mASEANa 2019 "Progressive Once More: Rejuvenating Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Southeast Asia" by HKlab

2015 - 2020 The Report of mASEANa project 2019 : 8th & 9th International Conference

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Progressive Once Moreâ&#x20AC;?: Rejuvenating Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Southeast Asia

Introduction

Foreword

Kengo Hayashi / Shin Muramatsu

Part1: “Progressive Once More”: Rejuvenating Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Southeast Asia

- 1. Introduction to the 8th and 9th mASEANa International Conference Opening Address

Ho Weng Hin

Opening Remarks for Special Plenary Session

Desmond Lee

CONTENTS

- 2. Keynote SpeechRejuvenating and synergizing modern ASEAN architectural Conservation Discourse

Johannes Widodo

Our Modern Past is Too Young to Die: advocating for modern architecture in Singapore

Chua Ai Lin

The Future of Our Recent Past: Rejuvenating Singaporean Modern

Ho Weng Hin

Carrying On Styles / Creating New Phases Jun Aoki

Shigeru Aoki

32 - 3. ASEAN #1: Modern Landscape and the Everyday -

The Architectural Turn: Modern architecture and public space in Singapore, c.1973 Eunice Seng

The Stage, The Stars and The Crowds: the Life of Gelora Bung Karno Setiadi Sopandi

Da lat Market Quarter – An iconic modern architectural symbol of Da lat under transition Nguyen Cam Duong Ly & Tran Mai Anh

Moderated Discussion Moderator: Ho Puay Peng

Part2: Inventory of modern Buildings

- 4. ASEAN #2: Community and Ground-Up Initiatives Heritage Cinemas Evolution of Phnom Penh Hun Sokagna

- Inventory of modern Buildings in Kuala Lumpur -

Community-Led Adaptation in Downtown Yangon

History of modern architecture in Kuala Lumpur Nor Hayati Hussain

Inventory of modern Buildings in Kuala Lumpur

Beverley Salmon

- Inventory of modern Buildings in Singapore -

Moderated Discussion

Moderator: Johannes Widodo

History of modern architecture in Singapore - 5. ASEAN #3: Technology and Tectonics Precast Construction and the Megastructure of Amorn Srivongse Pinai Sirikiatikul

Johannes Widodo

109

Inventory of modern Buildings in Singapore

111

Acknowledgment

122

Investigation of Precast Concrete Facades in Heritage Buildings - Case Studies from Malaysia Wong Chung Wan

Tropicalizing Modernism for A New Nation Gerard Rey Lico

Moderated Discussion Moderator: Chang Jiat Hwee

- 6. Plenary Session: Rejuvenating Modern Buildings: The Social and Economic Values of Heritage Donovan Rypkema

Rejuvenating Modern Buildings in England Elain Harwood

72 74

Of Structures and Trees: An Engineering Perspective Hossein Rezai

Mark Latham

Where Values Collide: Heritage, Social Change and Market Lai Choo Malone-Lee

Moderated Discussion Moderator: Sarah Ichioka

86 90

CONFERENCE INFORMATION

The 8th mASEANa Conference in Urban Redevelopment Authority Centre

The 9th mASEANa Conference in Meiji Jingu Sansyuden

The 8th mASEANa Conference Singapore, 31. Oct - 2. Nov. 2019

The 9th mASEANa Conference Tokyo, 15. Feb. 2020

“Progressive Once More”

Rejuvenating Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Southeast Asia Venue: Urban Redevelopment Authority Centre Organizer (Japan): Docomomo Japan, Japan Foundation, mASEANa Project Committee Organizer (Singapore): Docomomo Singapore Working-Group-in-Progress, National University of Singapore, Department of Architecture, Singapore Heritage Society Supporter: ICOMOS Singapore

Program Rejuvenating and synergizing modern ASEAN architectural conservation discourse by Johannes Widodo (Singapore) Our Modern Past is Too Young to Die: advocating for modern architecture in Singapore by Chua Ai Lin (Singapore) ASEAN Panel I “Modern landscapes and the everyday” The Architectural Turn: Modern architecture and public space in Singapore, c.1973 by Eunice Seng (Singapore) Always something for Jakarta: The 4th & 18th Asian Games Venue by Setiadi Sopandi (Indonesia) Dalat Market Quarter – An iconic moder n architectural symbol of Dalat under transition by Nguyen Cam Duong Ly & Tran Mai Anh (Vietnam) ASEAN Panel II “Community and ground-up initiatives” Biggest financial and technical obstacles in Phnom Penh by Hun Sokagna (Cambodia) Community-led adaptation in downtown Yangon by Beverley Salmon (Myanmar)

Rejuvenating Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Southeast Asia Venue: Organizer: Co-organizer: Sponsership: Supporter:

Meiji Jingu Sansyuden DOCOMOMO Japan (mASEANa Project Committee) The Japan Foundation DOCOMOMO International, ICOMOS ISC20C, mAAN The Toyota Foundation

Program ASEAN Panel III “Technology and tectonics”

Opening Remarks by Kenji Watanabe (Japan)/ Masanobu Ito (Japan)

Prefabrication and the megastructure of Amorn Srivongse by Pinai Sirikiatikul (Thailand)

Keynote

Investigation of precast concrete facade in heritage buildings - case studies from Malaysia and Singapore. by Wong Chung Wan (Malaysia)

Carrying On Styles / Creating New Phases by Jun Aoki (Japan) The Future of Our Recent Past: Rejuvenating Singaporean Modern by Ho Weng Hin (Singapore)

Tropicalizing modernism for the Filipino nation by Gerard Rey Lico (Philippines)

Session "Progressive Once More”

Plenary Session “Rejuvenating modern buildings: the social and economic values of heritage”

Refining Architecture by Shigeru Aoki (Japan)

Encouraging investment in mid-century buildings: the why’s and how’s of incentives by Donovan Rypkema (US)

Restoration of historic (pre-cast) facade - case studies from Malaysia by Wong Chung Wan (Malaysia)

Rejuvenating modern buildings in England by Elain Harwood (UK)

Conservation of Modern Heritage in the Philippines by Gerard Rey Lico (Philippines)

Buildings and Trees: an engineering perspective by Hossein Rezai-Jorabi (Singapore)

Discussion and Q&A

Park Hill: Re-made in Sheffield by Mark Latham (UK) Where values collide: heritage, social change and market pressures by Malone-Lee Lai Choo (Singapore)

Closing and future of the mASEANa project by Johannes Widodo (Singapore) For the International Conference Docomomo 2020 Tokyo by Yoshiyuki Yamana (Japan)

PARTICIPANTS Co-coordinator

Johannes Widodo

National University of Singapore, mAAN, mASEANa, ICOMOS Singapore

Japan

Jun Aoki

Jun Aoki & Associates

Yasuko Kamei Nihon University

Malaysia

Shin Muramatsu The University of Tokyo, mAAN, mASEANa

Shigeru Aoki

Shigeru Aoki Architect & associate inc

Wong Chung Wan MAEK Consulting

Myanmar

Yoshiyuki Yamana Tokyo University of Science, mASEANa

Masanobu Ito The Japan Foundation

Cambodia

Hun Sokagna Roung Kon Project

Arsitekturindonesia.org

Deputy Director, Doh Eain

Philippines

Kenji Watanabe

Tokai University DOCOMOMO Japan chair

Indonesia

Setiadi Sopandi

Beverley Salmon

Gerard Rey Lico

University of the Philippines Diliman

Singapore

Kengo Hayashi The University of Tokyo

Desmond Lee

Minister for Social and Family Development and 2nd Minister for National Development

Vietnam

Chua Ai Lin

Ho Weng Hin

Executive Director, Singapore Heritage Society

mASEANa 2019 Co-Convenor, Docomomo-SG WIP, Studio Lapis

Chang Jiat Hwee

Lai Choo Malone-Lee

NUS Architecture

NUS Centre for Sustainable Asian Cities

Nguyen Cam Duong Ly Docomomo Vietnam

Tran Mai Anh Docomomo Vietnam

Eunice Seng

University of Hong Kong

Sarah Ichioka Desire Lines

Elain Harwood Historic England

Thailand

Ho Puay Peng NUS Architecture

Beer Singnoi

Architectural Photographer

Mark Latham Urban Splash

Hossein Rezai-Jorabi Web Structures

Pinai Sirikiatikul Silpakorn University

Donovan Rypkema

Heritage Strategies International

Photo credit: Jeremy San (Singapore Heritage Society Collection)

Foreword Kengo Hayashi / Shin Muramatsu

(mASEANa Project Coordinator, The University of Tokyo)

The mASEANa Project, which entails cooperative research on modern architecture in Southeast Asia conducted jointly by researchers in Southeast

and will conclude in March 2021. Sponsored jointly by the Japan Foundation,

Southeast Asia, Japan, the UK and the US gathered to introduce and discuss

the Toyota Foundation, and Docomomo Japan, it has three goals: 1) To create

the current conditions and initiatives underway in their respective countries.

ing conservation issues in Singapore, while two Japanese architects, Jun Aoki

In FY2019, Inventory Workshops were held in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, and International Symposiums were held in Singapore and Tokyo. points include new perspectives and new topics that will probably be widely modern architecture in Southeast Asia. In addition, this report concludes with the achievements on the Kuala Lumpur and Singapore Inventory Workshops. -

Photo credit: Beer Singnoi

Part 1: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Progressive Once Moreâ&#x20AC;?:

Rejuvenating Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Southeast Asia

1- Introduction 2- Keynote Speech 3- Modern Landscape and Daily Life 4- Technology and Tectonics 5- Community and Ground-Up Initiatives 6- Plenary Session: Rejuvenating Modern Buildings: The Social and Economic Values of Heritage

Singapore

Opening Address Ho Weng Hin

(mASEANa 2019 Co-Convenor, Docomomo Singapore Working-Group-in-Progress)

Introduction to the 8th and 9th mASEANa International

The title “Progressive Once More”: Rejuvenating Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Southeast Asia” embodies the vision that an alternative mode of redevelopment can and should be found for these large modernist

offering creative spatial solutions for so-called disruptive trends and facilitate

compared to current mainstream practice.

Conference

Heritage value is often assumed to be a function of the building’s age or

to the mid 1970s.

geometric forms of repetitive modular design and standardised material

the demolish-and-rebuild tabula rasa approach to urban development.

tainable is that?

potential of these forgotten modernist structures to become progressive urban beacons of our times.

conference presented a compelling case that rehabilitation is a viable and

Singapore

Opening Remarks for Special Plenary Session Minister Desmond Lee

(Minister for Social and Family Development and 2nd Minister for National Development)

Partnering the Community -

buildings and structures across our island are conserved.

Welcome -

Our Modern Buildings as Heritage Icons -

viable conservation schemes to be generated.

Singapore

Rejuvenating and synergizing modern ASEAN architectural conservation -From The 8th mASEANa Project Conference, 2019-

Johannes Widodo

(mASEANa Co-Founder, Docomomo Macau, NUS Architecture) mASEANa

Keynote Speech

Asian Modern Modernisms & Modernities -

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A History of Architectureâ&#x20AC;? with an

the discourse.

the bottom-up.

presence in our everyday lives.” capital.”

The mASEANa Platform Fig.1

Conclusion

Fig. 1: The mASEANa Platform (Source: Johannes Widodo)

Singapore

Our Modern Past is Too Young to Die: advocating for modern architecture in Singapore -From The 8th mASEANa Project Conference, 2019-

Chua Ai Lin

(Executive Director, Singapore Heritage Society)

Our Modern Past: A Visual Survey of Singapore Architecture 1920sâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;1970s

fortunate to have had an independent arts centre providing a small production

Fig.1

(Source: Joseph Nair)

Fig.2

ommendations are: for higher standards for the maintenance responsibilities

for this is to be more impactful in communicating our message to government Fig.3 (Source: Chua Ai Lin)

Fig.4

b. -

be an important resource. c.

these buildings -

put videos online to reach a bigger audience and to be available for access even after the event. Hashtags also help to consolidate material online and

Singapore

The Future of Our Recent Past: Rejuvenating Singaporean Modern -From The 9th mASEANa Project Conference, 2019-

Ho Weng Hin

(Docomomo-SG WIP, Studio Lapis)

Introduction

and political values to the evaluation criteria.

Fig.4 -

Fig.5 Fig.1

Fig.2

and civic groups appealed against the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proposal to demolish

Fig.3

Fig.6

Fig.8 -

in Singapore.

