d+a | Issue 116 • Jun/July 2020

15 3. People’s Park Complex 3. Collective sales offer a highly-attractive alternative to owners to dispose of their strata- titled units to a developer willing to pay a high price for these city-centre complexes located on prime land. The current land policies unintentionally encourage speculative en- bloc activities and accelerate urban renewal with ever-shortening building cycles. 4. A 100 percent owner consensus, regarding the redistribution of strata title shares tied to the increased GFA, is needed for conservation. Bureaucratic restriction has failed to promote conservation as a viable option, while encouraging redevelopment, requiring consensus of a mere 80 percent. These factors do not exist in solidarity, but work together to exacerbate the situation. “Owners of aging leasehold buildings are reluctant to invest in maintenance overhaul costs partly because of the depreciating property values of their homes as the 99-year lease runs down,” says Poh. “A collective sale is thus seen as a means to be liberated from the onerous liabilities while making a windfall. “This in turn also discourages communities from taking care of their residential buildings, allowing them to deteriorate even more, up to a point where their demolition seems inevitable, way before their original designed lifespan.” Does this mean the end is in sight for Singapore’s modernist buildings? Is our urban fabric destined to only have colonial buildings, shophouses and contemporary architecture? MAKING THE OLD BETTER THAN THE NEW Lorenzo Petrillo is Director of LOPELAB, an urban design studio that explores the intersection between modern buildings, placemaking and adaptive reuse. He shares his rationale for this. Why have you chosen to support this issue? We want to prevent the unmeasurable loss of identity and character that happens when iconic buildings are demolished forever. Cities are evolving at an amazing pace across the world and particularly in Asia. Sustainable development has become a goal for all countries seeking a balance between social, environmental and economic needs. The current model is focused primarily on providing marketable space at a reasonable cost and very often, this happens by demolishing iconic buildings to make space for the “new”. At LOPELAB we believe this does not have to be the case. In applying placemaking thinking by putting people at the heart of urban growth, we can make the “old” better than the “new”. How are you giving modern buildings a new lease of life? Most of LOPELAB’s projects focus on the regeneration of unused or under-utilised urban spaces. An example is the Singapore Urban Design Festival 2019, a placemaking event that champions sustainable urban development through educational and unique experiences. The 2019 edition was held within the top two levels of a multi- storey carpark in Jalan Besar, after discovering that in Singapore, 80 percent of the top floors of a carpark are un-utilised for 72 percent of their lives. The programme consisted of a three-day summit as well as a weekend of festivities. The former took an in- depth look at sustainable development through the lens of technology in three aspects: Resources, mobility and people. Participants were invited to put their newfound knowledge to practical use with hands-on and experiential workshops that offered practical knowledge on hacking our public spaces. A roller disco (built right where the cars would park), light and art installations, pop-up rooftop restaurants for communal dining, wellness activities and live performances were part of this unforgettable experience that inspired thousands of people about the potential of our urban spaces. What would you say to others from the lifestyle industries to follow in your footsteps? I believe that the way lifestyle industries can support architects in the conservation of Singapore’s modern built heritage is in recognising the potential and bringing their creative endeavours to these iconic buildings. Nowadays, branding is about “authentic and unique experiences” and these places lend themselves to the best expression of it. Buildings like Golden Mile Complex and People’s Park Complex are not only a concrete agglomeration but a real eco-system in continuous evolution. Their walls are preserving the history and character of a neighbourhood and demolishing these buildings means erasing all of this forever. SCAN THE QR CODE TO READ THE SOLUTIONS SUGGESTED BY THE FEATURED ARCHITECTS ON HOW TO AVOID THIS FATE. 3