Visual Urban Mapping
tanjong katong complex
At Tanjong Katong Complex
Culture, Relationships and Convenience
Behind the doors of Tanjong Katong Complex lies decades of rich history, a unique architectural design, and a colourful collection of shop owners and tenants.
Tanjong Katong Complex is a renowned one-stop shop amongst the Singaporean Malay community. A mall that caters to the various age groups, no one is left behind by the array of products being sold, ranging from boutiques to hobby shops and even geomancy and domestic helper services. With an assortment of Malay boutiques that address everyday needs, it is not at all surprising that Tanjong Katong Complex sees its peak period during the Hari Raya season.
Other than being a convenient location to shop at, what is commonly overlooked is the importance of relationships forged between people and the cultural abundance within the spaces of the complex.
Introduction | Tanjong Katong Complex
Unexplained Yearning for Past Glory
Nostalgia emanates from Tanjong Katong Complex as its unassuming people and rustic services invoke traces of a former past glory.
Having been around for more than three decades, the complex is a testament of time and old-day tradition. It has had barely any changes except a recent floor renovation in the 2000s, and struggles to keep up with its modern surroundings.
Long gone were the days of the complex boasting the title of the first fully air-conditioned shopping mall and a 24-hour supermarket.
Today, Tanjong Katong Complex pales in comparison to the other newer malls around it and remains forlorn like its grey exterior. The impulse remains to maintain status quo and salvage what is left of its former glory whilst promoting its status as a Malay centric shopping complex.
In attempting to integrate newer shops that keep with the latest trends, Tanjong Katong Complex expresses a yearning for the past, in a bid to attract new customers through its age-old gates.
Our Methodology
Oral Interviews
On-the-ground perspectives from shop owners that have been at the mall for decades, forming a rich history which was pieced in a mini documentary
PORTRAITURE
Oral Interviews gave us access to the mall's history. However they lacked the raw human touch. Shop owners and their trades were photographed to capture
an intimate side of the Complex and its evolution of shops that viewers could directly relate to.
Archival documents (nlb)
Compilation of factual and historical data exclusive to the browse-only section of Singapore's National Archives gave insight to past Press Releases and helped back up our consolidated Key Findings.
online research
Research material gathered through a variety of news sites such as The Straits Times, The New Paper and Berita Harian. Online websites also offered critical insight to the Complex's Background.
management experts
Speaking to the management was definitive in confirming and dispelling the hearsay surrounding future plans of the Complex. The authorial voice was key in our research, and the Complex's undecided fate.