Organized by 3rd year architectural students and in conjunction with the Singapore Design Festival, ArchiFest is orgniazing architectural tours of residential and commercial landmarks in Singapore.
There are two varieties of Day Tours(Day Tripping and Day Reeling- am leaning towards the latter), which offers guided tours through architectural landmarks like the recently controversial Pearlbank Apartments, Singapore SIT flats and Golden Mile Complex.
An M18 tour spans nightlife offerings of nightspots housed within conserved(Muse, St James, Chijmes, Alley Bar) or buildings that have been deemed architecturally interesting(Loof, Zouk).
More information on the festival and tours here:
Outside Singapore, architectural tours are being offered in Brazil, whilst being based in Sao Paulo’s most architecturally innovative hotels and Rio’s secret boutique hideaways. You’ll be looking at the works of Niemeyer, alternately based in hotels by Ruy Ohtake, browsing through books in bookstores designed by Isay Weinfeld and experiencing alternate takes to the traditional favela tour.
Architectural tours are also increasingly being offered in Sri Lanka with a focus on Geoffrey Bawa and a combination of Sri Lanka’s top boutique hotels.
Luxury travel to China also sees a possibility in architecturally-inclined tours. You could either visit or stay in villas designed by Kengo Kuma and other contemporary architecture greats close to the Great Wall, take a tour of the atmospheric hutongs of Beijing while being based in a sumptuously restored courtyard home or visit historic old Chinese mansions that provided the setting for Raise the Red Lantern.
Mirroring a 1995-1996 move, the government, despite all press releases to the contrary, seems to signal that apartment prices might be getting too hot.
Govt withdraws Deferred Payment Scheme for property purchases
By Ng Baoying, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 26 October 2007 1853 hrs
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SINGAPORE : The government has withdrawn the deferred payment scheme for property purchases.
This applies to all residential, commercial and industrial properties.
This is seen as the clearest move yet to cool the property market.
Amid the strong growth in the property sector, there have been calls on the government to step in.
Analysts say the latest move did not come as a total surprise.
Tay Huey Ying, Research and Consultancy Director, Colliers International, says: “Just as the government has been watching the market, the market has also been watching the government very closely to see when they will be implementing measures to cool down the market. So I would say that this is something that the market is expecting. It’s just a matter of time.”
Under the Deferred Payment Scheme, developers could offer buyers of uncompleted private properties the option to defer part of their payment for the units they buy.
When the scheme first started, buyers had to pay an initial 20 percent downpayment in full.
They were allowed to defer payment on the remaining 80 percent of the purchase price.
But subsequently, they were allowed up to half of the downpayment.
These deferred payment plans have been seen as key to driving growth in the property market.
Property watchers say withdrawing the scheme will keep speculation in check but they expect the market to remain buoyant.
Mr Tay says: “Genuine purchasers are likely to continue to carry on with their purchases. And since demand fundamentals remain healthy, I think the level of activity will remain active especially since sub-sale currently accounts for only 12 per cent of total transactions. And in the mass market, sub-sales currently only account for only 5 per cent of total transactions.”
Private home prices have risen almost 23 percent so far this year. – CNA/ch
Original story here:
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Renewed call for condo lifeguards |
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| By Teh Joo Lin | ||
A LIFEGUARD at the Ridgewood Condominium in Mount Sinai recently pulled a resident out of the pool after he suffered a fit, saving his life. In another case, a lifeguard at the same estate was on hand to attend to a guest who had mistakenly dived into the shallow end of the pool and cut his brow. Recounting both incidents, estate resident and MP for Bukit Panjang Teo Ho Pin again made the case for all condominiums to have lifeguards. The chairman of the National Water Safety Council told The Straits Times: ‘Two lifeguards on rotating shifts had rescued quite a number of people over the years.’ It was money well spent, he said, responding to some condominium managers and residents who felt that hiring lifeguards was too costly. Their grouses: Pools are not used for the greater part of the day. The fewer the number of units in a condominium, the more residents have to pay for a lifeguard. Dr Teo first suggested that condominiums and clubs hire lifeguards after a 10-year-old boy drowned in the pool of the Palm Gardens condominium in Choa Chu Kang last month. Yesterday, Dr Teo again urged them to think of ‘life and death, not dollars and cents’. Lifeguards can perform many other tasks as well, including pool maintenance, testing water hygiene and educating residents and guests. ‘They don’t just sit there and do nothing,’ he said. Smaller condominiums could also consider cross-training their facility managers or security guards in water skills. Since 1998, more than 350 people have drowned and the council, set up in April, is hoping that, in time, everyone will be able to swim and even save someone in difficulty in the water. Its members recently returned from the World Water Safety 2007 conference in Portugal. Next week, they will fly to Perth in Australia to learn how various agencies there deal with water safety. The council’s latest initiative: distributing 5,000 water safety posters to pool operators both private and public, grassroots groups and agencies with water bodies under their charge. ‘We hope they will be displayed prominently in places where people can take a look at them,’ he said. Requests for posters can be directed to contact@watersafety.sg |
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Register the comments here:
And as expected, the reaction from the agents interviewed has been less than welcoming.