Fig.7

The post-independence modern built heritage of Singapore embodies

Fig.2: Former Victoria School, with the new 5-storey Singapore Heritage Society Collection) Jonathan)

Fig.3: Jurong Town Hall (Source: Jeremy San, Singapore Heritage Society Collection) later grafted onto the new mall and residential tower. The tiled Shanghai Plaster finish was reinstated. (Source: National

was demolished in 1992 for the road-widening of Stamford Road. (Source: Jeremy San, Singapore Heritage Society Collection and the Lee Kip Lin Collection)

(Source: Studio Lapis)

3. aesthetics.

age speculative en-bloc agitation

innovation.

Fig.9 tempts. Besides suffering from deteriorating building condition due to ageing

Fig.10.a -

Fig.7: Asia Insurance Building. (Source: Jeremy San, Singapore Heritage Society Heritage Society Collection) Collection)

San, Singapore Heritage Society Collection)

Fig.11

Lessons Learnt characteristic of the building. Surgical intervention such as remodeling of the

centives and dispensations that are coordinated across different government

ings and complexes of special value: 1.

Progress) Architects Planners)

sensible and sustainable manner are required. 3. -

in dialogue, and also carrying out independent research and studies on proposes horizontal intensification in the form of partial reconstruction of

and strategic.

change crisis to change mindsets and transform modus operandi in the

carried out. This initiative provided a structured and clear rationale for listing recommendations that aimed to enhance the publicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s understanding and tion of future infrastructure plans 3.

of heritage management of post-independence buildings.

tate innovative adaptive reuse design

Conclusion

Japan

Carrying On Styles / Creating New Phases -From The 9th mASEANa Project Conference, 2019-

Jun Aoki

(Jun Aoki & Associates)

speech.

Fig. 3: The south entrance

Fig.1 Fig.2

Fig. 1: Tairen Kinen Kyoto Museum (Builted in 1933, Architect: Kenjiro Maeda)

Fig. 5: The large display room

Fig.3 Fig.4 Fig.5

Fig.6 Fig.7

Fig. 4: The west entrance hall

Fig.8

Fig.10

Fig.11

Fig.12

Fig.9

Fig.13

Fig.14 Fig. 17: The entrance at the Parasophia

Fig.15

Fig.16

Fig. 14: The opened doors at the Parasophia

Fig. 15: The grand stairs at Fig. 16: the Parasophia

Fig.18

Fig.19

Fig.20 Fig. 24: The cross-section

Fig.21

Fig.22

Fig.23 Fig. 25: The new main entrance

Fig.24

Fig. 20: The facade at the completion

Fig.25 Fig. 26: The new grand display room

Fig. 27: The 2nd floor of the display room

the old shoe room is still remaining there. But this is the main entrance at this

Fig.26) Fig. 21: Picture from the proposal competition

made. Fig.27

Fig. 22: Stairsteps to the entrance Fig. 28: The entrance on the east side

Fig.28

Fig.29

Fig.30

Fig.31

Fig. 37: The Japanese garden

Fig.36

Fig.32, 33

Fig.37

formulated to be able to be reused. Fig.34 Fig.4

Fig.35 things and old things are incorporated.

Fig.38

Fig.39 Fig.40 Fig. 34: Large-sized terrace

Fig.41

Fig.42 Fig. 38: Recent entrance hall

Fig. 39: The stained glass in the hall

Fig.8

Fig.43 Fig.44

Fig. 41: Under construction

Fig. 44: The northern display room

Japan

Refining Architecture -From The 9th mASEANa Project Conference, 2019-

Shigeru Aoki

(SHIGERU AOKI Architect & Associates Inc.)

sistance Fig.2

Fig.1 Fig.3

Fig.4 vated building Fig.5)

longer Fig.6

Fig. 12: Setting up the model room after phase 2

Fig.7 Fig.8

Fig.9

the exterior Fig.13

Fig.10

Fig.14 -

Fig.11

Fig.15

Fig.12

Fig.20

Fig. 15: Old Hamamatsu Sala

Fig.21 Fig. 18: Interior of the

Fig.22 Fig.16, 17

Fig.23 Fig.18

building Fig.19

ceiling Fig.24

renovated.

perspective.

Fig.25

Fig.26

In case of reconstruction

Material Production (Body)

Material Production (Finishing)

Material Production (Facilities)

Construction (New Building)

3 ASEAN #1 : Modern Landscape

Singapore

The Architectural Turn: Modern architecture and public space in Singapore, c.1973 -From The 8th mASEANa Project Conference, 2019-

Eunice Seng

(SINGAPORE | University of Hong Kong) Authenticity in heritage discourse is a quagmire of power politics. Let us

to acknowledge the diversity of meanings, types of public and responses,

consider the Merlion statue at Sentosa. The latest version that opened in the

and the changing views and perceptions of the built heritage. This raises the

early 1990s is now closed and awaiting demolition. Following the exchanges

question of aesthetic value. Who are the arbiters of aesthetic value? Who and

by netizens on social media, there was much debate about why it was not

what informs such collective aesthetics?

big a loss, because it is after all not the original Merlion at the mouth of the

2018 poll described as a Study on Perceptions of Singapore’s Built Heritage

and the Everyday

With the exception of the Changi Airport Control Tower, no architecture

Singapore River. These collective echoes of ambivalence connect with the

and Landmarks. The Institute of Policy Studies came up with a ranking in

Are older buildings more beautiful, despite the knowledge that they are monuments to colonial power? Instead of an interrogation on collective aesthetics,

three categories, and across Singapore’s history of Pre-Independence, PostIndependence and the URA Conservation Master Plan of 1986. The Changi

“the architectural turn” – that is, a moment in the late 1960s through the mid-

Airport Control Tower came in top as the most important site in the country. In

1970s when modern architecture was thrust into the center of contemporary debates on the forms and spatiality of the state and its global city agenda.

terms of aesthetics, the Botanic Gardens came top for the voters aged 28

One could take the year 1973 as a pivotal point to interrogate archi-

years and below, and the original Merlion Statue topped the voters 29 years

tecture’s role in the creation of state-sanctioned public spaces in private

and above. The three sites that dominated the survey captured categories in

developments. These spaces were appearing in the city center and the com-

an infrastructure, a garden and a statue.

mercial district. The aim here is to insist on the understanding and appraisal

The Golden Mile Complex and other modernist buildings came in rather

of mid-century modern buildings as part of an urban cultural milieu amid a

low in the rankings in the study. Most of these were not even within the top 10, 15, 20 and 25. Why is this so? A plausible conclusion is that there is an inextricable relationship between the general consensus of physical appeal

and national identity. Or there is a strong correlation between the value of

anticipating the rise of the global city and the consumer’s city. These buildings

heritage and the sense of national identity for those born during or before

included the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) building designed by

1990. These are important conclusions insofar as they allude to the need

Architects Team 3, the Overseas Chinese Bank (OCBC) building designed by

Edmund Barker, the Minister for National Development. Barker was declaring

cussed without the state, because it was so deeply embedded in Singapore’s

Team. The People’s Park Complex residential tower just opened and a line-up of new shopping centers were on the drawing board or under construction.

that would be spearheaded by private enterprises.5 The newly established

use of private capital in is initial plans to become the global city. These would meet in the Central Area via the urban renewal program. In his article “Real

Between 1968 and 1973, numerous modern buildings were completed. Taken together, they formed an urbanism that embodied the technologies,

Second: the imagination of the market. This imagination could not be dis-

the private land sales program.6 unveiled a model showing the Golden Shoe District, with large-scale modern

challenges and aspirations of post-Independence years. The year 1973 can be examined through three imaginations of the built

also emerged in the region around 1967, including Asian Building and

developments under construction. They included the forty-story Malaysia-

environment: the state, market andregion. First, the imagination of the state. In

Singapore Airlines (MSA) building by Malayan Co-Partnership completed

Games consisting of athletes from seven participating nations.2 Planned and

treated the city as real estate – the pragmatic economic engine of the nation.

presented as a part of the region, even though it was geographically north of

The majority of the buildings would “range from 22 to 40-story stories and are

dence, Toa Payoh was designated as the Games Village to house the athletes

Southeast Asia and not related to the geopolitical construct of Association of

designed to provide continuous covered with walkways with landscaping to

and participants. A number of sporting events also occurred at the newly built

Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In addition to newspapers like the Bangkok

Toa Payoh Stadium. Two months earlier in July, the National Stadium was

Post, South China Morning Post and The Straits Times, many mass market

opened for the inauguration of the Southeast Asian Peninsula Games. This

publications portrayed this region of diverse cultures and traditions as one

intersection of architecture and a sports event positioned Singapore’s modern

undergoing rapid modernization and urban development. Modern architec-

complex ushered in the memory of the previous People’s Park Market (known

public housing program as a tangible manifestation of national progress. The

ture and new construction technologies were unambiguously accepted as

colloquially as “Sin Chew Pasah”). From a landscape of single-story market

SEAP Games and Toa Payoh New Town witnessed the convergent spaces of

the appropriate form of aesthetics, carrying the aspirations of a common

stalls, this southern part of the Central Area expanded into a Modernist

the state and the region.

modernity. The regional readership of such mass media continued to circulate

aesthetic recognized internationally.9 Next to this private complex was the

Meanwhile, city building became a project undertaken not only by the

and popularize the modern aesthetics, as this readership formed the other

state, but by the collaborative efforts of public and private enterprise. By 1967,

unintended public that had experienced the architecture of the city outside of

the processes of state planning and urban renewal were heavily promoted

the intended national public.

by the local government, legitimized by international technical expertise.

shops, 74 eating stalls, a crèche and kindergarten on the podium roof, and

Amid the tumultuous 1960s and 1970s in Southeast Asia and the post-Independence years in Singapore, many architects and planners were

old People’s Park Market. The crèche on the roof play deck was an incredibly

“urban renewal does not mean just the construction of low-cost housing. It

envisioning utopian and modern forms. In particular, the Singapore Planning

vibrant place well-loved by the residents.10

means the general improvement of the whole environment including roads,

and Urban Research (SPUR) group explored megastructures of integrated

imagination of a safe space for community participation within the city center.

car parking facilities, the provision of amenities and the construction of a

multi-block buildingsand linear infrastructures of transportation networks that

variety of commercial buildings which necessitates the investment of private

could co-exist with the historic city without demolition or eviction of the existing

Market and the rise of the privately-owned 31-story People’s Park Complex out

capital.”3

city. These large mixed-use strata title developments were architectural man-

of 2.5 acres of rubble. Before major public convention spaces were available in the city, only a few private development projects such as the People’s

In 1967, in an address to students of the Singapore Polytechnic, the

ifestations of planning for extreme density, suitable for an Asian modernity.

Deputy Prime Minister Toh Chin Chye acknowledged that urban renewal

This was in line with the postwar trajectory in architectural discourse towards

was no longer simply a “major political and social problem, but it is one of

an increased understanding of the interactions of socioeconomic and political

were able to host to important nationwide events. From the onset, the notion

economics, town planning and building.” By mid-1967, the government had

forces that produced this Asian modernity. This period marked the beginning

of the shopping complex as the new public space was articulated by the

announced a $90 million urban renewal plan, calling for local and overseas

architects and developers of these projects in the late 1960s. They echoed

ronmental design.” It demonstrated a new awareness of humanity’s impact on

the state in claiming the ‘People’s Park’ for the people, going beyond a mere

world whereby private participation was promoted by a government at such

shared ecosystems, culminating in a new paradigm in the understanding of

commercialized shopping venue. Even in 1968 when the project was under

a wide scale. Urban renewal “thrives on private participation,” according to

the dialectical relationship between architecture and the environment.

own, having every facility a traveler could wish for.”16 That same year, Ming

of plazas and courtyards that introduced the hotel as public space. There

Many of these have been demolished, mostly without any protest

in 1971, the Shangri-La luxury resort has been playing host to countless

or debate. The hotel interiors became the space for local arts and crafts, vivid

visiting dignitaries, national and international galas, and conference events,

ous others.

colors, materials and textures collected from the region and curated by the designers. Designed to convey a sense of luxury with a touch of homeliness,

The regional imagination of the mid-twentieth century hotel was predicated

these interiors were very different in their moods and sensibilities from the

on the geopolitical situation and economic expansion that peaked in the 1980s. The transformation of housing complexes to hotels and vice-versa mirrored

and the modern shopping center were conceived as new public spaces for

the development strategies for domestic housing and the tourism industry led by the state and the private enterprise.17 Originally designed by Iversen

activities. The regional hotel operators frequently commissioned established Apr. 1971)

and emerging artists from the region, appropriating the iconographies, tech-

Singapore was redesigned as a hotel when the owners realized that it made

of democratic space, with an intention “to maintain the image of a people’s

niques and materials of batik, rattan cane, teak and various vernacular crafts

more economic sense to build a hotel to capitalize on the burgeoning tourism

in the honing of a regional modernism.

in the region. This interchangeability between a hotel and apartment housing

park and that is why we have facilities for non shoppers.”

