to the roof terrace as well as the flooring of the roof terrace(that.
8). Philippe Starck finishings
When a real estate ad in a mainstream paper declares:'Philippe Starck finishing' ,
'modern loft' and 'zen minimalist apartment' become keywords /phrases that become part of real estate marketing jargon, possibly it's time to move on.
Judging by some of the apartments I've seen that were advertised as 'zen minimalist', there are some peculiar interpretations of the minimalist aesthetic out there.
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