Exhibition

I had been intending to write a word about the Draft Masterplan exhibit for some time now, but up till now, I've been repeatedly foiled by two factors: the information embargo that was in place before it opened officially last Friday, and surprises that have popped up nearly every day since last Friday. So, in expectation of some new surprise coming up tomorrow, I thought it wise to take this chance to do a short spiel on the exhibit.

This time round, besides the usual information on Marina Bay and the five regional plans (North, North-east, East, Central and West), there is a sizable section on the newly unveiled Leisure Plan, and the new development hotspots in Jurong, Paya Lebar and Kallang. I was primarily involved in the Leisure Plan, specifically in the panels concerning the Lim Chu Kang area, and even more specifically in the QC and spellchecking of the copy. But towards the actual opening day, I was more engaged in the massive effort to get the islandwide model ready. The pre-exhibit build-up represents one of the few periods during which people are allowed to step onto the precious model, and so we had planners, technical officers, interns, architects, modelmakers and all manner of random help clambering, Godzilla-like, over the miniature Singapore, tiptoeing gingerly between housing estates, parks and hills.

So the sum total of my material contribution to the exhibit amounts to several phrases and captions on the Lim Chu Kang panels, and several hundred individual pins, figurines and signs planted painstakingly on the islandwide model, and several hundred more pins placed meticulously on a large wall-mounted map, tracing out the route of the new coast-hugging route. But these were done intricately and with real effort, and it is gratifying to see visitors appreciating the work that went into all these materials.

The models are the real crowd-pleasers among all the exhibits, though. Of course, there is the large islandwide model, on which you can see every building in Singapore (unless it's military or otherwise classified). Then there is the Paya Lebar model, and the Jurong Lake one (above), which is placed inside a fountain with water plants scattered around the border (which I thought was a really nice touch).

But far and away the most awesome model is the Marina Bay one, on which is displayed the current and future developments in the extended financial district. The level of detail on the buildings is breathtaking; the intricacy of the model itself is enough to draw one in. It is practically hypnotic. And, quite beyond the amazing attention to detail, the proposed architecture of the buildings are also spectacular. Here, in condensed form, the audacity of the architects' and planners' vision is reproduced. And to many people, myself included, it is mesmerising because it is not only fantastic; it is also realisable.

When I'm at the exhibit on guide duty, however, I spend my time around the Leisure Plan or the islandwide model instead, so I don't get to see much of the Marina Bay miniature. But it is also heartening to see visitors poring over the panels, and especially over the islandwide model. Especially kids: they are positively entranced by the tiny and fragile buildings that represent what looks so solid and immovable in real life. And everyone gets a kick from locating their home or workplace precisely on the model; and then proceeding to point it out to companions by bringing their fingers perilously close to the model itself. Heh, I guess they also get a kick out of the thrill of the risk of causing catastrophic damage to something so intricate.

I find that I do enjoy guiding visitors around the exhibit. It reminds me of those long walks through the city liberally peppered with anecdotes that I used to take with visiting exchange students. Revealing factoids and trivia still has an allure for me, although the guiding is now on a smaller scale (the attractions being conveniently shrunken down to a scale which can be accommodated in a single eyespan). And it also surprises me how many of the visitors actually know what they're talking about. I guess only people with at least a rudimentary understanding of city planning will bother making the trip all the way to the URA Centre to see the exhibit, and then subsequently bother to engage the staff in conversation. But these people impressed me with their discernment. They aren't only concerned with whether there will be new amenities or highways near their homes; they seem genuinely interested in the form that their city will take in the future. And it is heartening, too. Just as it is delightful to see visitors expressing their appreciation over the models, it is also delightful to see them appreciating what URA is trying to do in the real city, on a citywide basis.

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More and more of my people are making surprise returns to Singapore. Heh, a part of me does feel negligent in not clarifying beforehand when they would make island-fall. But that part is tiny when compared with the rest of me, who is just glad to have them back.

Welcome home, old friends. And so, this is the start of summer.