060_fine city

Singapore hosts Youth Olympic Games (YOG) during 14-26 August 2010. Besides the venues and facilities for these young athletes, the city has prepared many other things to ensure the smooth operation of the show. One particular effort which is quite interesting and has an impact on urbanscape is the YOG lane. The five-ring logo is painted directly onto the second left-most lanes of designated routes. Drivers are required to give way to YOG vehicles. They would get S$130 fine as a reminder if found failing to do so. See what else, besides traffic signages, can be painted on the road surface at post #028 – the great singapore sale.

059_hyperfacade

Hyperfacade has recently become a norm for shopping mall design in Singapore. Imagine if all buildings in singapore glow in the dark... what would happen? Can we see this small country, represented by just a dot on the world map, blinking from the space?

058_landscape of fear

I accidentally found this interesting place some time ago while I was in a cab from somewhere back to my office. The walkway in the picture is no different from any others but it is made uncommon by its location. It cuts through a network of underground service lines including dangerous ones such as high voltage cables and gas pipes. Walking along this walkway probably gives you a chill down the spine like walking through a guaranteed safe path on a battlefield filled with landmines. Stepping out of it and then, boom!, you are gone.

057_HDB LUP

I have earlier written about HDB (public housing by Housing & Development Board) in 009_public housing. Space planning and outlook of the flats differ from each other depending on their generations. According to HDB, “some HDB blocks built before 1990 were not provided with 100% access to lift to meet demands for privacy”. The Lift Upgrading Program (LUP) is initiated by HDB to improve such condition. It is quite interesting to see how an existing building can be adapted to fit in a new element that was not designed for. Read more about LUP at http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10208p.nsf/WPDis/Lift%20Upgrading%20ProgrammeOverview?OpenDocument

056_short flight

Regulation is regulation. You don’t question or argue with regulation.

This is probably one of the shortest handrails in the world.

055_SDPC

It is considered an offence to bring a pack of duty-unpaid cigarettes into Singapore. To differentiate, with effect from 1 January 2009, all duty-paid cigarettes sold in Singapore will be marked with the letters SDPC on every individual stick. A packet of cigarettes without the marking will cost the offender a fine of S$500. SDPC stands for, no prizes for guessing, Singapore Duty-Paid Cigarettes.

054_F1’s first night race

The World’s first F1 night race will take place in Singapore on 28th September 08 (tomorrow) at 20:00 local time. Since the race begins at night, lighting is a key factor to ensure safety of drivers. The system, realised by Italian-based Valerio Maioli SpA, requires about 3000 lux to illuminate the circuit within the city’s Marina Bay area up to 4 times brighter than a typical stadium. This has resulted in a pretty interesting urban phenomenon – Illuminating City.