An artist’s impres-

sion of the air-conditioned interior of the People’s Park Complex showed wide escalators in the atrium space, and these ideas were widely publicized in

was not unusual during this time, especially since the extent of adaptation interior design was created by Don Ashton. The main entrance lobby was

local Chinese and English newspapers, and in numerous magazines.12 The glass tube chandelier was designed by the architect15 (Fig.2). Such hotels

space for the state’s creation of a new kind of public (Fig.1).

were characterized by a combination of the International Style architectural

The state, the developer and the architects planned for the coexistence

aesthetic, with a modern yet indigenous interior. The implications of this

of public and private interests in one site. On the one hand the shop-

double design aesthetic – universal and traditional – have not been fully

ping-cum-housing complex is a privately-owned building in an architectural

analyzed or understood within the canons of modernism. From a heritage preservation perspective, a historical and formal analysis of the modern

On the other, particularly when we direct our attention downwards, the con-

Asian hotel exterior as discrete modernist forms, must be complemented by

testations between the actual occupation of the ground and the symbolism

a historical and material inquiry of its interiors. Such studies must include an

of a universal modernist aesthetic is palpable. It is immediately conspicuous

interest in the origins of the hotel and its patronage, augmented by a lateral

that any genuine discussion on preservation cannot be limited solely to the

study of the economic development and geopolitical ambitions of the hotel

protection of the physical building as an isolated entity. Crucially, the historical

owner, in order for one to fully understand the complex construction of cultural

and spatial relationships between the clusters of modern buildings along Eu

identity in modern Asian architecture.

Tong Sen Street and the Chinatown district should be treated as a whole, as

These hotels embodied the decolonizing, nationalizing and interna-

the buildings and their attendant “public” and “consumers” were conduits into

tionalizing agendas of their time. This pivotal moment was marked by the

the urban genealogies of nation building and economic development.

emergence of the large luxury hotel with a multi-height atrium offering a new

luxury international hotels were completed in Singapore and the region.13

ample of the impact of regional tourism on architecture. In 1970, a link bridge

private development was adhering to the production of a new national “park”

Third: the imagination of the region. Between 1968 and 1973, numerous

was minimal18 (Fig.3

the understanding and appraisal of mid-century modern architecture as part

situation. It is pertinent that any study of the built heritage must question not

individual building to the past, present and future of the city within and without the national framework. This brief essay proposes the year 1973 as a method of inquiry. It is an attempt to discover the multifarious channels of imagination, in order to educate ourselves about the location of new sensibilities and

2. Vietnam, Burma (now Myanmar), Laos and Singapore – took part in sixteen sporting events. 454 athletes represented Singapore. The Southeast Asian Peninsular Games was changed to the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 1977. There are currently eleven Southeast Asian nations in the SEA Games. 3. 4. “$90m plan for a new look Singapore,” The Straits Times, Jun 16, 1967, 5 5. Ibid 6. The URD became an independent government authority in 1974. It was responsible for

ten-story building originally built in 1955 as a service apartment building.19

confound the limited question of authenticity and preservation. In conclusion, it is imperative to examine the socioeconomic and geopolitical narratives surrounding any building project in Asia because of the interconnected histories of the region. The immediate site and other regional contexts of contemporaneous buildings would also shed light on other concealed imaginations. The year 1973 saw the opening of the Singapore Zoological Gardens, the announcement of the Instant Asia Project, the completion of the Cable Car Tower to Sentosa Island. This tower was the ultimate Brutalist form of an infrastructure, that served a nationwide tourism master

of a mid-century building to a public conditioned by economic pragmatism? The study of the built heritage must take into account, beyond national imperatives, public perception, aesthetic appeal and individual memories,

7. Alan Choe, “Real estate development trends in the Central Area of Singapore,” Asian Building and Construction (Jan 1973): 16-22. 8. For a historical analysis of the People’s Park Complex and its complicit role in the making of a new public space as national project, see, Eunice Seng. "People’s Park Complex: The State, the Developer, the Architect and the Conditioned Public, C.1967 to the Present." In Southeast Asia's Modern Architecture: Questions of Translation, Epistemology and Power, 9. Eunice Seng, 2019, 242-44. 10. “US team impressed with our creche facilities,” The Straits Times, Nov 2, 1968, 4. 11. “Old Landmark Goes,” The Straits Times, Jun 18, 1968, 6. 12. “People’s Park Complex,” The Straits Times, Dec 1, 1967, 8. “Space for all in People’s Park Complex,” Far East Builder (April 1971): 21-24. 13. 14. Colombo (1956-2000). For a full analysis of the emergence of these hotels in Southeast Asia as part of the larger modernizing project of the region, see, Eunice Seng. “Temporary domesticities: The Southeast Asian hotel as (re)presentation of modernity, 1968–1973,” The Journal of Architecture 22, 6 (2017): 1092-1136. 15. Far East Builder (Sep. 1968): 27-30. 16. Builder (Nov. 1969): 19-20. 17. Eunice Seng (2017): 1119. 18. 1970): 33-38. 19. Ibid.

Indonesia

The Stage, The Stars and The Crowds: the Life of Gelora Bung Karno -From The 8th mASEANa Project Conference, 2019-

Setiadi Sopandi

(Arsitekturindonesia.org, Director & Co-Founder)

This paper describes fragments of the life of the much celebrated Gelora

was no surprise as at the same time Indonesia also launched three national

about the project was superlative. The biggest, the widest, the largest, the

architectural – symbolic – competitions for the National Monument, the

longest, the tallest. The main stadium carried more than a hundred thousand

National Mosque, and the headquarter for central bank – Bank Indonesia. So

spectators. Once it peaked at 150 thousands, well sheltered under the folded

the architectural monumental intent was there already.

oval cantilevered shed. The indoor stadium – named Sports Palace or Istana

during the 1950s and early 1960s. The massive sports complex was planned

The selection of Indonesia as the host for the 4th Asian Games was

and built during one of the most turbulent times in Indonesian political and

made around the time when Indonesia was about to fall into an authoritarian

can host 15 thousands.

collapse. Indonesia proclaimed her independence in a precarious time, in

parliament. There were four cabinets for four years, making the government

and a technical assistance from the USSR. It was always been associated

August 1945, and right away, has to go through wars and diplomatic battles

crippled unable to perform any development nor tackled urgent matters. So

for more than 4 years. Right after, Indonesia had to deal with a collapsed

Sukarno took everything into his own hands, threw a decree to disband the

economy with strategic assets as well as governmental administrations still

democratically elected dysfunctional parliament, and proclaimed his “Guided

controlled by Dutch corporations. In addition to that, we are facing separatist

Democracy”, and announced Indonesia under martial law. In addition to that,

Olah Raga – hosted 10 thousands. The athletic stadium – Stadion Madya –

economic history. By the end of the 1950s, Indonesia was in the brink of

movements, often backed by foreign powers amidst of the global Cold War. But the 1950s was an interesting times. Despite all the hardships, we

territory just had reached a new peak. The long process of nationalization

can still witness so many wonder of the modern global world unrolling in

(of Dutch-owned companies) suddenly break into a massive anti-Dutch

Indonesia – especially in the capital Jakarta. The 1950s saw mushrooming movie theaters catering the urbanites with pop-culture, including home-grown movies, press freedom, and liberal democracy. This was also an era where

Productions stopped, administration delayed, and military-backed mobs run

urban development and architectural projects were placed on a national stage and became symbols of development and national identity.

The design for the sports venue calls for an integrated sports complex to

On May 25, 1958, in Tokyo, Indonesia was appointed as the host for the

host most of the games which was highly regarded by the Olympic Committee.

4th Asian Games in 1962. This was a second attempt by Indonesia, which

Only 5 countries in the world in 1960 had such integrated sports complex.

means by 1954 Indonesia had already been motivated to host the event. This

The capacity set for each venue was staggeringly monumental, as everything

with Moscow’s Luznisky stadium which bears similar feats such as the canti-

along the north-south spine.

levered shelter and the oval shape. A group of engineers and architects were deployed to work on it, and directly consulting the site and the design with

anti-colonialism campaign, Sukarno initiated an alliance of independent formerly-colonized countries namely Conference of The New Emerging Forces

Indonesia and its roundabout is topped with a statue gesturing “welcome” to

or CONEFO as the alternating power alliance to the United Nations. The move

Sukarno. On the other hand, Sukarno assigned his trusted architect, Silaban,

was timely with Indonesia’s withdrawal from the United Nations following

to comment and to supervise the project. After considering several options,

Indonesia’s objection on the formation of the Federation of Malaya which con-

Senayan area was selected as the site for the complex.

sisted of West Malaya, Singapore, British protectorates of North Borneo and

The sports complex location was strategically set on a spot lying between the Weltevreden – the 19th century southern extension of old Batavia – and the

villages of Jakarta a shock.

the borders. Including a bomb terror in Singapore. As well as to the streets of

nationally and internationally. It pulled many strings. The 4th Asian Games

Jakarta, along the North-South axis of Thamrin-Sudirman Boulevard. Sukarno

A generous expanse of land was cleared, 240 hectares, for the whole event. The architectural and infrastructural projects set a new footprint for Jakarta.

Sarawak. The confrontation campaign brought some military engagements in

The 4th Asian Games ware indeed very highly anticipated by the public,

then commissioned the CONEFO complex to be built at the north plot of the eventually turned out later as the national television corporation, Televisi

sports complex. The construction was started in 1965 and eventually rushed.

Republik Indonesia, or TVRI – occupying a plot on the northern side of the

But due to the major political upheaval in 1965, It was never used as intended.

of the north-south historic spine but also allowed further expansion towards

complex. Newspapers anticipated the event not only by articles but also

The CONEFO building was then established as the Parliament Building.

the west and the east part of Jakarta. The USA, as an effort to win Indonesian

television advertisements.

sympathy in the midst of Cold War, funded the by-pass roads infrastructure

Many political controversies emerged during the event such as the

development. The west by-pass intersects the north-south Thamrin-Sudirman

exclusion of Israeli and Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) athletes which

boulevard axis allowing movement of vehicles from the south to the west, and

prevented them from participating in the games. The action caused Indonesia

enabling further western expansion of the city. The east by-pass allows goods

to be suspended from the International Olympic Committee and barred from

and commodities to be transported from the inland directly to the Tanjung

the 1964 Summer Olympics, which subsequently responded by hosting an

Priok at the north east without passing through the inner city. The complex

alternative in 1963. Indonesia initiated the alternative version of the Olympics, bore the name of GANEFO, The Games of the New Emerging Forces. The

with the growth triggered by the blue and the yellow road, these infrastructural

would be in Phnom Penh, in 1966.

developments created stems for the growth of Jakarta metropolitan area. Powered by the Japanese War Reparation funding, few projects were realized

Aftermath the 1965 downturn, a new Army-USA-backed authoritarian regime ruled Indonesia for more than three decades. Backed by the military-regime, few strategic companies – especially Pertamina – the state

body acts as a commercial developer which tends to embrace development

approach, resulting in visually attractive spaces and secondary spaces for

of dormant assets for public and commercial activities.

many kinds of activities. The rich articulation of the axes surprisingly incites

Due to the pressure from the president, the Minister of Public Works &

monopoly energy company – had enormous power over Indonesia’s natural resources, including controlling strategic urban assets. The northern tip of the

creative uses by the public. These are four major venues which went through major refurbishment

of architects to plan, coordinate, and execute the renovation design of the

(the Athletic Stadium by Maria Rosantina, Aquatic Center by Andra Matin,

masterplan and the buildings. This includes the refurbishment of the roads,

Tennis Outdoor & Indoor Venue by Adi Purnomo, and the Sports palace by

other strategic parcels were controlled by many developers turned into hotels,

parks, transportation and parking system, security, access, drainage, and the

Boy Bhiwara). Every structure from the 1962 Asian Games were protected and

shopping malls, and other commercial developments. This resulted in the

integration of activities and movements. The designers were also expected to

only slightly renovated in order to be distinct. New elements were carefully

complex being surrounded and overshadowed by the modern development,

conserve the original historic structures as well as to design new buildings.

deployed not to compete with the original ones. The original athletic stadium

inward-looking and isolated into inaccessible islands. Stadiums are isolated

– which was partially sheltered – is now covered by a new roof system, leaving

from each other, preventing people to access their facilities. Each with its own

to be able to accommodate immediate future needs, including creating as

the original elements almost untouched literally by the new ones. The aquatic

authority colluding with ill-managed sports associations.

