Monday 27 May 2013

Quietening Down and Sketching Up at Church of the Blessed Sacrament


Sketching the quiet interior of the church's sanctuary...
I was 9 when I painted a drawing of the church with my first poster colour set. It was featured in the primary school art textbook and I was drawn to the beautiful roof structure which was supposed to be inspired by the tabernacle from the Old Testament (see story below). With a project to sketch the neighbourhood, I got a chance to go inside the church sanctuary and sketch inside the quiet place. It's like my relationship with the building has come a full circle.

The Church of the Blessed Sacrament is a Catholic church located at Commonwealth Drive. Opened in 1965, it serves the Catholic community in the Queenstown area. The church building was awarded conservation status by the Urban Redevelopment Authority in 2005.
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Building the church
In 1954, the Archbishop of the Malacca Diocese, Michael Olcomendy, who had been attending to the needs of Catholics in Singapore since 1937, became concerned about Catholics living in the Alexandra and Redhill areas, as there was no church nearby to serve them.

At the time, the government was planning to develop the nation’s first satellite town, Queenstown, which included the Alexandra and Redhill areas. The government aimed to build a self-contained and balanced community within the Master Plan for Singapore. It was intended that the town would have all the necessary amenities such as schools, hospitals, markets, shops and places of worship. An advertisement was placed in the local press inviting religious organisations to apply for sites set aside in the plan, stating their programmes and intentions.

Olcomendy saw the advertisement, submitted an application and was allotted one of the sites. As he could not spare any priests to manage the project, he appealed for help from the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (SS.CC.), a Catholic order whose priests were already active in Indonesia. He asked the Provincial of the Dutch Province if he could spare two priests to build the church and to take care of the parish in Queenstown.   

In 1958, Father William van Soest and Father Odo Tiggeloven, two priests from the SS.CC. of Holland, arrived in Singapore. The former was assigned to build the church and be its parish priest with the assistance of the latter.

It was anticipated that the church would cost up to S$200,000 to build. However, the two priests had difficulty in raising funds, as there were only a few hundred Catholics in Queenstown by 1960. Efforts to raise funds for the new church included the staging of a variety show at the National Theatre, a movie screening at the Globe Theatre, and a food and fun fair. Circus Malaya and the Tai Thean Kew Circus also donated proceeds from their performances to the church building fund.

Due to limited funds, the church was built in stages. In October 1963, the first building, Damien Hall, was completed. It was named after Saint Damien of Molokai, a priest from the SS.CC. who had dedicated his life to caring for those afflicted with leprosy in Molokai, Hawaii and who had fallen victim to the disease.

After a simple ceremony by Monsignor Noel Goh on 17 November 1963, Damien Hall was opened to the public as a place of worship. It also provided lodging to the two priests who, up till then, had been staying at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd and at St Patrick’s School.
   
The church was finally completed and officially opened and blessed by Archbishop Olcomendy on 8 May 1965. It was named the Church of the Blessed Sacrament, as the priests of the Sacred Heart order were devoted to the Blessed Sacrament.
   
Architecture of church building
The church was designed by Y. Gordon Dowsett of the architecture firm Van Sitteren and Partners. Its most outstanding feature is its blue slate roof, which is constructed in folds in the shape of a tent. The roof is said to symbolise the “tent of meeting” in the Old Testament of the Bible, and covers the main sanctuary, which is built in a cruciform shape. The roof is also designed with integrated glass panels where the four sections of the cruciform shape meet to allow natural light into the sanctuary. The worship hall is made of fair-faced brick walls with timber ceiling panels. There is also a Celtic cross, which combines a circle with a cross, on the exterior brick face wall of the main altar.

The church’s distinctive design, coupled with its prominent location along Commonwealth Drive, makes it a landmark, and it was given conservation status by the Urban Redevelopment Authority on 25 November 2005.
   
