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From Air Base to a Universally-Renowned Sports Hub
The Old Kallang Airport area lies within the east boundaries of Geylang River and Kallang Basin on its west. The site comprises internationally valued built-up areas such as the Singapore Sports Hub complex - which hosted matches off the 2015 Southeast Asian Games - and Kallang Airport which was built as Singapore’s first international airport in 1937.
Zone 2: Old Kallang Airport: Intro
The Past
Historically, the area started out as a swampy mangrove area which then functioned as home for the Orang Kallang, a boat-dweller tribe who originally came from Java, Indonesia. After the Orang Kallang was resettled elsewhere by the local governing authorities, the first significant development in the area was the construction of Kallang Airport, or what is now known as the Old Kallang Airport.
Zone 2: Old Kallang Airport: Intro
The construction of the Kallang Airport began with the reclamation of 300 acres of mangrove swampland in 1931 which resulted in the relocation of a large Malay community to an area around Jalan Eunos. The Old Kallang Airport served its function as Singapore’s first international airport up until it was replaced by Paya Lebar International Airport in August 1955.
Upon its opening on 12 June 1937, it was coined as “the finest airport in the British empire” with revolutionary features and facilities including a circular aerodrome that allowed planes to land from infinite directions and a slipway that allowed seaplanes to utilize the same terminal building as regular planes. This technological value can hence be argued to have contributed towards its international significance.
Its history also involves a war narrative given that it was the only operational airfield for the British to launch their fighters during the Japanese occupation. The terminal buildings of Old Kallang Airport were built in the modernist style by Frank Dorrington Ward who was the Chief Architect of the Public Works Department in the Straits Settlement. As an internationally renowned architect of the era, Ward has constructed other significant buildings including Clifford Pier and the former Supreme Court building, thus contributing towards the international significance of Old Kallang Airport as well. Architecturally, there is clear valuation of their streamlined curves, striking horizontal lines and control tower. Moreover, its white hangars were built with the simplistic nature common to modernist-styled buildings and had ample spaces and lighting to the convenience of technical personnel.
Zone 2: Old Kallang Airport: Text
Zone 2: Old Kallang Airport: Image
Figure 1: Kallang Park Fountain, 1960
Zone 2: Old Kallang Airport: Text
After the Kallang Airport was closed in 1955 when Paya Lebar Airport became operational, the airport building was occupied briefly by the Singapore Youth Sports Council. In October 1959, Kallang Park was officially opened. The new park, with facilities for both the elderly and young, was a unique one, as it was built through the joint efforts of the state government and the volunteering locals. The Kallang Park gained popularity in the 1960s with a futuristic-styled fountain constructed at the park as a gift from the Singapore Chinese Chambers of Commerce. The park then was used to host events such as kart racing, road safety games, fish exhibitions and agriculture shows.
In July 1969, during the 150th year anniversary of Singapore, the Wonderland Amusement Park was opened. As many other facilities were developed, by the mid-1970s, the Kallang Park consisted of a bowling centre, an ice-skating rink, a theatre, a nightclub, the grand National Stadium and a floating restaurant named Oasis. Among these, the National Stadium is arguably the most iconic. The former premises of the Kallang Airport provided space for the construction of this stadium in 1966. After its official opening on 21st July 1973 by former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, the National Stadium soon became an iconic landmark and a source of national pride for the people.
Throughout history, the 55,000-capacity stadium had hosted three Southeast Asian Games (1973, 83, 93), 18 National Day Parades, and numerous music concerts. After 44 years, the National Stadium was officially closed in June 2007 but continued to host the East Asian, ASEAN and World Cup qualifying games until 2010 before its demolition to make way for the new integrated Sports Hub. The construction of the new National Stadium was completed in late 2013.
Zone 2: Old Kallang Airport: Text
Zone 2: Old Kallang Airport: Image
Figure 2: National Day celebrations at the National Stadium in 1980
Zone 2: Old Kallang Airport: Text
Historically, this area holds much sentimental value. Since the time of the Kallang Airport, the amusement park, and the National Stadium, the area has roots in the hearts of the locals. As Singapore’s first purpose-built civil airport, the Kallang Airport was remembered by both Singaporeans and foreigners as one of the most modern airports of its time. With the iconic architecture of the Terminal Building, and its rich social history adding depth as a backdrop for the area, the conservation of the selected buildings and structures at Kallang Airport serves as physical reminders and markers of the humble origins of the development of Kallang and its role in establishing Singapore’s position on the international aviation map.