many attractive spots as possible for free public use. The four main axes lead-

center is now turned completely indoors, as the original structure is retained

ing to the Main Stadium were assigned for total make over, using a thematic

and completely arched by the new roof and structural system. The outdoor

Sports associations – which are often corrupted and mismanaged – occupied spaces in the buildings and made ad hoc and poor alterations to the

tennis stadium gets only minimum intervention and rearrangement of access.

buildings. Uncoordinated upgrading caused more damages to the original

The indoor stadium – the Sports Palace – is cleared from unsightly and intru-

structures. This happened for more than 30 years, unwatched. Gelora Bung

sive additions, and given a friendly and proper interface for the public.

disassociate the complex from the former president Sukarno, lessening the

ticipated. It holds the largest number of spectators and will be the center

importance of the historic sport complex and everything related to it.

of attention during the opening, closing, and every other major event but

As the centerpiece of the complex, the Main Stadium is the most an-

Another chance came in 2012, when Indonesia was appointed as the 18th Asian Games 2018. Jakarta and Palembang were selected as the jointor a principle to guide the architectural development. For the Main Stadium, renovation was only started from 2016, only after President Joko Widodo

whatever necessary taking all responsibilities of renovation, construction, upgrading all infrastructure and facilities demanded by the event. This meant a huge undertaking, allowing the minister to by-pass many administrative procurement requirements. It is a well-known fact that typical Indonesian bureaucratic procedures usually prevents good architects from entering public commissions, because it is full of tricks and almost certainly smeared with corruption. Big state-owned

control the biddings. The practice indeed prevented good design and a well-

to mismanagement, corruption, and the lack of state support. The expansive sports complex was indeed an expensive facility to maintain. Since the estab-

the architect set several new approaches on how to manage the crowd

sessions for the public in particular spots. Skateboarders, cyclists, electric

approaching the building. In order to invite more public engagement to the area and to explore activation of the spaces, the architects decided to take

The garden surrounding the main stadium is also generated by many activities enjoyable by the public, thanks to the access, facilities, lighting, and security services.

disruption. Barriers are reconsidered and negotiated between the authority and the

roads as a race track. It has caused an uproar from the users. What I found

architect, to provide the best decision (1) to control the crowd effectively, (2)

interesting about this fact is that the public loves the space and will go a

to provide better security and maintenance, (3) to minimize visual pollution to the main stadium. The architect developed a water barrier, enlarging the drainage system into a moat which also serves as an aesthetic feature.

Complex.

Several scenarios on the physical barrier were developed as alternative as the authority intends to minimize the security risk during the event. The architect

Elizabeth and Daniel Craig as James Bond for the 2012 London Olympics.

proposed the exterior spaces to be activated as commercial spaces, so the

The popular theatrics do not stop there, but also played as the major venue

surface of the main stadium can act as a generator of activities as well as

during the 2019 political rallies, by both contenders. And, obviously, as the

revenue center for the complex.

sports complex (especially the stadium) has been closely associated to Joko

To further enhance the idea, the architect proposed an innovative strategy by adding an extra layer of columns and to place spiraling ramps.

Widodo’s appearances, this has been working out well for him. As a top-down major infrastructure project, obviously we cannot avoid

The ramps are intended to be free public access to the upper galleries, so the commercial and public activities will also be happening there. The similar

and pressure from the top chain of command.

‘covering’ strategy was also applied elsewhere to accommodate the need to -

refurbishment of the facilities can do for the public more than ever before.

ity completely rejected the plan and deemed it as an outrageous proposal. The debate made it into mainstream news media and eventually the proposal

still apparent and preventing the public from being very close to the buildings.

was dropped.

The outer fences and green areas were also enclosing the ring of the Main

My take of this debate is that the main stadium has always been so

Stadium from interacting with the outside. In addition to that, unrestricted

strategic, not only for the event, but also for everyone involved in the process.

access by motorized vehicles at times turned the ring road into parking lot. But now the opening of the barriers – especially in the premise of the Main

centerpiece of the global event, as much as the authorities want their hands

Stadium - enable public use not only during weekends but also weekdays day

on the object to show their power.

and night. With the additional lighting, the place becomes popular for night time uses, even more than daytime uses. Thanks to the operation of Jakarta

indeed important political property for the 2019 Presidential campaign. The ef-

MRT which connects the complex with the Jakarta Central Business District,

forts and special status given to the project were not gone to waste. The 18th

combined with spacious pedestrian area outside the complex, successfully

Asian Games was opened in 18th August 2018 – a day after the celebration

bring more people to exercise and to enjoy the complex.

of Indonesia’s 73rd independence anniversary – featuring Joko Widodo, the

president as the star of the show. – the man who gave the special status of the

Vietnam

Da lat Market Quarter – An iconic modern architectural symbol of Da lat under transition -From The 8th mASEANa Project Conference, 2019-

Nguyen Cam Duong Ly & Tran Mai Anh (DOCOMOMO Vietnam)

The Da Lat Market quarter - an iconic modern architectural symbol of the

small quarter in the centre and in the west of the city, reserved for the local in-

city of Da Lat since the French and American occupation periods is nowadays

habitants in the Plan O’Neil (1919), proved the continual segregation policies

landscape axes and amenities to create a centre for Da Lat. In this map we

under transition time. Originally land of the ethnic natives, Da Lat was discov-

of the French authorities in Da Lat, is the debut of the Vietnamese quarter for

can also see many migrant communities in the southern and the western and

ered by French Doctor Alexandre Yersin in 1893 under the order of French

the Vietnamese community that serves the city.

northern part, which extends to the eastern side of the city. These migrant

governor Paul Doumer to create a resort town in the South of Vietnam. For a

In 1923, a new plan of Da Lat was proposed by a famous French planner

long time, the city is a summer town for the French colonials, and the local

Fig.1

hamlets (“

” in Vietnamese) came from North and Central Vietnam and most

of them worked in the agricultural sector.

inhabitants - the ethnic native and Vietnamese population - were considered as outsiders in this area. Today Da Lat Market Quarter is considered as one of the most symbolic quarters of Da Lat city which still preserves its identical

power of the Vietnamese community in the centre of the development of Da

urban and architectural images throughout its history. This quarter proves its

Lat City. With the position of the market, the commercial centre of the city

historical values are of the market being considered as the continual economic

position in memories of Da Lat’s inhabitants. The quarter should be well rec-

was an important role for activities besides the resort town and administrative

and service centre of the city. Since its beginning, Da Lat market quarter holds

ognized for its heritage values, not only in its history with memorable events

functions.

the economic power of the Vietnamese inhabitants in the European-style city.

and personages, but also in its architecture styles, construction technologies, urban and landscape heritage values, that are fading under the pressure of the fast urban development of the city of Da Lat recently.

Da Lat city was object of some exploration plans and projects of French

city is the Plan Champoudry in 1906, and later one is the Plan O’Neil in 1919. These two plans considered the Vietnamese population with a minor position in their city as most of the plots were reserved for the European and French population, with only small portions for local inhabitants. Annam Village - a

In the plan of 1963 made during the American time, the structure of the

The old French market, built in 1937 to replace the wooden ethnic market at

seen with the use of balconies, eaves, verandas, air ventilating slots and the

planner to protect the panorama view from the hillside towards the city centre

vegetation planting on the facades. The elegant facades of the modernist 59 in the nearby marshy valley. It was also considered as the mainstage for

market and the modernist shophouse using the curve facade, the vertical

Another feature of the Da Lat Market Quarter is its intangible value.

many political events, for example the Revolution in August 1945 or the public

and horizontal division by columns and concrete sun shading, are still well

This is not only progressive architecture but the interesting thing is how

preserved until today (Fig.3). In addition, the architect reproduced the zigzag

these modernist buildings in harmony with the customs and practices of

and chevron motif of the old Art Deco market in the new market buildings,

the local inhabitants. The continuous custom of the local inhabitants to go

maybe to make them more harmonized.

to the outdoor markets to buy local products (foods, agricultural products,

This quarter also has great architectural value with the interesting Art Deco

In talking about construction technology, SIDEC - one of the main contrac-

crafts) is well-preserved in both the old market and the modernist market. The

Style in the French market (Fig.2) designed and constructed by the Société

tors of many markets in Vietnamese cities during French period, had created

harmonization of old and new practices, of the indigenous, Vietnamese and

Indochinoise d’Études et de Construction (SIDEC) and the modernist style

a large open plan space without compartments, supported by reinforced

Western living styles coexists both at the indoor and the outdoor markets. The

in the new market complex designed by the new generation of Vietnamese

concrete pillars for the Art Deco market. This could be considered as pro-

modernist buildings in this context became more friendly while in harmony with the lifestyle of the indigenous people. Today this is also a place of Da

In the Art Deco market, some identical architectural elements of this

structure in other Vietnamese cities. The modernist market’s structure is also

Lat outdoor market, especially during the night, popular for not only the local

style could be found, such as the clean rectangular form, the various simple

by reinforced concrete. The materials used for the modernist shophouses are

inhabitants but also for tourists.

decorative geometric shapes (chevrons, zigzags) and straight lines, featuring

very identical for the whole area with reinforced concrete for structure, pebble

bright colors. The function of these architectural details is also to adapt

dash for facade, wood for doors and windows and iron for balconies.

with local climate and practices - the decorative elements became the air

One of the main values of the quarter is the urban and landscape value.

As mentioned earlier, Da Lat, especially the market center where

ventilating slots, the verandas to open the market activities toward exterior.

The complex of markets, shophouses and boutiques, market places and

located numerous important building and accumulated lots memories of Da

landscape axes in Da Lat market quarter is considered as one of the most well-planned market quarters in Vietnam. The combination of market hall,

detailed master plan to give the downtown area of the provincial capital of Da

transformed it into the city meeting hall surrounding by retail kiosques of

market streets with shophouses and market square, are typical typologies

Lat, a famous tourist destination, a complete refurbishment. (

modernist style.

for many commercial centers of Vietnamese residential quarters, such as

)

According to the plan, the Da Lat’s downtown area, covering some 30

case of Da Lat, this model represents in both old and new markets as the market in Vietnam. This new market complex composed of two buildings of 3

popular model of Vietnamese living style. The design of the slope roof for the Art Deco market hall created an harmonization with the surrounding traditional

a complex center with modern architecture for service and entertainment

shophouse while still created an modern image. In the case of the modernist

purposes. In the meantime, the Da Lat Market, covering a 6.95-hectare area,

ment and concert activities. All of these functions are still preserved nowadays.

market quarter planned and designed by Ngo Viet Thu, the green modernist

With the design concept to apply the Modernist style with adaptation to the

esplanade was created with straight lines, the curves of the topography

Fig.5) The

change and the integration of the modernist buildings (market, kiosques, of hotel, travel and accommodation services and public constructions.

low level and the verandas to open the market activities towards the exterior,

buildings, shophouses) in harmony with the topography. This could be con-

which make the modernist buildings more friendly and lively. The interesting

sidered as one of the most well-landscaped market quarter in Vietnam. The

The local government approved the detailed plan with strategy to improve

part of this market complex is the plan made by Ngo Viet Thu - one of the most

architects had well recognized the forces of the site with variations in topog-

the quality of services in the area and create new places for tourists to spend

famous architects of Vietnam, in 1959, with the modernist connecting bridge

raphy height to construct the new complex without destroying the landscape

money. It will also attract more investment into Da Lat, transforming it into a

structure and the 2 or 3-storey shophouses wrapping around the market. The

characteristics of the site. The connecting bridge was an idea of President

resort city of international level The new proposal faced a lot of oppositions from both academia and

or other household activities. The adaptation to the local context could be

local people. According to Ngo Viet Nam Son, son of Mr. Ngo Viet Thu, the

Agency). During that time, he was famous for many important buildings

directly under the president of South Vietnam. By this new assignment, he had a chance to make the detailed plan, and also with the existing market, he proposed a renovation design with a new architectural style. The most important features that he was proud of was the new walk-way bridge and stairways that enhance community activities of the Da Lat people (Fig.7). Before, it was in two parts, one in the market and one in the city meeting hall, quite separate with the topography. The stairway not only connects these two areas and shows the idea of connecting with landscape topography that is native, but also brings people together, especially to enhance the community of Vietnamese people as before, it was usually for the Europeans.

