Queensway Shopping Centre was famed as one of the most vibrant shopping malls in Singapore when it was first established. Now, the mall has evolved to be dubbed as “Singapore’s Sports Mall” by locals, due to the numerous retail outlets selling affordable sports apparel. Many stores in the mall also provide specialised services such as the customisation of sports jerseys, at attractive rates. The beauty of the mall lies in its diversity. The myriad of items available are sold by store owners of varying demographics, and people from all walks of life congregate at this historically-rich building. A sense of familiarity permeates through the building, and the locals have developed some very fond and precious memories over the years.  It is common for shop owners to strike up conversations with customers, and solidarity is established quickly through the use of colloquial speech. Undoubtedly, this adds a personal touch to every shopper’s experience.

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Unlike conventional shopping malls, Queensway Shopping Centre is one of Singapore’s first multi-purposes shopping complexes which houses office spaces and an apartment tower within the same building. The shopping centre is characterised and recognised by its “octagonal facade and central sunken concourse”. It is also home to over 200 shops, a large emporium, an exhibition hall and a coffee house. It is situated at the corner of a busy cross-junction between Alexandra Road and Jalan Bukit Merah, where there used to be a roundabout called Rumah Bomba Circus. This was where many well-patronised Malay street hawkers sold traditional Malay food. Today, IKEA Alexandra, Park Hotel Alexandra and Alexandra Central stand erect just a stone’s throw away.

 

The opening of many new malls and the proliferation of online retailers in recent years, leaves Queensway Shopping Centre undeterred, and the mall is still frequented by many who seek sports-related apparel and services. The aim of our project is to find out more about this building which has withstood the test of time, new threats posed by online retailers, as well as sentiments people have about the building, which point towards the mall’s possible future.