Ang Mo, Ah Beng and Rojak: Singapore’s architectural orientalism
Journal
Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering
Journal Volume
22
Journal Issue
2
Date Issued
2023
Author(s)
Abstract
Edward Said in Orientalism kicked off the age of postcolonialism in a global context, which suggests not only transdisciplinary applicability but also a form of counter-discourse against the canons of Western intellectualism. This paper borrows this awareness to examine contemporary Singaporean architecture. In Orientalism, Said alerted his readers that discourse often is more powerful and influential than the targeted reality; the analytical unfolding of power/knowledge manipulation in discourse can be a bidirectional tool for understanding the relationship of domination. Architecturally, Singapore’s open-market strategy for the political economy since its independence in 1965 can be seen as a forceful ideology of Orientalism imposed on the built environment, both from the native people’s self-positioning as Singaporeans and this city-state’s internal colonisation accomplished by centrifugal manipulation via external and interventionist forces. As important representations, Singapore’s operative modernity, Sinophone identity and cultural-political hybridity are noticeable through the slang descriptors of Ang Mo, Ah Beng and Rojak. The seemingly objective characteristics of placeless internationalisation and subjective elitism perceived from the contemporary state and identity construction of Singaporean architecture hence are further explained through observations from a lens of Orientalism. © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group on behalf of the Architectural Institute of Japan, Architectural Institute of Korea and Architectural Society of China.
Subjects
Asian architecture; orientalism; postcoloniality; Singapore; urbanism
Other Subjects
Architecture; Asian architecture; Global context; Market strategies; Open market; Orientalism; Political economy; Postcoloniality; Power/knowledge; Singapore; Unfoldings; Regional planning
Type
journal article