The Da Lat Market Quarter with the old and new markets became the iconic landmarks of Da Lat city since many decades. The two complexes prove their progressiveness in the design styles, the construction technologies, the comfort and the urban landscape harmonization. This quarter is a current planning can be equally well implemented in the northeastern area of

the impact of this market center to Da Lat city from “resort city” in colonized

popular destination for visitors, the lively community memories of many Da Lat

Da Lat, away from the city center, where large areas of empty land offer huge

time to a “peace and independent city”

inhabitant generations and the local government should enhance its values

potentials to develop a new highlight for tourism to the city.

Da Lat Center’s new master plan have aroused a huge outcry from the

Da Lat is still a popular destination for visitors, with more than 6.5 million visitors a year, and everyone must come to this place for food and buy hand-

which direction to follow with regards to development, in looking forward to

icrafts from locals and minorities which brings a lot of activities there. Now

share the experience from other places and to have a chance to say at this

even though it looks in poor condition, it is an awareness of how the local

point that it is an important part of Da Lat City.

Internet. People used media to call for the attention of how important it is to Da Lat people. To interview with Local Da Lat people, they mentioned their pride

to integrate the spirit of “new centre market” in the old time to the “new centre

about a modern center of “independent and peace city” in Vietnam during

city” in the future?

the Vietnam war. Many photos were shared by the Da Lat people in their albums, where they remember food stands in the lower ground where they always stopped

Ngo Viet Thu was one of the most famous Vietnamese modern architects.

by to buy cheap and interesting local food, which made the city center very lively. They shared their old memories in old family albums, one includes an

activist for heritage architects. We had an interview with Ngo Viet Nam Son

invitation to the opening ceremony of the market. It is one of the very special

during urban heritage seminar in SaiGon last summer. We discussed what is

photos that they kept in their albums for many years, and people wanted to

the role and how Ngo Viet Thu took part in the detailed planning and building

show that these are old beautiful precious memories (

Da Lat Market.

). They never forgot

Moderated Discussion -From The 8th mASEANa Project Conference, 2019-

Moderator: Ho Puay Peng (NUS Architecture) With Eunice Seng, Setiadi Sopandi, Tran Mai Anh and Nguyen Cam Duong Ly interesting in the case of People’s Park Complex, is the idea of a “People’s

often in many cinemas, so it was popularized before. Sukarno took it as a kind

Park” that went through different iterations, from the developer to the state

of political propaganda using architecture as well, using it as a something to

you picture modernism as a kind of architectural style within this socio-political

via Alan Choe and various layers and then somehow reaches a kind of

milieu at that time (e.g. with the independence from Malaya for Singapore, the

explosion where they all came together at the opening. In the subsequent

the archipelago. Everything seems to be channeled through the architecture

‘Confrontation” and leadership in Indonesia) and the idea of moving forward

decade it became a national space, private space and commercial space

so it is not something that is related to our everyday life but something as

simultaneously which we can see in many of these strata projects - Golden

a form of propaganda. Somehow, we still have those architectures or hotel

together?

complexes as something distant from us – quite exclusive at the time – but still : In a way, that is the gist of what I was getting to. The sort

of everyday coincided with an expanding home owning middle-class and also

of formal aesthetic of modernism through my shared archive of forms really

coincided with a serious spurt of tourism in the region. That’s why I looked at

popular that we embrace it to our own conscience. : In the case of Vietnamese cities, we can say

become receptacles or containers for emerging new types of spaces. They

1973, mainly because it sits in the middle and also at the end of many things.

that modernism was a new trend in that moment, as the Vietnamese architects

were new in the sense that they revisited, say, market spaces. What was

There are many levels beyond the national depth that drives the imperative

had education in the French school. To return to the country and try to apply

that really produced this kind of everyday.

it to the context of the cities, the architects have proved that they had many

: I always picture the architecture in Indonesia (es-

considerations about the context, the local inhabitants and local practices.

pecially in the 50s and the 60s) as a massive show that was laden with so

It seems that modernist projects at the time like many works by the architect

many sentiments, even during the early 50s where actually a lot of modern

Ngo Viet Thu, (e.g. the project of the city centre of Saigon and Da Lat Market Place) has shown that he led the idea of modernity but always considered

Project, it was genuinely a Dutch project even thought it was handled by

how to harmonise with the local context and climate. It made the modernist

an Indonesia planner, yet Indonesian society embraced it like our own. It

building more open and friendly and intimate with the local life.

was popularised by movies, by a director who was actually given a Fulbright

: To add on, for the case of Da Lat Market Quarter it is not only about the building itself but also about the surrounding quarters.

promoted Indonesian public pop-culture, using architecture as the back-

The stairways, bridge and especially the shophouses were important factors. Because the French colonies had left, the Vietnamese people wanted their

that is embraced by Indonesia. It was celebrated at the time and appeared

own houses and own businesses. By that time, one may say that it was about

because they have moved on, it is my reading (and I may be wrong) that the next generation didn’t relate to that - maybe it is a kind of forgetting. I think this sort of remembering is important, not in one way but many ways because we are reaching so many types of levels and age group is just one way to classify them. But there are many other ways and if we keep cutting them, how many ways can you look at this building? I think that is highly productive. SS: In Indonesia’s case it was about momentum.

Last year, everything

came together: the Presidential Campaign, hosting the Asian Games for the second time. At the same time Indonesian politics until now has been so polarised that we separate ourselves as pro-the president or against-the president. Everything has its gravity and everything adds to the excitement and expectation of the Complex. By the end, it doesn’t have to be like that, but the chance that has been taken by the people and the authorities. There are massive efforts to reconnect. As an architectural piece the Sports Complex

except for the massive capacity of the venue. But somehow, the PR people, the ministry, the architects and everyone involved in the project seems to be successfully connecting whatever he said with the public with the 4th Asian Games, which touched a lot of sentiments from the Indonesian people. A chives have been acquired very quickly in a small amount of time (everything seemed to come without us asking for them) so we managed to compile a lot of documents. It is a very strong association with the 1962 events, something like a huge momentum for us, taken very well by the people involved. individual economics and household economics as an important characteris-

‘modern architecture’ because they lived in them. In the 30s, it was still a

: In the Vietnamese case, we know that modernism was introduced

tic that Ngo Viet Thu considered, in order to create these kinds of shophouses

during the war, so modernist buildings mostly adapted to that context by

next to the market.

ture was not such a strange thing any more. What is interesting is that going

building quickly and cheaply. That is why not many spectacular buildings

HPP

back to the polling, I looked further at the different age groups and realised

were built during that time and in talking about modernist buildings, many

Excelsior. In Singapore, people value the Merlion or Sentosa more than Golden

that it was the younger people (aged 29 and below) that ranked buildings like

people did not consider it to have big heritage value. Nowadays new genera-

Mile Complex. In Jakarta, the stadium is reused and the market in Da Lat is

Golden Mile Complex higher. Perhaps its thanks to things like The Projector

preserved. For the “now”, how does that relate? Some of this architecture was

modernist buildings in many cases have two facades like brise-soleils, with

created in the socio-political milieu at the time, but today, do we imagine it

actually reminds me that when we go back to the 70s as a case to understand

differently or reimagine it as it was in the 60s and 70s? Shall we also reposition

that moment in the same way, there is a lot of conditioning going on. Whether

it so that it has a certain value or maybe even a reimagined value for today?

reinvent this type of modernist style to the present day as a response to the

ES: I think all of the above. Conditioning is very important because by

Malaysia, or hanging out at People’s Park Complex, there is a subconscious

the 70s, the population (so to speak) had pretty much been conditioned to

conditioning of a very particular type of experience in space. Over time

trend in Saigon, called “neo-Saigon” or Saigonese architecture, trying to

: The reuse of the

possible, so there was no choice at the time in 2016. It was given directly by

last few weeks, I heard authority plans to host a car racing tournament inside

the president, with all the authority given to the Ministry of Public Works. It

the venue and some people were very angry with that. It is very interesting

was an extra procedural process back then which also stirred up a lot of com-

to see people speak up about this, so it is not only about the authorities and institutions and government bodies or architects, but those who actually use

had to be done in time for the Games.

the space. We have a list of rules and “Dos and Don’ts” on how to use the

ES: To add to that, there is a book by the urban theorist Rahul Mehrotra who

space without the government telling us what to do, so we determine what is

describes this phenomenon of needing to quickly utilise the land with the

best for the complex with a recurring theme on what is deemed appropriate

and inappropriate. That is what I believe is a good thing for any kind of

dents to Taiwan to look at ruins and sites that just did not get enough interest

rejuvenation of modern spaces.

to be reinvested in - really interesting modernist architecture dating back to was degrading for a long time. After the plan of the authority to demolish it, fascinating because that would never happen in ‘an impatient city’. Now, I

people tried to conserve the building by rearranging and reusing the site for

would say Singapore is in the same situation of needing to always maintain

a short time, raising public awareness about the building and making it more

economic viability. There has to be other paradigms because if we were to

attractive to the public. It became a popular attraction for the younger people

use that only, capital is impatient and it will always require greater Gross Floor

who came for the coffee shops, bookstores. This might be a way to raise

Areas, and so on.

awareness to the authority. : The experience

TMA: It is an important building along one of the main streets of Saigon that

of the stadium with lack of funding to redevelop is a very interesting statement, because that is in contrast to experiences in other parts of the world, such as

Town, at that time for the high-ranking people from the government and army, a residential icon along an important axis of the city. Because it is a high-

trying to reverse the trend of development simply because the economic

class building, the quality itself was believed to be good. After the renewal,

temptation to rebuild and redevelop is too high. Moving forward, do you see

it was occupied by the new government and factory workers became more

that the same kind of economic pressure would be exerted on places like

important so one of the buildings there was transformed for those working

Indonesia and Vietnam? Do you see the same kind of resilience that your

in Bason Port (a factory) so that the factory workers could own units in that

experiences have so far to be able to resist the pressure of developers’ greed

building. The axis mentioned became a walking street from 2012-2013 and is

and temptation to rebuild?

a touristic spot since then. Gradually, people who owned a unit there rented

for the National Stadium. It is interesting how a monument in Indonesia is

it out and the use transformed into coffee shops, cafeterias and shops inside

being reused. Can you give some context on how that came about, because

with what is necessary for the development. A constant battle is between

the building, changing incrementally from 2013 -2019. It is a case from the

the government could have very easily torn it down and rebuilt it to show the

not only these two sides, but also with many parties involved in the decision

community, (as one of the ways even for Da Lat and many other places) to

ambition for the new era. Why do you think it was retained? Was there a lot of

making especially the ones that cannot be controlled by the government.

encourage the involvement of the citizens and the people.

lobbying or was it just political willpower?

There is one group that is careful about the heritage who is given authority, not

SS: Quite easy to answer. It was a blessing in disguise - because we had

by the central government but by the provincial government. A lot of things

limited resources and no time to build a new one, and also because Indonesia

go on at the same time and it has always been confusing but using the Asian

was selected as host of the Games in 2012. Nothing happened for several

Games as momentum bypassed this confusion by poking the higher structure

years until suddenly the new government was pressured to do something

of power. So far, the attention has been turned away because the event is

because there was very limited time and there were stages that had to kept

over and everything now seems very calm. The interesting thing is that the

up. There were also some pressing issues that had to be done as quickly as

people who now use the spaces are beginning to be empowered. Over the

ASEAN #2:

Community

Cambodia

Heritage Cinemas Evolution of Phnom Penh -From The 8th mASEANa Project Conference, 2019-

Hun Sokagna

(Cambodia, Roung Kon Project) The city that I would like to share about in this paper is Phnom Penh,

Evolution of Phnom Penh. The city Phnom Penh started as the status of capital city from 1865, and the history of Phnom Penh starts from 1432, found that year by a lady named

and Ground-Up

Penh as the legend of Phnom Penh. The Chaktomuk Era was from 1432 to 1505, the French colony or French protectorate from 1863to 1953. Sangkum Reastr Niyum, literally â&#x20AC;&#x153;community favoured by the people,â&#x20AC;? spans the period

Initiatives

between 1955 to 1970. Republic of Cambodia was from 1970 to 1975. From

Before the French came, people lived along the river and built houses in wooden or bamboo structures along the river bank. In 1863, the map of

had three main districts (Fig.1). The French District had administration buildings. In Chinese District had shop houses, residential and markets such as Central Market. The Royal

During 1955 to 1970, Cambodia realized its independence from France and became a recognized nation-state. Starting in the 1950s, the state engaged in rapid modernization projects and used Phnom Penh to showcase its achievements. The city was to be a modern, clean capital of a newly independent Southeast Asian state. From 1956 to 1962, the head of town planning was

locations of cinemas in Phnom Penh. In particularly Cinemas were neighboring each other and walks to each cinema were easily located near their houses.

ghost city and cinemas were abandoned. From 2010 onwards cinemas from

only a couple of audience in the cinemas. By this reason, cinemas shut down one by one. For instance, Capitol cinema was designed by Vann Molyvann, it just got knocked down in 2017 at the same time of some other cinemas that were destructed as well. Currently, the plot of land of some cinemas is under construction for commercial buildings such as hotels or apartments .etc. Obviously with plenty of cinemas destructed, my colleagues and I

of architects and architecture students. It is a multi-disciplinary project that aims to research and document, as well as promote and educate about, all the heritage cinemas in Cambodia: that is, cinemas that were built before 1975. The documentation will focus on multiple different perspectives, such

written documents, and historic maps. All the materials collected and pro-

Mr.Vann Molyvann, he was the chief architect for state buildings and head of

students, artists, architects and urban planners, for educational purposes and as a tool to help promote knowledge about Cambodiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heritage cinemas,

Telecommunication in Phnom Penh.

with the hope of helping to preserve them (www.roungkonproject.com).

