Conserved Building
218 Pasir Panjang Road
Applicable Guidelines
Secondary Settlement Guidelines
Conservation Area
Pasir Panjang Road No. 222-240 Conservation Area
Historic address: 222 Pasir Panjang Road
About
This row of 10 units of two-storey shophouses is better known as Pasir Panjang Village — a cluster of pubs, restaurants, and shops that matches the feel of its laid-back neighbourhood. The name Pasir Panjang literally means "long sand" in Malay, a reference to the long sandy beach that once stretched along the coast in this area.
The History
Pasir Panjang Road, which once hugged the coastline, was laid down by the Government Surveyor of Singapore, John Turnbull Thomson, in 1841 and by 1850 had been extended as far as the Jurong River. This facilitated the development of a linear coastal settlement stretching all the way to Clementi Road. Providing a backdrop to the coastal settlement was a hilly ridge running parallel to the coastline. A low saddle along the ridge, known subsequently as "The Gap", presented the opportunity to construct an inland road, which became today's South Buona Vista Road.
In the 1920s, many wealthy Chinese built holiday and residential bungalows along the coast, some of which are still visible today. In 1930, some Malay families from the Kallang River Basin area were resettled here when Kallang Airport was constructed, and in 1957 the Malay settlement became known as the West Coast Malay Settlement. Right up to the early 1960s, this area contained many Malay fishing villages, with fishing and small-scale agriculture as the main economic activities.
Pasir Panjang was also a British defence position in the south and a key battle site in World War II. In the 1950s, the area began to take on a suburban character as bungalows were built along the coastline fronting the sea. Since the late 1960s, the coastal area has been reclaimed for wharves and is almost entirely devoted to containerisation, with the Pasir Panjang Terminal of the Port of Singapore located here.
The Building
This row of two-storey shophouses is a fine example of the First Transitional shophouse style, expressing elegant simplicity in its architectural composition. The relatively restrained use of ornament emphasises the fine-grained party wall character of the street block and provides a continuous rhythm along Pasir Panjang Road.
The buildings are located at a key nodal point along Pasir Panjang Road, at its junction with South Buona Vista Road, serving as a gateway into Pasir Panjang when travelling in from the city. Easily recognisable by their low-scale building form, the shophouses relate well to the street and add to the relaxed, residential character of the area. Since the completion of the West Coast Highway, Pasir Panjang Road has become a secondary road with less traffic, contributing to the low-key, community feel of the street.
The Legacy
The buildings were gazetted for conservation on 19 February 1993 under the Voluntary Conservation Scheme.
Guidelines and Procedures
All proposed works will need to comply with the Conservation Guidelines and the Specific Restoration Guidelines (SRG). Conservation Permission is required before all additions & alteration works and operations of new use can begin.
Residential Fronts are characterised by timber casement windows flanking a double-leafed timber door. All buildings with residential front which is existing and/or identified in the 'Specific Restoration Guidelines', regardless of land use zoning, shall be retained and restored.
Explore Street View
The building can be found at this street.