Developments at the church
Due to financial constraints, the church was built to cater to 2,000 parishioners although it was expected to grow to 6,000 as the town developed. In the 1970s, the number of parishioners reached 6,000 as predicted and in the 1980s, it ballooned to 7,000. By then, there was a demand for additional space for catechism classes and meeting rooms where smaller groups of people could meet and get to know one another. After an appeal for funds, Damien Centre was built and opened on 30 May 1982.

In 2005, the Sacred Heart priests rebuilt Damien Hall to cater to the needs of the growing number of organisations within the church and to meet the Ministry of Education’s request for smaller kindergarten classes. The new Fr Damien Centre was officially opened on 22 September 2007 by Monsignor Eugene Vaz.

The church currently serves around 4,300 parishioners. The decline in numbers compared to the 1980s reflects the changing demographics of the mature Queenstown neighbourhood, where older apartment blocks have been vacated for redevelopment and young families are opting for newer residential towns. However, the church continues to be a vibrant community with about 11 organisations including the Catholic Neighbourhood Groups and Outreach Ministry, as well as activities such as novenas and intercessory prayers. 
- Gillian Lim


Saturday 25 May 2013

Sketchwalk to Queenstown: Alexandra Canal Linear Park

Alexandra Canal Linear Park overlooking Strathmore Avenue Estate from Prince Charles Crescent.
Alexandra Canal Linear Park is unique as it is built on top of a covered canal. It starts from Queenstown MRT Station, passing by Strathmore Estate all the way to Tanglin Road where it leads to Alexandra Park Connector, which lies opposite. The vast array of fitness and play equipment, catering to all ages, are located near housing estates and schools, providing endless fun for the young and old. One of the play equipment uses the way sounds travel to provide an interactive and educational playtime for children. The skate corner, which includes ramps and railings, provide challenges and an endless stream of adrenaline rush for avid skaters.

A continuation of the Alexandra Canal Linear Park will be Alexandra Park Connector, which stretches from Tanglin Road to Zion Road. This urban Park Connector provides scenery of high-rise buildings with fantastic architectural details as it passes by various condominiums. Located along Delta Road is Valley Point Shopping Centre, where users can rest their feet and settle down with a nice drink or to just pick up a quick meal.

Towards the end of the Park Connector are Great World City Shopping Centre and Zion Riverside Food Centre. Users can also go to Kim Seng Promenade located behind Great World City Shopping Centre.


Sunday 19 May 2013

Urban Sketchers Singapore: May Official Sketchwalk

Queenstown turns a grand old sixty on 27 September this year. For sixteen days in July, the My Queenstown society will host a festival, with an exhibition featuring images and artefacts about the country's first satellite housing estate. There will also be a commemorative book slated for release in September, as well as merchandise.

Next weekend (25 May), we're going there to capture it with Epigram for the next instalment of the Our Neighbourhood series. Sketchwalk will assume at 9.30 a.m. culminating in a show-and-tell activity to conclude the event. Updates on this post will be refreshed as they come in. Keep visiting this post for new information on this outing.


Friday 3 May 2013

Satay by the Bay at Gardens by the Bay

View of Satay by the Bay across the lotus pond at Gardens by the Bay
My company was involved in some ‘Values-in-Action’ community work today. We brought some folks to the Gardens by the Bay. I decided to stay back after their excursion to explore the place further especially since it’s the TulipMania at the Gardens now.

After the enjoying all the beauteous blooms at the Flower Dome, I walked a little further and decided to move along the track that leads to the Satay by the Bay. The rustic Satay by the Bay, as the foodcourt is named, is noticeably less glitzy than its surroundings, with its bare floor and plants dangling from the roof.

A 10-minute walk from the two domed conservatories in the Gardens by the Bay, patrons can find eight outdoor pushcarts selling sticks of satay, with low wooden tables and stools for diners.

The food is just so-so and a touch pricey. However, my eye is on the buffet steamboat ala Marina Bay circa 1990s: it looks perfect for gatherings with friends and (lots of) food.

Being a hot day, it was still bright after my dinner. I decided to do a sketch of the place and filled it with colours after.