Ang Chin Moh Foundation . 2019
Singapore
Bidadari Garden Virtual Museum
VR . PC App . Photogrammetry
As part of an ongoing digital conservation effort, Vouse has partnered with the Ang Chin Moh Foundation for the digital preservation of Mount Vernon Complex, which was slated for redevelopment in 2019. Mount Vernon Complex sits atop what was once Singapore’s largest grave site. Spanning over 0.13 square kilometers, it contained various columbariums and funeral parlours. This project is the virtual documentation of the Bidadari Garden that was a landmark in Mount Vernon. Using a combination of digital modelling from construction drawings and UAV photogrammetry, the virtual environment is recreated with accurate dimensions and real-life textures.
The whole of Bidadari Garden, including the various monuments within it,is digitally preserved and arranged in a fully interactive and explorable PC app as well as VR app. Contact us for more information if you wish to experience the app.
Located along Mount Vernon Road, the Bidadari Garden was developed by the National Heritage Board in 2004 to commemorate the history of the Bidadari Cemetery, one of the oldest cemeteries in Singapore. The cemetery was located along Upper Serangoon Road, near the Woodleigh MRT station.
The Cemetery accepted its last burial in 1973. In 1996, the land was earmarked for urban developments and this garden space which is within the larger Bidadari estate, serves to remind visitors of a piece of Singapore history.
Architectural Details
Using drone UAV photogrammetry, we mapped the textures of the various artefacts, such as the gravestones and the historic gate, to a digital model created with documented dimensions as well as measurements taken from the site. The virtual artefacts are then placed in a backdrop to simulate their proximity, size, context and relation to each other in the Bidadari Garden.
Among the 147,000 buried were prominent personalities, philanthropists and community leaders such as Sir Song Ong Siang, Dr Lim Boon Keng, Haji Abdul Rahim Kajai, Dato Dr Charles Joseph Pemberton Paglar and Reverend Benjamin Keasberry. Civilian victims of the 1915 Mutiny of the Indian Army 5th Light Infantry, British Merchant Navy Seaman who died during WWII and victims of the 1954 Qantas BOAC Constellation airplane crash at Old Kallang Airport were also buried there.