Regarding the book of Cultures of Independence published by Reyum, cinema came to Cambodia during the French Protectorate and thus was

the cinemas in Phnom Penh, for instance most of the approximately 33 cine-

conditioned by colonialism. Cambodian audiences began to go the movies as

mas for instance most of cinemas were located along the Tonle Sap river. In

early as 1909 and saw primarily French but also American movies. Evidence

2018, I have done architectural survey drawings for Lux which is the Art Deco

of photos and documents of French administration in early 1920s came to

style, probably built in 1938 .Unfortunately in 2017 , Lux Cinema completely

Cambodia for example in 1909 was inaugurated a cinema â&#x20AC;&#x153;Brignonâ&#x20AC;? where

closed with preparation to build a commercial building (

Cinema or Star Cinema (Fig.2).

volunteer for the project) and we recruited twelve volunteer architectural

students to assist in 2017 for research, survey and make architectural drawing were approved annually for viewing in movie theatre throughout Indochina. Public interest in early Cambodian Films of 1960s, as well as their commercial exhibitions and provided cinema tours as well (if someone requests) (Fig.5).

Myanmar

Community-Led Adaptation in Downtown Yangon -From The 8th mASEANa Project Conference, 2019-

Beverley Salmon (Doh Eain)

Doh Eain is a participatory design social enterprise based in Yangon,

Yangon is a very unique city that’s been through a very tumultuous history

Myanmar. Our focus is on the restoration of buildings in downtown Yangon

and is developing rapidly. There are lots of buildings in Yangon which are un-

it faces a very pressing and present challenge in order to grow and develop

and on public space development through participatory design and com-

used and becoming derelict due to the capital moving in 2004 to a brand-new

successfully. Demolition of buildings in Yangon is common (between 1990

city called Nay Pyi Taw. Due to this move lots of buildings in Yangon were left

and 2011, 1800 buildings were destroyed); the rules are not robust and land

Placemaking programme which aims to put girls at the centre of the process

abandoned. Yangon has the highest density of colonial buildings in Southeast

value is high, and ever increasing. Buildings are deliberately left to deteriorate

Asia and so it holds a unique opportunity for protection of this built cultural her-

so that new taller, cheaper buildings can replace them (Fig.3). When buildings

ing with youth in public spaces in a project with Save the Children. For both

itage. There is also dense development of late 1980’s mass construction and

are demolished it is not just destroying the built environment, but the green

projects the focus is putting them at the forefront of the design process by

more recent housing developments which dominate parts of the city. For these

environment as well – development removes the 100 years old trees which

using participatory design techniques and co-creation, for it to be ‘owned’ by

buildings, construction quality is not resilient - they have been built cheaply,

line the streets along with the 100 year-old buildings. In terms of responding

them and therefore have greater impact and sustainability. Other examples of

against the building regulations, and are now not maintained well (Fig.2).

to climate change and creating a carbon-effective society, the demolition of

our work are a climate adaptation water security project in Thaketa (a town-

Part of the work that we do is in looking at the protection of the heri-

ship in Yangon), and an urban design project in the heart of downtown (Fig.1).

tage buildings as an alternative to demolition and new build in Yangon – a

buildings affects a lot more than just the built environment. lems within his family - his mother was sick and needed hospital care and there was no money with which to pay the hospital fees. Our founder Emilie Röell

and then rented out to provide a sustainable income for the family. Emilie raised $15,000, renovated the apartment, and used a proportion of the rent to pay back the initial investment over a period of time. Gulam’s mother is now well and he can now afford to send his sons to university. Off the back of this

friends wanted the same. They too had neglected heritage apartments with no capital to invest in the maintenance themselves. This model grew and we started to renovate and rent out many more

properties, all of them staying in the original ownership. An apartment on 47th

the money is repaid, the homeowner has full control over the property again –

Street is an example with a similar story: the family had been living in the

though they can also choose to keep us on to manage the property for them.

quickly deteriorating building but it was too much of a challenge to restore

To date, we’ve raised just over a million USD and $750,000 of that has been

building, such as an affordable housing block, results in high demands on

(

adapted building was performing extremely well and the new build was per-

). Through the work of Doh Eain, I go into hundreds of buildings in

invested in properties. We are currently using relatively small portions of the

energy consumption for air conditioning due to the poor thermal envelope

Yangon and the condition (especially around structural resilience) is poor. The

money renovating apartments - between $15,000 and $100,000, so that we

(

buildings are not looked after but people are still living in these spaces - we

can help a number of homeowners. Our aspiration though is to increase the

want to support them and protect the buildings, and we also want to provide a

scale of building and we are moving now into doing more whole buildings

was the other interventions to the building composition which were controlling

sustainable income for the local families. Through all the work that we do, the

rather than apartments. The model has a manageable investment with a

and reducing the energy consumption, such as insulation and double glazing.

In the model we apply social investors lend us money which we use to

we move into bigger buildings, the investment repayment period is getting

expensive than a standard per square meter rate for new construction of

support homeowners in order to carry out the restoration. We then manage

bigger. In the last two years, this has been a very rapidly growing model to

the maintenance of the property (we have our own construction team) and

support local people and protect the buildings: we now have 23 properties

during the rental period we are repaying money back to the investors. Once

in downtown Yangon. The rationale is that it’s an easy alternative for building

properties stay in the locals’ home-ownership.

For the adaptations that we do we acknowledge that renovation is more

then the cost difference would be less because affordable housing devel-

owners; they don’t have to invest any of their own money, we inject capital, look after the building for them and provide them with an income. It’s an easy story to tell local homeowners and in general they have been approaching us to get involved. We used our 47th Street renovation in a research project on the climate resilience of heritage buildings; advocating the opportunity of renovation, over demolition and new build, as a mean to mitigate climate change due to energy use. Environmental engineering and passive design techniques are a real opportunity to reduce carbon emissions. For the research project we took three typologies; an un-adapted historic building, an adapted building (as if renovated by Doh Eain), and a new build construction particularly focusing on affordable housing. The building regulations in Myanmar face many challenges and there is limited environmental protection encompassed within them – this project was, in part, a means to advocate for improved standards. We modelled 47th Street prior and post our renovation and then compared those results, in relation to an affordable housing building as if built to the regulations. We used actual live weather data and looked at spatial arrangements, wall thicknesses and material typologies, etc. We made as-

and air conditioning and electrical appliances. For the weather data we used a weather station that was based at Yangon airport to gather accurate weather data and it really affected the results due to the unique environmental conditions in July, which is skewed due to the effects of the monsoon on summer. The headline result was much more dramatic than I expected: the

Eain)

expensive than currently. Buildings need to be designed and built with good

of people from the community. We set up community committees, carried out

quality standards, making construction more expensive.

numerous workshops and initiated community build days - the local people

We believe that the work is most successful when it’s community-led and

participated in transforming their space which enabled them to maintain the

is asset-based. We try not to focus on the problems that exist in the city but

place afterwards (Fig.8, 9).

we try to work with communities to say, “What do you have, what are your

Through our work in the heritage buildings of Yangon we also became aware of the alleyways that connect the blocks of historic buildings. The

dumping sites again is important.

colonial grid of downtown Yangon is very linear, and all of the frontages

Many of these projects are funded through CSR programmes or donors,

have a back alleyway. Yangon suffers from a lack of building services and

for example international Embassies. We always include a maintenance

infrastructure, particularly around public space; it has numerous blackouts,

fund in our proposals - not necessarily to use directly, but to use to grow.

both the communities and the local government are committed to supporting

sewage is a challenge, air quality is poor and congestion is serious. Yangon

We encouraged the communities to make more money in order to support

the movement.

only has 0.3 meters square of public space per person compared to Jakarta,

the sustainability and longer-term maintenance of the alleyway. We have

for example, which has 8.5 or Bangkok with 6 square meters per person.

developed our Yangon Alley Garden programme further and now have 11

Archival images from the 1980s show people outside enjoying their local alleyways as public spaces at the back of these colonial buildings (Fig.7).

over 60 alleyways in Yangon and so there is a lot of work to be done - and

In current times people simply dump their rubbish in these places, causing

there is also a real desire from everyone to change these spaces to make

numerous problems. Doh Eain started an initiative to try and support local

them healthier and inclusive public spaces. It is hard to change mindsets,

communities to clear out the waste and reclaim them as public spaces. It’s

been a challenge but it took really working with local communities and the

ing waste and then encouraging people not to continue to throw as they can

people who live around each individual alleyway to develop a sustainable and

use and enjoy the spaces. This is a long process; just little changes in terms

robust approach to ensure we were inclusive and reaching a diverse range

of bringing people together to encourage preventing them becoming waste

opportunities?” and let them design and decide on the alterations. It needs

Moderated Discussion -From The 8th mASEANa Project Conference, 2019-

Moderator: Johannes Widodo (mASEANa Co-Founder, Docomomo Macau, NUS Architecture) With Beverley Salmon and Hun Sokagna For Cambodia, it is an interesting initiative by students and young people like yourself because you use cinema as the vehicle

from 50-years ago, the screening is outdoors and because the former king

YouTube etc. My question is not just about restoring the cinema, but also

palace or around the museum. We used to have one time, a screening in the

again, so that people are willing to go to cinemas in Phnom Penh?

artists, and town planners - it’s quite interesting that they came to that.

even then, because the shopping mall cinema is full of people, in the last 2 years Lux Cinemas is now knocked down. Beverley, it’s very interesting to see your effort to make a neighbourhood in Yangon ‘cool’ again, because it used to be a very cool settlement. The

Actually, the cinema right now is mostly in the shopping

potentials are great in the shared economy system with the microcredit

You now have 30 cinemas in Cambodia. Theoretically, if you are able revi-

system that maybe can help to restore. But you have a big challenge now.

HS: The way that we think about the future is probably just a small model and

a lot of money is coming in from Singapore or even locally - there are lots of

then taking a look at how the cinema before looked like. But for preserving, it

speculations. A lot of people are eager to buy the properties and turn it into

is hard because a lot of private developers knock them down and don’t build

something else. Your project is relatively small scale, how do you make it

the cinema again and do something else instead. It’s a sad story.

bigger like a revolution? Is there any way to do that?

malls. Old cinemas do not exist anymore, they are all gone. The way that we can keep the cinema is that we need more people, a larger audience, to

Obviously, it’s something we think about a lot and the same problem also faced by different cities, we used to have a very nice cinema culture in the past, but one of the most important cinemas like

the world. In Amsterdam, there’s an organization that manages and monitors

The Cathay became a shopping mall. Even the Sala Chalermkrung Theatre

a vast array of the properties of the old Amsterdam. It would be an interest-

in Bangkok was lucky to be saved from the wrecking ball because of Chulalongkorn University taking over the ownership. What is the fate of the

approaching, it is often unsustainable, so it’s a grant for buildings, which is

cinemas? Will it just remain as adaptive re-use for something else, or is there

spent on the restoration or protection on some level - and then it stops. So

any hope that the activities are not just looking into the physical form but also

how do you really create a model, which can be scaled and also sustainable?

looking into the economic viability?

