NEW TRADE DIRECTORY
BOOK REVIEWS
must be impressed by the great The tradition of building in the diversity of trades and industries early years of the Settlement was Recently received was the 1953 54 which centre upon the Manchester Palladian. This was the official idiom edition of the Trade Directory issued Chamber; and by the wide range of and established formal architectural by the Manchester Chamber of Com- commodities to be drawn upon from style of 18th century Great Britain merce; this book is designed to foster its membership, sure in the know- and. carried overseas by British and preserve trade between the ledge that, in the production of so architects. It penetrated to her re- United Kingdom and countries over- many things, inherited skill and motest colonies. Palladianism was, craftsmanship have worked hand in therefore, an importation into Singa- hand with the application of new pore from England. via the East techniques and scientific advance- India Company's centres of govern- ment. The expansion of the vast ment at Fort William (Calcutta), and varied regional industries makes Fort St. George and the Castle at an up to date Trade Directory such Bombay. Singapore was singularly as this most desirable. The business fortunate in having in the earliest should find his task greatly eased.
both at home and overseas, days,
seas.
Upon Manchester has fallen the distinction of becoming the heart and nerve centre of the main mass of British industry. It is now the trading centre for a vast area for which the City provides the packing. warehousing, shipping, insurance. banking and allied services, in addi- tion to helping in industrial research and design. The Port of Manchester, fourth among British seaports, is the nearest port for manufacturers as far away as Birmingham and Wolver- hampton, ninety miles distant.
man,
ARCHITECTURE IN SINGAPORE
civilian architect, G. D. Coleman, trained in this classic tradition in his youth. and who had practised in Calcutta from 1816 until 1820. and in Batavia from 1820 until 1826. when he finally settled Singapore.
in
Coleman was responsible for de- portion of Singapore and laid out the signing and building a considerable
centre of the town in the well ar- ranged and expansive plan which served admirably for so many years. Coleman and his immediate succes- sors skilfully adapted the Palladian manner to suit the tropics. These early architects, skilled in classical proportions, developed a Colonial
for
The book, which is the first post- war issue of this useful publication. is beautifully printed and bound and contains 254 pages. The price of the directory is ten shillings, which is extremely reasonable considering its high quality; it may be obtained from the publishers The Manchester Manchester is no mere provincial Chamber of Commerce. Ship Canal city but a true cosmopolitan metro- House, King Street, Manchester 2. polis, lying at the centre of a densely England. populated region and served by a network of main roads and railways and by its own great airport.
This is a booklet of 40 pages con- To the imaginative, this directory sisting of notes by T.H.H. Hancock, classic idiom with the solidity of the tells a romantic story of a powerful A.R.I.B.A., M.T.P.I., and C.A. Gibson- Doric order, with deep and wide commercial and industrial organisa- Hill, M.A.. on a collection of photo- verandahs and hooded openings for tion the Manchester Chamber of graphs exhibited in the British shade, single room thickness Commerce-whose members offer to Council Hall in Singapore from 26th through the world
ventilation and louvred an infinite variety of March to 5th April. goods and services.
windows to give light, yet reducing glare, and for protection from sud- After a brief editorial, the facts
sponsored den heavy rain storms. Coleman be- presented to the reader fall into two jointly by the Singapore Art Society came the first Government Superin- categories-firstly an alphabetical list and the Institute of Architects of tendent of Public Works holding the 5.000 members of the Malaya, and was held in conjunction office from 1833-1841. A high stan- Chamber, giving trade descriptions, with an exhibition of illustrations of dard of design and local craftsman- addresses and telephone numbers; current and proposed work by mem-
ship was developed under his in- secondly there is a more colourful bers of the latter body. It was open his death in 1844.
fluence, which persisted long after break-down in a classified trade ed formally by the Hon. Mr. T.P.F. index. comprising 13,000 entries McNeice, C.M.G., O.B.E., President of under one thousand main headings. the City Council, Singapore. a considerable number of which cover products of Interest to archi- tects, engineers and builders. Both sections are supplemented and inter- spersed with attractive display ad- vertisements, a number of which are beautifully reproduced in full colour. thus detailing the vast ramifications of the membership and presenting a useful Buyers' Guide.
of
The exhibition was
Architectural style has variable moods, and changes in response to the ideals of each successive genera- The photographs were prepared by tion and improved social conditions. C.A. Gibson-Hill, A.R.P.S., of the Singapore's architects over the past Raffles Museum, Singapore, to illus- century successfully employed the trate the history and development of style and idiom in vogue to provide building in the settlement over the a Colonial manner of design afford- last 125 years, and to record the ing conditions of maximum comfort more interesting and outstanding in all types of buildings, whilst de- examples of the work done over this veloping and improving new methods period. The collection was composed of construction and using new The influence of the Manchester mostly of photographs of buildings materials. Chamber of Commerce has extended extant in 1950-54, but in addition Dr. over three centuries its forerunner, Gibson-Hill had added copies of some the Manchester Commercial Society, of the old prints and paintings in the was formed in 1794; then came the Raffles Museum collection, and in his Manchester Chamber in 1820. Service personal collection, to cover struc- has been the keynote throughout this tures and vistas that have now dis- long period of time-service built appeared. It is hoped that it will be upon the sure foundation of volun- possible to publish about two-thirds The thirty-five photographs with tary effort and leadership.
of these 180 pictures, together with which the booklet is illustrated additional material, in book form, include views of the charming Ar- A book of this kind provides a through the Government Printer. menian Church with its lovely tower, valuable work of reference. To the Singapore, some time in 1955. In the the interesting Java Road Mosque, buyer at home and abroad, it pre-
the Catholic Cathedral, Government sents a shop window for one of the
House, and progress up to the new most densely populated and produc-
Clemenceau Avenue Flats and other tive areas of the world. The reader
recent outstanding buildings.
meantime the notes included in this booklet have been offered to illus- trate the collection of prints as it stood at the time of the exhibition,
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The exhibition of photographs illustrated the development of archi- tectural styles in the past hundred years of Singapore's history, and showed the progress of fine building in the Colony.