Evolution of a Retail Streetscape: DP Architects on Orchard

Singapore’s Orchard Road sits alongside New York’s Fifth Avenue and Paris’ Champs Elysees in the pantheon of prestigious retail districts. For more than 40 years, DP Architects has contributed to the development of Orchard Road’s architectural typography, the regionalism of which is flavoured with a uniqueness born of inventiveness and an accommodation of contextual forces. ‘The Orchard Road Experience’ is much more than simply a lush visual and textual narrative showcasing DP Architects’ extensive contribution to the character, growth and personality of the famous Singapore shopping and entertainment precinct. It also explores the concept of retail architectural typology generally, provides a brief contextual history of Singapore from British colonisation onwards, outlines the development and evolution of Orchard Road in particular, and explores some of the world’s other famous shopping streets.