The interest from investors internationally is great but we have seen a waning

HS: I think the thing we need is a rich investor, to invest in the cinema and

recently. Managing the impact of that investment is a challenge and is interesting to watch but the protection of buildings is partly going to be through

advocacy and understanding the value that you could have or seeing the

Burmese now wanting to rent our apartments which is also a good thing,

economic opportunity of protecting the buildings on a bigger scale. There is a

because it shows their mindset and opportunities, that they want to live in

lot of interest, value and love for the buildings in Yangon. There’s an organiza-

these apartments which is quite unique.

tion, the Turquoise Mountain and they have just recently renovated the Tourist

Burma Building. It’s a very big building and it’s open to much acclaim and

oping a model to support buildings that we can’t renovate. We are looking

everyone just loves it. The more you do, the more people see the opportunity

to establish homeowner associations for people who either rent or own their

and want to do more so I think creating the momentum is important. There’s

apartments in a block, where we provide advisory services and we can also get impact investors to support on one-off bases to maintain these properties for them. We are also investigating zero-interest loans where we can use our

private buildings and Turquoise Mountain does public buildings. The reloca-

model but on a proportional basis where we use our normal system, (e.g.

tion of Naypyidaw left a lot of government buildings empty. They are also the hardest ones to approach and work with.

used for the kind of protection of the other spaces. It’s not perfect but funda-

Being able to get the support and will of a lot of different players is a real

mentally one of our aims is to protect the buildings in Yangon, and to that aim

challenge. Land ownership is also a big problem. The buildings are basically

we are succeeding in a very small scale. The potentials in terms of investors

100 years old, built from the 1900s to 1920s so it is passed through three

coming into Yangon and demolishing these buildings is predominantly what

generations now. In one case, one building was divided between 46 cousins.

we see happening. Our investors are mainly international social investors, so

In order to do any work to a building at all, you have to get the signature of

they want a very low return on their money. They are not really interested in

every owner of that building, which was impossible. To be honest, that is one

making a return, they are interested in supporting Yangon, local people or

of the biggest reasons why buildings are being left abandoned and derelict

heritage properties. There are some Burmese investors, but predominantly

now. No one can get permission to actually do anything with them and I can’t

quite a few from Singapore and from Europe as well.

tell you how frustrating that is. It happens on a big scale, and on a really small

Just following

scale as well. There is a beautiful building that we are trying to renovate and we’re just struggling to get that signature in order to look after it.

that the bank loan would not provide; without the title of the properties, they could not have a secure title for a loan. What’s interesting is in terms of having

Who are the typical tenants of your projects and the typical investors of these

this project being seen to be sustainable, as economic viability is important for these investors. What sort of return could you actually deliver to these

interest for investors and people who own the apartment, the other being for

investors and what sort of security could you provide to them?

public interest, e.g. reclaiming back alleys. But private interest can go crazy

you strike a balance between private and public interest? Is it even possible?

actually shows the opportunities for these buildings and the rental market

It’s something we think about actively trying to mitigate in the work we

in Yangon. It won’t stay like that forever so this is potentially a very unique

do. We are a social enterprise but are also a company. Our work is towards

period; while there is very little competition there is very little protection going

a social aim. For the buildings, they always retain in the local ownership; the

on. People, homeowners and investors are interested since there are lots of

local people will always be maintaining the control of their buildings. It is

properties and lots of tenants (we have a waiting list for people to stay in a

important for us as a social enterprise, but rents increase and our typically

Doh Eain apartment). What we really want to do is scale it so it has true honest

renter is an expat to the city. Not all - we are seeing a growth in more wealthy

protection for these people and for the buildings. In my mind, especially as

an architect, single one-off apartments are not good enough. We experienced

actually reduce the use of the old cinema? It’s probably the offer, but it’s

of neighborhoods with cinemas as part of it and cinemas can function as

probably what you get from the cinema and the kind of experience. If you can

community centers? Then it can be used by the residents so it comes together

and the roof is broken), so we invest over and above to protect the whole

re-value the experience within an old building, no matter what it is, maybe

as a more interesting package for investment to make this cool again.

building by changing the roof and supports, but it does skew the model and if

there’s an opportunity to save the cinemas of downtown Yangon now. We also

Community centers are quite hard because there’s less commercial value

we could invest more, we could protect more. We do need to be considerate

try; we are trying to diversify from residential commercial but it’s much harder

so it’s hard to build up that capital because if it’s a community center it tends to

what we are about.

think that’s the challenge for cinemas – being able to manage that economic

I think how to make heritage investment cool, is to show them the money

risk through the amount of investment that is required, the length of use and

with a good business proposal : I think for any investor, it doesn’t really matter

Britain, where we have a huge number that are listed but still at risk because

different types of venues, reusing these buildings in different ways, probably

think the key is really how to cleverly craft the package for people who want

they closed the cinema buildings. I wonder if your cinema buildings in Phnom

a demise of cinema-use in some of the old buildings, but maybe a growth of

to invest in the social enterprise, the urban redevelopment, even the cinema.

Penh can be used for live music or drama, because it was conversion of

food and beverage outlets within these spaces.

Revitalisation is like hot cakes and that would be the challenge on how to

have a smaller return within it. I think through multiple use is probably the solution.

I belong to the Cinema Theatre Association which campaigns to save cinema buildings in

cinema buildings in London into live music venues that really got me inter-

make the modern architecture cool again.

ested in the building type all those years ago. What new uses were happening and being considered for cinema buildings in Phnom Penh? HS: Yes, it’s a good idea to transform the cinema for restaurants or some other events there. But in Phnom Penh, it’s hard to do that because the old cinema is not maintained very well. When you change for that, there are problems liked bad smells from the inside because it has been abandoned in the city for around 10 years. When you come back to it, all the problems in the buildings happen even 20 years later and you still have the problem so investors I think, would never change cinemas for bars or restaurants. But in another province

inside was changed to a hotel and restaurant and coffee shop. It is quite

private developers, with not really interest from any investors for restaurants. I think the model in Yangon is very interesting, which we can learn one or two things from, which maybe for Cambodia’s case can be implemented as well. Not

functions) and how as an architect, like what Beverley did with the team, goes beyond looking at the normal service that we do while also thinking about investment. Maybe the cinema can be more vibrant in a way and can support each other? It was interesting thinking about it, because right now it’s kind of the change where there’s growth in cinemas in malls, and existing Art Deco cinemas which are still used. What would happen within the society that will

5 ASEAN #3: Technology and

Thailand

Precast Construction and the Megastructure of Amorn Srivongse -From The 8th mASEANa Project Conference, 2019-

Pinai Sirikiatikul (Silpakorn University)

I was asked to share about modern architecture in Thailand, and my

systems of precast elements developed by Srivongse. During the 1960s-1970s

choice is to look at the precast elements - the technique that was gener-

Thailand, he was active in designing provincial universities, where prefabri-

ally supposed to lead building into the industrial age and be operated by

cated concrete components were welcomed because they could speed up

factory-mode of production. What I am interested in is how these seemingly

construction and be produced on a large scale. Srivongse used precast all over

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;industrialâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; products were produced under the condition that differed from that

the places, but four buildings and one unbuilt project, in particular, stand out.

ideal industrialisation. Given the constraints under which architects in post-war Thailand worked

Tectonics

productive capacity - none adjusted themselves better than Amorn Srivongse

today is the roof structure of Faculty of Social Science, Chiangmai University,

(1934-2012), as made evident in his system of precast concrete. Throughout

built in 1964, where he used precast elements as a permanent formwork

his career, Srivongse had shown how imaginatively one might use precast

set for the making of the roof slab. The precast block was made onsite and

in a situation in which building technology was not that advanced, and the

installed using temporary scaffolding to hold the precast elements in a correct

labour of building was mostly unskilled; thus their costs were pretty low - very

place, before pouring the roof slab.1

opposite to the conditions that gave rise to the emergence of system building

was removed, while the precast blocks that formed the slab remain, leaving

in Europe.

a clean surface, requiring no need for the time-consuming task of plastering

The question is how a seemingly industrial product could be reconciled

of the ceiling. (Fig.1)

with the limited local means and labour intensity. Unlike in most developed countries, where the precast concrete system would lend itself to standardisation and quality products with the minimum of labour, the precast that I am

Similar methods of precast construction to the building of the roof slab of the faculty of social science, but built some years later, is the Dormitory

that this might offer an opportunity to develop an alternative history of precast

at Prince of Songkhla University, in Southern Thailand designed in 1967

concrete, as something that might be different from industrialised world. All of the architectural works presented are a result of self-invented

built using precast elements analogous to the Faculty of Social Science,

All the precast elements - roof concrete dome and valley gutters - were shape of the precast elements into equilateral triangular, taking a great span

instead of, as was usual in Thailand at that time, leaving shop-drawing task

made onsite following the architect’s instruction, while at the same time their

without intermediate support of 12 meters. (Fig.2)

to the contractor. What is more is that the architect undertook a sample test

foundation and concrete columns were being poured, meaning that their

for the precast elements himself, which was again very unusually for an archi-

curing time overlapped. It is in this use of precast elements that it allowed

tect’s practice at that time. Furthermore, when it appeared that the building

simultaneous works between the wet construction like foundations and columns and the precast construction of the roof structure that was key to shorten

A more intriguing precast developed at the same University, at the same

also the architect who helped the contractor to solve the problem to speed

period, as it was part of the programme that Srivongse had collaborated with

up construction. This quotation from his inspection report to Rector of the University revealed just how actively he involved in the building processes:

construction time. In terms of design, Srivongse aligned himself with progressive, modernist architecture, but in building conditions, he was practical enough to invent

to Prince of Songkhla University. What is so remarkable about this building

“The contractor spent more time on site-preparation than expected.

his system of casting method for all the precast elements, apparently made

is the roof structure which consists of a series of precast concrete domes

The building work does not work out as it should be […] therefore I

onsite using earthen formwork. This peculiar method not only proves cheaper

resting upon the space frame, covering the entire site of 150 metres in width

helped the general contractor revising the schedule so that everything

than a complicated formwork, as overall construction cost 15 per cent less

by 150 metres in length. This enormous scale of the building, by far the most prominent space frame of any structure in the country, and the requirement for rapid construction, resulted in the development of precast construction

expensive than the average standard rate, but it also ensures greater contour agreed to be working day and night to chase after the schedule.”3

accuracy, necessary for making the roof components.

Unlike in European countries where the precast system became a threat

A closer investigation to the underside of the dome reveals the usage of

to the occupation of the architect, diminishing their role to just a technician, as

local bamboo mattress called lamphaen to facilitate the casting processes. To

the British historian Adrian Forty put it “responsible for little more than setting aspects of its prefabrication system here.2 (Fig.3) At Faculty of Engineering, Prince of Songkhla University, Srivongse designed his system for prefabrication himself, and even more so, he also

out the arrangement of buildings on the site for the optimum deployment of the 4

mould suffered from the drawback of considerable adhesion between earthen

components” , here in Southern Thailand, the precast is evidencing the very

mould and wet concrete. Thus before each concreting operation, the mould

presence of the architect.

was treated with a bamboo mattress to facilitate the casting processes. Once

2019)

the concrete was poured onto the woven surface, the excess water quickly

previously at the Faculty of Engineering at Prince of Songkhla University, there

seeped through the surface and then into the pores of the mould, which helped

the Faculty of Engineering, PSU, space frame was adopted as the primary

is a separation between the roof structure made of steel space frame and

to stiffen the concrete by draining the water excess. Moreover, traces of this

structural system here, but with the change of structural material from steel to

the roof blocks made of concrete precast. At Chiangmai, however, these two

woven texture for the concrete dome, removed after the concrete was settled,

concrete. The use of reinforced concrete space frame here is acknowledged

crucial elements are integrated as one. (Fig.5)

are left visible, allowing the evidence of the construction to be visible. (

)

In so far, as we have seen, some of the works developed by Srivongse,

With the precasting process, it meant that each unit, which merged the be pedagogical advantages for engineering students to study directions of

structure and the roof into the single element of the pyramid form, could be

forces as occurring in the building. Srivongse wrote:

laid out and poured separately, while the preliminary foundation and pour-inplace columns were being poured. All roof blocks were cast in moulds that

elemental design into components that could be mass-produced onsite, while

conceive the structure for engineering students to study the direction

were themselves made of concrete whose surfaces were applied with agent

other parts of the construction, especially wet construction, could be carried

of forces from the building itself. Thus I chose R.C. SPACE FRAM [E]

release called “De-ca-dec” to facilitate the casting process.6

out simultaneously. Secondly, human elements, as part of the prefabrication

- a new kind of structure which has never hitherto been realised else-

processes, are not hidden but made visible and displayed.

where. And this may be the case that the new structure is unfamiliar 5

to the contractor.”

their pair of hands to cast the concrete blocks, while more skilled labour, like a carpenter, was concentrated on the forming needed for the columns.