I understand that there’s a practice of building managers opening up doors for potential tenants (not in Singapore) but personally disagree with the idea of having security guards(who are,technically, supposed to be patrolling the compunds and manning the security post) open the doors. Let it be a live-in representative from the Management Corporation. As it is, security guards now are already being expected to double up as a condominium lifeguard following the spate of mishaps in lifeguard-less condominiums.
Unless the MC’s alluding that the security guard’s task is largely ceremonial….
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Unusual deal for condo owners proposed |
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| Richmond Park’s MC seeks powers to co-broke sale, rental of units; discount on monthly contributions for those who don’t opt out | |||
| By Lin Xinyi | |||
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AN UNUSUAL proposal is being pitched at apartment owners at Richmond Park: Its management corporation (MC) is seeking the power to co-broke the sale and rental of their units in return for half the commission from the transactions, which will go into the management fund. Owners who let the MC play co-broker will get a 20 per cent discount off what they pay to the management fund for up to 12 months. Those who want no part of this scheme will need to opt out, and pay 20 per cent more in their monthly contribution. However, it is not clear how this will apply to an owner who is selling his unit. These are among the by-laws which the condo’s MC chairman, Dr David Tan, will propose at its seventh annual general meeting (AGM) tomorrow. Noting that about a third of Richmond Park’s apartment owners were living in Indonesia or Hong Kong and were either absentee landlords or absentee home owners, he said: ‘It is primarily in their interest that we have conceptualised this by-law.’
Its objective, said the 69-year-old retired eye surgeon, is to generate revenue for the maintenance fund so contributions to the fund can be kept low, since raising contribution rates always meets with resistance. Not everyone is thrilled with the idea – the resident-owners, for instance. A resident who has lived there for seven years said: ‘Why should I give up my sole right to sell or lease my unit? This narrows my choices of agents who are willing to help me market my apartment, since they get only half the commission.’ Located in the heart of Orchard Road, Richmond Park has 159 units, each paying between $330 and $660 in monthly maintenance fees, depending on unit size. Industry experts say the by-law is unusual. Knight Frank Estate Management – which manages the condo and 90 other estates – went as far as to say it was unheard of. Lawyer S. K. Phang of Phang & Co, saying an MC had no right to be a broker, explained that such a function fell outside the roles and powers of an MC as defined by the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act. He added that even if all attendees at tomorrow’s AGM are fine with the proposed by-law, it does not follow that it would pass muster with the Strata Titles Board. Chesterton International’s head of research and consultancy, Mr Colin Tan, added: ‘People don’t realise that they can challenge certain by-laws. If they are unreasonable, they may not stand in the court of law.’ Real estate company PropNex’s chief executive, Mr Mohamad Ismail, said no one had so far proposed this to his agents, and that PropNex would ‘keep the option open at this juncture’. Dr Tan is also proposing that security guards and staff be paid to show the units to prospective buyers and tenants. He said: ‘We know our property better than anybody else. We know the market value and the rentals charged by all units.’ Mr Ismail, however, said real estate agents had a better idea of market changes and demand. He, too, sees resident-owners losing out in the scheme, because the agent working with the condo management may not want to co-broke with other agents, which would further divide up the commission pie. It might thus take longer to find buyers and tenants, and resident-owners may lose a month’s rental waiting for the deal to close. Dr Tan, saying he expected resistance as he was ‘going into uncharted waters’, added: ‘I don’t see why this by-law will not be passed. It benefits everyone all round.’ |
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The original link here:
I’d first seriously considered wall decals when I saw it on (published photographs) featuring the roof terrace of a TCS 8 actor’s penthouse.
The aforementioned Goodrich Global carries some lines of decals.
Blik, has become somewhat synonymous with fun wall decals but I’m not sure if it’s as yet available in Singapore.
Photo via ApartmentTherapy.
Wink is the locally available equivalent. I found Gaia and Barcode to be the most appealing.
although Cribs would surely find some interesting applications as well…
