Five foot way
Encyclopedia
Shophouse
A shophouse is a vernacular architectural building type that is commonly seen in areas such as urban Southeast Asia. This hybrid building form characterises the historical centres of most towns and cities in the region.- Design and features :...
s (and buildings of similar structural design) all over the world, and also in some office buildings (e.g. those along Shenton Way
Shenton Way
Shenton Way is a major trunk road in Singapore's central business district, most known for the commercial skyscrapers flanking both sides of the road. The Road is a one way street which starts at the junction of Cross Street, Central Boulevard and Raffles Quay and ends at Keppel Road...
in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
). As the ground floor of most buildings are shops or eating places, the five foot ways can also function as a corridor for people to window-shop or stop by for some refreshments. As implied by name, five foot ways were intended to assume a consistent width of five feet from the absolute front to the wall and entrance defining the frontal of the inner space, but the guideline is not necessarily applied universally, as certain five foot ways are wider or narrower depending on the age, size and function of the building.
In Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, five foot ways date back to the time of the Colonial Government
Straits Settlements
The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia.Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under direct British control as a crown colony on 1 April 1867...
, when Stamford Raffles
Stamford Raffles
Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, FRS was a British statesman, best known for his founding of the city of Singapore . He is often described as the "Father of Singapore"...
included this and other details in his Town Plan of 1822
Jackson Plan
The Jackson Plan of 1822, also known as the "Plan of the Town of Singapore", was an urban plan for Singapore drawn up to maintain some order in the urban development of the fledgling but thriving colony founded just three years earlier...
; the feature was eventually integral in many settlements in neighbouring British colonies and possessions, including those in Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
, Sarawak
Kingdom of Sarawak
The Kingdom of Sarawak was a state in Borneo established by Sir James Brooke in 1842 by receiving independent kingdom status from the Sultanate of Brunei as a reward for helping fight piracy and insurgency...
, North Borneo and Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
, and remains a prominent element in modern architecture in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei. Attempts in Singapore to clear the walkways of hawkers in the 1880s led to the so-called "Verandah Riots".
The Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
term for "five foot way", kaki lima (literally translated as only "five foot"), is also used generally to refer to corridors or verandas, regardless of their width.