Tanglin Village is probably more commonly referred to as “Dempsey Road” in Singapore. It’s a collection of colonial British army barracks (circa 1860) and later add-on military buildings that were active up until 1989 and then fell into disuse. It’s a hilly, leafy retreat quite close to busy Orchard Road and some pretty expensive housing areas but secluded enough to forget for a moment how close to the rat race you really are.
Over the past few years it’s blossomed into what our government likes to point to as one of our “bohemian spaces” (when they are on the PR trail preaching the message “we’re not as straight-laced as the world thinks we are”). A few antique shops and rug shops moved in, followed by some Indonesian teak furniture and then a few wine bars. PS Cafe, who run a successful Aussie-cafe styled eating spot in upmarket Paragon opened a nice glass-and-steel casual restaurant that took advantage of the greenery. More wine bars and eateries followed and before a lot of people had even noticed, the place had a buzz going.
But late last year there was a landlord hiccup. It turns out that the entire village was bulk-rented by the government, who own it, to one company who then sub-let the individual spaces. The government hadn’t been receiving its rent and so the shopkeepers had a few weeks of touch-and-go, will-we-be-allowed-to-continue-or-won’t-we, before the matter was sorted out.
It seems that during this time the government noticed that actually they had other spaces they could rent in the same area and the village had the potential to be what they call “a new lifestyle hotspot”.
Which leads me to the changing face of Dempsey Road, or what is effectively a top-down concerted effort by the Singapore Land Authority to create “a distinctive community of lifestyle, education and art interests”.
The term “rebranding” is starting to wear a bit thin on me. I’m ranking it right up there with “think outside of the box” as a hackneyed phrase that I’d be happy to not see cross my desk ever again. I mean, in the case of that last one, you seem to be making the rash assumption that there is some kind of box that I usually think within. And even if that was the case, is my box the same as your box?
The word “rebranding” is a funny one. What exactly does that mean? Is it shorthand for “a repositioning of the brand image, proposition and experience externally, aligned with a renewed corporate focus, to express what the company believes in and what it does”? Or is it a new logo and colour scheme combined with a different design style in the advertising and brochures? I’ve seen a couple of the former, but then I’m old enough to have seen a couple of eclipses in my lifetime as well.
We’re about to see a “rebranding” of Tanglin Village in a much larger way than a new logo.
It now includes a number of Singapore’s favourite chains, like Dome, Ben & Jerrys, Spa Esprit, Samy’s Curry Restaurant, Margarita’s Mexican Restaurant, Red Sea Gallery and Oosh. You can also expect a children’s entertainment playground, Korean BBQ, Indian fine dining, a Japanese restaurant and the first of a chain of Aussie gourmet grocery stores. What used to be a rustic drive from one end to the other is now taking on a pretty glossy and logo-ed sheen.
I’ve got no opinion on whether this is a good or a bad thing, but I’m going to be watching with interest, wondering if there are lessons to be learned for corporate life. I think there’s no doubt that the number of people using the area is going to skyrocket, so in commercial terms this would be considered a “success”. But, again in commercial terms, I am wondering what will happen to the original “customers” who made it the “bohemian lifestyle” spot that it was. Will they “switch brands”? How will that affect this “rebranded SLA product”? For that matter, in the medium/long term is it even actually going to still be the same “product”?
I’ve got no answers to the questions but, if I can get parking amongst the Volvos and SUVs, I’ll be popping in for the occasional Dome coffee to see what happens.
Pic: wooden fence, Tanglin Village by CreativeSpark
4 Comments
July 12, 2007 at 2:21 am
They should have just let it be. Everything that is an attempt at a constructed identity, eventually ends up calling out for someone to come along, deconstruct and save its soul.
July 12, 2007 at 9:10 am
I had the same sentiment when I went to one of the bars there just last week. The character of Dempsey Road has changed so much, I almost couldn’t recognise it.
But that’s what most people want, so the original fans would just have to find somewhere else to chill out. And please keep it a secret this time!
July 16, 2007 at 1:18 pm
I agree, they should have left it be. Every single place i’ve found and loved its rustic feel has been discovered, revamped and to me effectively destroyed. Look at other countries, they have managed to leave things be and it still turns out to be a hit with the locals. Why can’t they just leave Dempsey alone and let it flourish. I’m quite sure they will eventually clean the place up and repave the roads which will destroy its look and age. Quit pruning the grass, let the weeds grow. Leave it a kampong style living.
July 17, 2007 at 2:55 pm
No intrusions on personal thoughts (on my blog), I won’t write about it if i thought it was too personal.
I just happen to chance upon your writing whilst searching for tanglin village and was decided that i have to agree with the comments of the other writers, which is why i commented.
Some parts of Singapore needs to be left untouched to leave some form of legacy for our grandkids, some form of heritage. Everything touched by human intervention destroys its natural form.