Zone 2: Old Kallang Airport: Text
The Present
Post-Modern History
Officially opened on 30 June 2014 as a center-piece of the larger Singapore Sports Hub complex, the new National Stadium hosted the 2015 Southeast Asian Games, the 2014 World Club 10s, the 2014 and 2019 Brasil Global Tour, and the 2016 Singapore National Day Parade (NDP).
Zone 2: Old Kallang Airport: Body
Even though the Kallang Airport building itself has been gazetted as a conserved building, the area around it has shifted functions to make way for new developments as the area around Kallang is set to house sport and world-class entertainment. Today, the National Stadium, Sports Hub, Leisure Park and Kallang Theatre stand in replacement of the Old Kallang Airport narrative.
The old runway near to Mountbatten Road is now called Old Airport Road and the surrounding public flats there are named the Old Kallang Airport Estate. The estate is served by Dakota MRT station, which took its name from the Dakota DC-3 aircraft which used to land at the Kallang Airport. Two new roads near Kallang MRT station have been named "Kallang Airport Drive" and "Kallang Airport Way". In addition, Old Terminal Lane, which links Geylang Road with Kallang Airport Way, references the Kallang Airport's conserved terminal building. While its surroundings in the past were limited to the same narrative of having served its function as Singapore’s first international airport, there had also been built-up areas such as a pineapple plantation on the north of the airport’s taxi strip which has presumably been made obsolete given that the 20th century saw many farmers and producers native to Singapore move to Malaysia.
Zone 2: Old Kallang Airport: Text
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Figure 3: 2019 URA Masterplan for the Kallang Basin Area
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According to the URA masterplan of 2019, the area is mainly designated for sports and recreation, with residentials and commercial functions around it. Much of what used to be part of the Old Kallang Airport compounds have been turned into residential estates - such as Dakota Crescent and Old Kallang Airport Estate - and major traffic ways such as Mountbatten Road and Nicoll Highway.
Interestingly, much of the runway has been turned into Old Airport Road which serves as the primary spine of the Kallang area due to its vibrancy and multiplicities of commercial activities. Much of these new built-up areas pay tribute to the Old Kallang Airport’s heritage through the usage of its name, such as in the case of the ever-famous Old Airport Road Food Centre. Due to having been granted conservation status in 2009, parts of Old Kallang Airport have been retained as a tribute to its heritage. It must be conceded, however, that its remnants are largely abandoned and unutilized.
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"...residential estates and commercial activities along Old Airport Road form the lifeline of not just the locale but consumers nationally."
Zone 2: Old Kallang Airport: Quote
Much of the area’s social valuation stems from the residential and sports-centric usage of the bulk of the site; while Singapore Sports Hub provides optimal opportunities for social congregations both within Kallang Wave Mall and its sports-centric spaces, residential estates and commercial activities along Old Airport Road form the lifeline of not just the locale but consumers nationally. Moreover, to the north-west of the site lies Kong Hwa School which was founded by the Hokkien Huay Kuan in 1953 due to the post-Japanese Occupation realization that Singapore was experiencing a shortage of schools. It is also to be noted that Dakota Crescent holds national social value due to its residents’ ground-breaking bottom-up approach to lobby for conservation status.
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The Future
According to the URA, in the longer-term, the larger area around Kallang Riverside will be developed into a mixed-use lifestyle hub.
Zone 2: Old Kallang Airport: Conclusion
In the interim, the conserved old Kallang Airport area will first be made available for a variety of sports, leisure and community uses. Other than that, a new iconic circular walking and cycling loop called the Kallang Alive Loop will also be implemented. This loop traces the original circular airfield of the Kallang Airport and will link up the waterfront, across Stadium Boulevard and Nicoll Highway.
With the demolition of icons of its past which gave the area a significant narrative such as the Old Kallang Airport, the Oasis, and the Old National Stadium, this part of the Kallang area will no doubt never look the same again. However, the area still holds significance. Future plans have potential to increase connectivity where the river is integrated in the introduction of new sporting and community facilities that can improve both the area and the life quality of the community.
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Bibliography
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Zone 2: Old Kallang Airport: Citations
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