Bartlett School of Architecture

A personal, architectural and  cultural history of "The Rom" skatepark and skateboarding in the UK, recently been listed by English Heritage for heritage protection.  Published as a 1,500 word article in the UK newspaper The Guardian: “Pipe Dreams,” The Guardian  (1 November 2014), pp. 36-7. Published by The Guardian on line as: “Concrete Playgrounds," http://gu.com/p/43vyb/tw.

A personal, architectural and  cultural history of "The Rom" skatepark and skateboarding in the UK, recently been listed by English Heritage for heritage protection.  Published as a 1,500 word article in the UK newspaper The Guardian: “Pipe Dreams,” The Guardian  (1 November 2014), pp. 36-7. Published by The Guardian on line as: “Concrete Playgrounds," http://gu.com/p/43vyb/tw.

This article explores the post-construction history of the Singapore Flyer observation wheel as an experiential symbol of Singaporean modernity. Using an interdisciplinary intersection of history, theory, interpretation and photography (specially commissioned from Singaporean photographer Christopher Cheng), the Flyer is disclosed as a mobile architecture by which the visitor is prompted to consider their position in relation to the wheel itself, to Singapore, and to the wider world. The ideas of Henri Bergson in particular are used as a speculative tool.
Keywords: Singapore, Singapore Flyer, observation wheel, modernity, Bergson, movement, experience.

Draft version.

Final version published as:
Iain Borden, 'The Singapore Flyer: Experiencing Singaporean Modernity through Architecture, Motion and Bergson', The Journal of Architecture, v.19 n.6 (2014), pp. 872-902.
DOI 10.1080/13602365.2014.984482.