Publicomos

Réf.

41673

Type

conference item

Titre

Conservation and change - A Singapore case of urban conservation and development

Langues

English

Auteurs

Lih, Chan Yew

Date

2005

Pagination de section

1-9

Titre de conférence

15th ICOMOS General Assembly and International Symposium: ‘Monuments and sites in their setting - conserving cultural heritage in changing townscapes and landscapes’

Lieu de conférence

Xi'an, China

Date de conférence

17 – 21 oct 2005

Mots-clés

architectural heritage / urban development / town planning / conservation areas / setting / conservation of historic towns / town and country planning / urban settlements

Résumé en anglais

In land-scarce Singapore, the conservation approach adopted is to integrate conservation with urban planning. Thus, while historic buildings have been protected, these buildings have been allowed to be modified to accommodate new uses; while preserving historic districts, new activities have been introduced to revitalize the districts. Such intensification and contemporization interventions, if not appropriately handled, can dilute the cultural significance of the heritage. This would certainly be a cause for concern.This paper examines the conservation approaches in Singapore and the issue of genuine cultural continuity. It considers whether the new intensive development in the surrounding areas has significantly impacted the character of the historic place, and whether the various forms of massive extension to the historic buildings have affected their architectural value. The paper also examines whether the characteristics of a historic district have been retained in the process of revitalization and contemporization. Has its social meaning in Singapore’s multi-racial social context been lost or can it still be experienced despite the changes made? Finally, the paper discusses positive approaches and techniques adopted to retain cultural significance in conserving heritage. It also attempts to define ‘cultural setting’ in both tangible and intangible terms.

Document joint

2-9.pdf

Licence

Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (BY-NC-ND)