The race to conserve Singapore's architectural heritage continues, with calls to have OCBC Centre and Singapore Power Building be part of the list
OCBC CentreIT WAS a close thing at one stage. But now, more than 6,500 old but architecturally and historically significant buildings still have a place on Singapore's skyline, thanks to much-praised conservation efforts.
But now that the (wrecker ball) dust has settled, the question is: What's next on the 'to save' list?
The issue is a timely one as the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) announced last month that it was selecting another 228 buildings in the Katong area for conservation. The buildings are mostly terrace houses and shophouses built in the 1920s and 1930s. That figure comes on top of 700 buildings that are already under conservation orders in the East Coast area.
What with that number going on the long list of buildings that will be treasured, and the fact that the URA's conservation programme is more than 20 years old, Singaporeans could be excused from thinking that all the old buildings worth conserving have now been conserved.
But history and architecture experts would have you know that there is still a job to be done.
Singapore Power BuildingThe URA says the next stage in the conservation programme is to identify post-World War II and modern buildings built during the 1960s and 1970s that are symbolic of Singapore's early nation-building years.
As with the earlier conserved buildings, URA's criteria for conservation remain the same. Buildings that are of historical and architectural significance are considered.
Work for the second stage has already started, and such buildings that are already conserved include the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Queensway. Built in 1963, it has a distinctive feature - huge sloping roofs that nearly touch the ground.
Another significant building that is being conserved is the former Jurong Town Hall, built in the 1960s as the Jurong Town Corporation headquarters. The building is a symbol of Singapore's industrial and economic progress.
Then there is the former Singapore Armed Forces Non-Commissioned Officers' Club in Beach Road, which will be part of a new mixed-use development called South Beach.
Three members of the Singapore Heritage Society are currently working on a book called Our Modern Past: Singapore's Architectural Heritage 1920s-1970s, which looks at modern architectural buildings in Singapore. It will be published next year.
Freelance writer Dinesh Naidu says the trio have researched the book for the last three years and have surveyed 'more than 200 buildings on foot'.
Among the buildings that he feels are worth conserving are the blocks of one- and three-room flats in Bukit Ho Swee that were built in the early 1960s by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) to resettle 16,000 people made homeless by a fire in that area.
'Some blocks of old estates should be conserved for historical reasons to show the fast speed that HDB built homes to solve the nation's housing crisis,' he says.
Then there are the often-mentioned iconic buildings local architects feel are worth conserving, such as People's Park Complex and Golden Mile Complex.
Architect Mink Tan of Mink Tan Architects says these two mixed-use developments 'were a breakthrough in the Singapore architectural landscape'.
Other significant buildings worth conserving include the 30-year-old Singapore Power Building (SPB) in Somerset Road.
Originally called the Public Utilities Board Building, it was built by the now-defunct Group 2 Architects. Its design, comprising two parallel blocks facing north and south connected by a lift and stair core, was selected from a design competition.
It was recently retrofitted but Mr Naidu says it still is a big landmark today, just as it was in the 1970s.
Mr Tan suggests the OCBC Centre at Raffles Place is also worth conserving. It was designed by renowned architect I.M. Pei in 1977, and boasts a facade that resembles three stacks of windows on top of each other, earning it the moniker of 'calculator building'.
This is one of the best examples of a foreign architect who did 'excellent work in Singapore', says Mr Tan, adding: 'You can't find another similar project by Pei.'
The president of the Singapore Institute of Architects, Mr Tai Lee Siang, hopes conservation will not just be limited to buildings, but also to community spaces, such as Toa Payoh Town Centre and Hong Lim Green. 'Such conservation requires efforts to not only restore the physical aspects, but also the injection of new life into these areas.'
He also hopes to see debates and discussion on what areas or buildings should be conserved. 'Ultimately, the best form of conservation is not top-down driven, but generated from within the community.'
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