When the building first open in December 1955, the Asia Insurance Building was the tallest building in Southeast Asia – hard to believe, considering the immensity of the skyscrapers in present day Singapore. Today, the building is the Ascott Raffles Place Singapore, a luxurious hotel.
The Asia Insurance Building, 2 Finlayson Green, Singapore, +65 6736 9800
The Tiong Bahru flats were the first public housing estate in Singapore when they were built in the 1930s by the now-defunct Singapore Improvement Trust. Unlike later HDB blocks, it is clear that a significant amount of effort went into the design of these aesthetically pleasing homes, that feature elements of both Streamline Moderne and Straits Settlements architecture with elements such as rounded balconies, flat rooftops and spiral staircases.
Tiong Bahru block, 26 Tiong Bahru Rd, 26, Singapore
Tiong Bahru HDB blocks | © Dickson Phua/Flickr
Tiong Bahru HDB blocks | © Jonathan Lin/Flickr
Tiong Bahru HDB blocks | © Payton Chung/Flickr
Once Singapore’s rail link to Malaysia and the rest of the world, Tanjong Pagar Railway Station ceased operations in 2011. Currently the site is closed, although it will be reopened in 2018 with slight renovations as the Cantonment MRT station.
Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, 30 Keppel Rd, Singapore
Ticket office at Tanjong Pagar Railway Station | © shankar s./Flickr
Interior of the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station | © Lionel Leong/Flickr
Entrance to the Panjong Pagar Railway Station | © Walter Lim/Flickr