Colours of the Past

A Peranakan enclave until the mid-1970s, culturally-rich Koon Seng Road boasts some of Singapore’s most well-preserved shophouses.  Constructed between the 1840s and the 1960s, the narrow two-story shophouse structures are ubiquitous throughout the island city-state.  While originally built for mixed use with the owners operating their businesses from the ground floor while living on the higher floor — hence the term ‘shop’ houses — many of these properties have over recent years been converted into private homes or commercial spaces such as cafes, restaurants, cocktail bars, boutique hotels or offices while adhering to strict Singapore conservation guidelines.  Whenever I walk past these heritage structures on Koon Seng Road, I stop and admire their beauty.  I’ve lived in Singapore for nearly 25 years, but I am still struck by the architectural attention to detail, the unique maximalist aesthetic and the cotton candy palette of this historical stretch of road.