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Low Sui Pheng: Low Sui Pheng is Senior Lecturer/Course Leader at the School of Building and Estate Management, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Serena S.Y. Wong: Serena S.Y. Wong is a Quantity Surveyor at the Chartered Institute of Building, Singapore Centre, Singapore
Introduction
As Singapore has limited land, the development strategy for the island republic is to maximize the use of its limited land resources. Hence, high-rise and high-density buildings were built to house factories, offices, shops and homes. The intensive development which took place in the 1970s and 1980s had led to the demolition of old buildings in the older districts of Singapore. In the process, many architecturally-significant buildings had to give way to urban redevelopment. Historic buildings which were demolished for the new included Robinson House in Raffles Place, Adelphi Hotel at the junction of Coleman Street, Hill Street and North Bridge Road, the Central Police Station at South Bridge Road, and shophouses in Chinatown. Following growing affluence in the late 1980s, the Singapore Government realized that the nation needed to establish its roots in order to preserve its historical past for future generations of Singaporeans. As a result, the conservation movement was started.
Conservation means taking an old building through the stages of upgrading it for a better value. In Singapore, there is a need to conserve old buildings to retain areas of interest and preserve the character of an area from unthinking or uncaring development. With conservation, it is possible to keep the city in touch with its past and yet stay in tune with the future. The three main reasons for the conservation movement in Singapore are:
(1). Historical - where the objectives are to preserve a part of history, to remind of time past, of a slower and less complex lifestyle and to ensure that a perspective of past lives is not forgotten as well as to retain a connection with roots and identity.
(2). Architectural - the architecture of old buildings represents the development of a particular period of the past. The technological capabilities of this period have a place in the records of the evolution of the building environment.
(3). Social - where location is concerned, the area or district of the city is inherited from...