Old photographs depict Block 36 as a majestic building that emanated firmness in its design, endowed with an aura of serenity and it encapsulated the sense that all things were composed into their proper shape. Even the site has a place in the heart of the ‘70s cohort. It is certainly the place that pops up in the mind of most pioneering student whenever it is mentioned as it began humbly as the first female dormitory on the campus in 1971.
Today, C10 makes for a curious contrast. Having come to the end of its useful life, it is not uncommon for an old building to be unceremoniously coerced into changing and adapting for new development. The new renovation impairs and cramps the setting of C10. The cumulative developments surrounding the site further contribute to a significant loss of construction quality in the area.
Already it has undergone much tampering and alteration since the ‘80s. As new development programmers rapidly expanded, new extensions grew up behind the premise. As a result, the older part of existing buildings consist of tightly packed spaces, often repeatedly modified and enlarged in a variety or styles or somewhat, ironically, completely devoid of any.
The on-going renovated building futilely attempts to project a sense of progress but on the contrary ‘life’ has been draining from it with brash- or even ‘intrusive’ – three- storey annex as its new replacement does not help. Such renovations helped to ‘raze’ the existing soul and character of C10. A sympathetic makeover, congruent with the style of the original building, perhaps would have been a better option. Be that as it may, it represented a new departure in the face of development pressures and was accomplished on rather limited resources, devoid of feelings.
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