Queenstown Market

Queenstown was Singapore’s first comprehensive satellite new town, developed to ease the acute housing shortage in the congested city centre. Central to the concept of a new town was self-sufficiency, and Queenstown Market was at the heart of this neighbourhood. Housing a fresh produce market, sundry stores, and a hawker centre, the two-storey structure has a striking and unusual form that departs from the repetitive modular designs typified in the surrounding apartment blocks. 

The building features a series of bold concrete parabolic arches capped by a sweeping steel-clad barrel-vault roof. The elegant engineering solution did away with internal columns, adding a sense of airiness to the interiors. The lofty volume of the fresh produce market on the second storey, accompanied by skylights and perforated building facades, also serves to facilitate air movement and natural daylight, which is crucial for the market’s functioning. Stalls here are expressed as “plugged-in” cellular units and this exuberant composition evokes the spontaneity and flavour of the traditional Asian marketplace. Queenstown Market’s community spirit was so strong that vendors were known to allow purchases on credit for needy residents. As part of efforts to preserve the visual and place history of Queenstown, the Market was gazetted for conservation in 2014. 

Location: 38 Commonwealth Avenue, Singapore 149738

Architects: Singapore Improvement Trust

Year: 1960

Status: Conserved in 2014

 

by Jeremy San

by Jeremy San

The build-in stall furniture is made of concrete and finished in white terrazzo. The innovative terraced design allowed stall owners to display their goods effectively and attractively. The community spirit was so strong in Queenstown Market that vendors were known to allow purchases on credit, sometimes up to a few months, for needy residents.

by Jeremy San

The lightweight steel roof supported by delicate steel arched trusses. The elegant engineering solution did away with internal columns, adding a sense of airiness to the interiors.

The skylights and perforated building façade facilitate air movement and natural daylight, crucial for the market’s functioning.

by Jeremy San

Patterned light and shadows from the walls of precast ventilation blocks, together with cheerful white and blue bands of mosaic flooring, add a celebratory touch to a well-loved everyday space.

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Last modified on 12 May 2021. Description by Ho Weng Hin.