URA - Singapore City Gallery

This place was something of a chance find having read about it on another Singapore blog.  It was also a last minute decision to go, based on the place I intended to go to being closed until next June for refurbishment.

The URA (Urban Redevelopment Authority) - Singapore City Gallery is housed in the office block of this authority in the Ground level of the building.  I have to admit this is one of the things I love about being in Singapore, just being able to wander in to an office block and find a shopping mall or an exhibition and at the same time be mingling with the office workers off to get their lunch.  You could never do the same back in the UK unless you had a specific reason for going in the building.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority is Singapore's land use planning authority, planning both long term strategies and more local level detailed plans for future land use.  As Singapore is so small it is seen as crucial to plan in this way to ensure Singapore's continued growth and they are tasked with finding innovative ways of achieving this.  The Singapore City Gallery therefore is basically the plans for Singapore's development captured in various architectural models and audiovisual exhibits.  If you want to know the plans for development in your area this is the place to go and find out.  Asides from that though it is also kind of fun spotting where you live on the models and other key landmarks here.

There were also a number of architectural models of other building projects around the world including a lot from London and even one from Ashford, Kent not far from where I hail from!  I never imagined I'd find a model of that building here in Singapore.  I could not resist taking some photos of them, can you recognise the buildings?

Heathrow Terminal 5

McArthurGlen Designer Outlet, Ashford, Kent

Houses of Parliament

Canary Wharf

The Gherkin and surrounding buildings

Trafalgar Square

Millennium Dome

I did, of course, take some photos of the Singapore architecture models and these can be seen below.

The area of Singapore that we live in.  The purple area around the Paya Lebar MRT station has been earmarked for redevelopment.  At the moment this is mainly large expanses of grass.

View looking down on the Central Business District

View looking across the island from the Central Business District

View looking east across the island from Changi Airport.