Shophouses have long been associated with Singapore’s cultural identity and heritage. It can be traced back to as early as 1822 under the leadership of Sir Stamford Raffles, regarded as the founder of modern Singapore. He envisioned how we wanted the port city to look from a distance and issued a set of ordinance that outlines his preferred building type for the city’s skyline.
The specification of his preferred building type became the template for the construction of a squat, two-storey building with an active business on the ground floor and the residence of the proprietor would be situated above. This is what we came to know as shophouses.
Did you know that since its early days, shophouses have undergone six significant changes to its style in accordance with its period? Here are the six styles of shophouses you need to know!
The Formative Years: The Early Shophouse style (1840s-1900s)
The earliest style of shophouses were only the essentials with minimal ornaments and decorations.
It typically featured shutter windows and roofs that were made of clay tiles that were produced locally. Early Shophouses are low, squat, and feature two-storeys with one or two windows on the upper floor’s facade. The doors and the windows tend to be rectangular with timber framed with a shutter of boards, panels, or louvres. The ornaments may be minimal but it is strongly attached with ethnic sources, reflecting the immigrants who built these shophouses.
Raffles’ “prototype” of shophouses can be found standing south of the river between South Bridge and New Bridge Roads. The former road connected the city to the important New Harbour, which we know today as Keppel Harbour. To maximize their reach, many businesses, such as wholesale and retail traders, warehouses, and goldsmiths, chose to establish themselves along the road
The First Touches of Creativity: The First Transitional Shophouse style (early 1900s)
As the new century came around, shophouses began undergoing significant changes to their appearances as the First Transitional Shophouse style. The arrival of craftsmen and other skilled labourers to Singapore changed the way shophouses looked. Decorative plasterwork and u tiles to the facades of the shophouses brought radiant looks to the city’s streets.
The First Transitional Shophouse style is structurally taller than its predecessor due to the greater height of each storey. Timber-shuttered windows and doors are prevalent with a small plate of glass in the shutters increasingly becoming common. Usually, there are two windows on the second storey and transoms that are either flat-arched, semi-circular, or rectangular, infilled with timber-framed glass, cast iron, or carved timber panels.
Explosions of Colours: The Late Shophouse style (1900-1940)
The Late Shophouse style is the third wave of shophouse in Singapore, with its most notable feature being the three windows on the upper floor, and the explosive use of colors. The artisans took inspirations from across the globe, resulting in facades with detailed plaster, tile and cast iron ornamentation work that attracted a great deal of attention for passersby.
These stylish shophouses were funded by people who came to wealth during the rubber boom from 1900 to 1930. The tripartite arrangements on the window facade provides maximum ventilation by reducing the wall spaces. In the later years, the “wall” surface was replaced by columns and pilasters that framed the windows. Singapore’s rich ethnic traditions play a key role in the various facade designs. The shophouses were adorned with brightly-colored ceramic tiles and plaster bouquets, festoons, plaques, and other ornaments.
They can be found in Emerald Hill, where luxurious architectural features, including ornate Peranakan tiles, decorative Corinthian columns, large French windows, and intricate carved details, continue to be the source of pride and joy for the residents, the locals, and tourists alike to this day.
Muted and Subdued: The Second Transitional Shophouse style (late 1930s)
The Second Transitional style features muted designs (Image Credit: Urban Redevelopment Authority, 2023)
Shophouses that were built in the late 1930s became more subdued and muted. As a result, the end products were simple and streamlined geometric forms. Elements of Late Style were combined with Art Deco’s style cross-braced glass window panels and their simple geometric balustrade design.
The simplified designs were either attributed to the reaction to the explosive designs of the Late Style or reflecting the country’s economic condition as a result of The Great Depression (August 1929–March 1933).
Streamlining: The Art Deco Shophouse Style (1930-1960)
After the transition from the second transitional style, art deco shophouses became more common in the streets of Singapore from 1930 to 1960. Classical motifs were streamlined such as the column orders, arches, keystones and pediments into geometric designs. Decorative wall tiles are rarely used in this style.
More focus is given on the proportional beauty and elevation composition of the whole row of shophouses, with a special emphasis on street corners. Another notable feature is the plaques that marked the year of the building’s construction.
Art deco shophouses can be found along 486-588 Serangoon Road which features fair-faced brickwork and symmetrical corner facades.
In Contemporary Era: The Modern Shophouse Style (1950-1960)
The last shophouse style is the Modern Shophouse style that has been around since 1950. The designs were geared towards functionalism to fulfill the needs for modern facilities for the middle-class.
This style features very thin concrete fins and air vents to improve ventilation and serve as decorative purposes. The windows were adjusted and customized to complement the geometric design for the facade, less ornaments were used, and modern materials were prevalent.
Discover more insights with the PropNex Shophouse Elites team!
Comments