The roof geometry was determined by laying out precast concrete

Because of the size and weight of the precast elements, exactly half the size

blocks in plan. Unlike the Faculty of Engineering at Songkhla where there

of the previous roof element at Prince of Songkhla University, each concrete

Right after the completion of the Faculty of Engineering, Srivongse got

are two families of precasts – roof dome and valley gutter, at Chiangmai

precast at Chiangmai required a smaller crew and lighter equipment. Building

another commission to design another Faculty of Engineering at Chiangmai

University, however, only one type of precast is required. In term of structure,

report made by site supervisor revealed that no more than 7-8 layperson were

in operation for the precast production at a time. Moreover, with the size of

viewing cafeteria and bar. With its proposed height of around 700 metres, it

1.25x1.25 meters at its base and 65 centimetres at its height, the pyramid unit

would have beaten the Petronas twin tower, the tallest tower at that time the

remains within the lifting capacity of a derrick and the supporting function of

architect was conceiving the project, by almost 250 metres.

temporary scaffolding.

The tower, planned using triangular coordination, was designed to be primarily constructed out of steel tube space frame, with a total of 3 building

could be recycled many more times than would otherwise have been if using

cores at each corner of the tower, housing lift, spiral staircases and lavatories,

traditional timber formworks, requiring little undertaking in the way of cleaning

whose structure was meant to be pour-in-place concrete using slip forming.

and recasting. Moreover, the repetitive nature of the block also meant that

Thus while concrete would be pouring into a continuous moving form, the

once completed, it could be served as a formwork for the next casting, thus

building of steel space frame structure could be carried out concurrently.

considerably reducing the number of the moulds and also the area required

Moreover, the exterior of the concrete cores is clad with thin sheets of precast

for prefabrication.

concrete elements created to resemble motifs found on wall surfaces of the ordination hall of Emerald Buddha temple, as the architect used as an inspi-

precast space frame was astonishing. Looking from the top, the repetitive

ration for modular coordination of the precast sheets. Each precast element

of the precast space frame created a compelling visual pattern. The upper

is approximately 1 meter by 1 meter, so with this size, it could be readily

chords of the space frame made in hot-dip galvanised steel tube connect the

produced and installed by hands. (

)

zenith of the pyramid units, making each of the groups into the larger structural

Unfortunately, the tower remains on drawing board, as it went unbuilt

whole. Equally remarkable is its underside of the precast blocks, where rough

for reasons that need further investigation. But if you want to see how the

while others - especially one that lends itself to standardisation and quality products with the minimum of labour - may lack.

surfaces as a result of hand casting using concrete moulds are left visible as they are light up by ventilation apertures. The ventilation apertures allow not

its reminiscence - a sun-shading device which the architect designed for the house of the City Tower’s engineer, Arun Chiaseri, completed in 1967.

the top part of the unit, creating a series of repetitive bright pattern, whose

The sunshade elements are of precast concrete panels made onsite using

function comes directly from the necessities of ventilation and construction.

plywood formwork. (Fig.7)

With the limited building means and labour, the success of precast here lay

Before ending, I would like to draw your attention to the original question

in the rationalisation of precast production and construction, which allowed

raised at the beginning as to how a self-invented precast by one architect in Thailand responses to a global phenomenon of modernity. All the precast were fabricated in the most uncomplicated possible conditions in moulds

out to be a work of human craft. For Srivongse, both the precasting at two Faculties of Engineering at

made of whatever materials available at hands: timber, plywood, concrete

1. Interview with Arun Chaiseri, engineer, 11th October 2019. 2. See the detailed discussion about this project in Pinai Sirikiatikul, “Onsite precast concrete: A critical approach to concrete at the Faculty of Engineering, Prince of Songkha Voorde, Bertels et al. (London, Taylor&Francis Group): 1229-1235.. 3. "Building inspection report, 25th November 1968, Amorn Srivongse to Rector of Prince of Songkhla University,” Amorn Srivongse Archives. 4. 254. 5. “Amorn Srivongse’s letter to Vice-Rector of Chiangmai University, Okat Palangkul, 1st August 1972," Amorn Srivongse Archives. 6. “Specification for Faculty of Engineering, Chiangmai University,” Amorn Srivongse Archives. 7. Ibid.

and even just soil. Unskilled workers were employed mainly, with a little input from skilled workers nothing more than just an ordinary general carpenter.

tests of his prefabrication principles that would become crucial elements of

Under these circumstances, the work success lay in dividing the complexities

his later thinking.

of the structure, though a site and labour condition, into precast elements that would be manageable by hands of the layperson, whose manual

unbuilt A much later manifestation of Srivongse’s precast principles and structural performance was evidenced in his proposal for a City Tower, a project

application of the precast system, although this does not quite look like an

that further illustrates the conjunction of precast production and pour-in-place

industrial product that people usually talk about system building. It is in this

construction. The tower was designed to function as a sightseeing tower,

Malaysia

Investigation of Precast Concrete Facades in Heritage Buildings - Case Studies from Malaysia Wong Chung Wan (MAEK Consulting Pte Ltd)

In Malaysia, there are two world heritage sites (one in Penang, one in

the building with an open mind. Construction began in 1962-1963. It was originally slated to open on

We tried to look at how the precast panels were constructed. The inner glass facade and the precast terrazzo is on the external side with an inaccessible corridor. In essence, the precast terrazzo provided sun-shading and the

National Mosque, shared from an engineer’s and scientist’s perspective to

were pressed for time because of the massive building construction so it was

give a sense on what we do technically, aside from the architectural and

use of frosted laminated glass helps to disperse light internally. The precast terrazzo is made up of white marble chips and white cement. Along the cor-

urban setting. It is important to look into the use of technologies in preserving

and advanced construction technologies to speed up the process such as

ridor between the terrazzo panels and the glass, there’s what we call a gutter

the past to widen our reach not only amongst the urban planners, historians,

precast terrazzo. The architecture of the facade resembles a pineapple and

slab. The precast terrazzo was designed and constructed so that in the event

the precast panels are designed with open joints (no grout) which reduces problems with water seepage (Fig.2).

Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman who felt that we needed a new Parliament Building upon the merger. The new Parliament Building comprised of two parts: a 6-story main building and a 17 story tower (Fig.1). The architect was William Ivor Shipley, who was then attached to the Public Works Department.

here will have to last us a long time. We must look to the further and allow

compared with the essential practical requirements which the building must follow.” When he designed the building, there was no instruction for him at the time to follow Islamic architecture and he had to decide what is the best for

captured along the corridor and with gutter holes, the water drains vertically

Fig.3). As a result, there is very little staining on the

there were mechanical bolts and nuts and a concealed steel pipe. At the

that you have a precast screen allowing light and wind to enter that also shelters

precast terrazzo despite being white, except for some natural dirt staining due

bottom, when they cast the beam, they left a boxed up hole for the precast

the building against the heat of the weather. Many columns inside support the

to the weathering of the terrazzo.

panels to be inserted and grouted (

). There was supposed to be two

roof, with the columns typically being smaller at the bottom and bigger at the

We were involved in the restoration and asked to investigate the condition

anchors at the top and the bottom but because of the spalling of the Terrazzo

top to mimic coconut trees. The problem with the National Mosque was that

of the terrazzo panels. Naturally there were some problems; cracks, corrosion

some of the broken, damaged portions needed to be reinstated. We took the

there is a lot of mosaic falling apart on the different roof forms- a domed roof,

(because they are precast) spalling of the panels, and cracks of the frosted

sample and did a petrographic examination to establish what have been used,

a pyramid roof, and a sunken roof (Fig.5). We used infrared thermography to

laminated glass which all required reinstatement. Although there are some

the type of marble that were used, the type of cement, the water-cement ratio,

scan the roof and realised that there were two layers of mosaic (

drawings and sketches to show roughly there are some mechanical anchors

the conditions, the bond quality, etc through â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;material archaeology.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; From that,

mosque underwent a round of restoration in 1997 during which another layer

in combination (for instance) with chemical composition analysis, we came

of mosaic tiles were laid over the original mosaic with adhesive. We found that

out to determine how they were installed and found that at the top of the beam,

). The

up with a mix design for replication of terrazzo fragments for installation. The engineers had their own requirements in terms of compressive strength and

we compared, did a lot of mixes, checked the strength and appearance, the mock-up and trial and we compared against the site conditions.

with layers of white cement. We believe what the worker did at the time was grind the surface to expose the marble chips of terrazzo, as we saw a lot of grinding marks on site. Since corrosion had taken place, the client was

on the corridor, and injections on the ground, we attempted to apply coating.

acrylic) to protect the terrazzo against water ingress and future corrosion (e.g. transparent coating, hydrophobic coating). After several trials, it was felt best not to apply any coating onto the surface of the terrazzo panels.

The National Mosque was designed by a team of architects from Britain and Malaysia. The monument is unique with a 73m tall minaret and an 18-pointed star folded concrete roof. The folded concrete roof resembles a half-open umbrella and the minaret, a closed umbrella. The multi-fold umbrella

shelters and protection to others, with aspirations of the independent nations signifying the unity that people in Malaysia have despite being a multi-ethnic environment. The 18 pointed star symbolises the 13 states of Malaysia and the 5 pillars of Islam. The design is similar to the Parliament Building - very natural in the sense

layer. When we looked underneath, there was also a lot of water seepage from the domed roof, the pyramid roof, and the sunken roof. We traced the construction and found that the sunken slab had cracks

Being progressive in terms of conserving the post-war buildings is talked about but we felt that the term ‘progressive’ perhaps should also embrace using technology in terms of practices, materials used, methods of diagnosis, and also in terms of the experimentation of failures and successes from

and found the presence of embedded rainwater downpipes. In the absence

conservation works or past historical designs and constructions. We need to learn from all this because sometimes through our work, we found that the

the downpipes travelled from the roof to the column to the basement and to

knowledge from the past is lost today. We’ve done a lot of work and found what went on in the minds of the builders, contractors and the craftsmen of

mosaic tiles were debonding and there are many cracks and failing sealant

the time. Often, these are not written but they could be fundamentals of the

joints. With scans, we found that the walls behind the mosaic panels were in

knowledge of the time.

reinforced concrete. We inserted probes and found stainless steel anchors

When we talk about documentation of the architecture itself, perhaps

on the sides of individual panels beside. Through some broken corners, we

we should also look into the documentation not only of the external, but the

found the mosaic panels are made up of Precast Glass Reinforced Cement

internal of the building. Through material architecture, we could tell you where

(GRC). Interestingly, we found out that at each panel, there is a U-bar con-

the material came from, how they were used. They can inform on what have

nected to an anchor inserted into the wall (Fig.7).

happened across time, for example, how the materials have evolved due to

Being a mosque, the challenge is that life is ongoing with prayers 5 times

changes in the environment. Through this application of technology we hope to instill interest, not only among urban planners, historians, architects, but also amongst more technical people to be part of the bigger group to protect

remove the loose mosaic and relay another layer of mosaic, this time with

and conserve buildings such as engineers, scientists, theologists, chemists,

a more sound adhesive and using matching mosaic tiles as the original.

biologists. From an engineers’ perspective, while it may be harder to under-

Through this process, we gained a better appreciation of technologies - the

stand the social impact, once the technological part is introduced, there could

radar, the breakout, the microscopy - to determine the composition though building and material archaeology.

documentation.

We have done projects in Malaysia and Singapore and other countries

I would like to thank my partners from Structural Repairs Sdn Bhd, who

so we could sense the differences in practice in different countries. The use

have worked with us and Professor Ghafar Bin Ahmad from the School of

of technologies in conservation works is beginning to be embraced by the Malaysian market. When we started, there was a lot of apprehension on the use of the use due in part to the perceived costs, lack of understanding in the

after working on a number of projects, the buy-ins have increased. The practices in Malaysia and Singapore is different in terms of the skill and craftsmanship. By doing this archaeological research in materials and building, we could understand the differences in how things have been done in different countries. Some could arise from the availability of raw materials in respective countries whilst others could be due to differing skill levels.

The Philippines

Tropicalizing Modernism for a New Nation Gerard Rey Lico

(University of the Philippines Diliman)

The Philippines was a colonial territory of Spain beginning in 1565 and the

States and Latin America on a study tour and on their return would rebuild

The pre-war plans to transfer the capital to Quezon City were revived

was institutionalized in the mid-20th century as a derivative of Modernism, an

around the new capitol site designed by a committee led by Juan Arellano, the

adaptation to the tropical climate by incorporating passive cooling techniques

foremost architect of the day (Fig.1). Beginning in the 1950s the new capital

United States at turn of the 19th century. For 333 years, Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines installed an imperial spatial order and architectural production

of cross-ventilation and sun-shading for human comfort. The task of reviving the urban fabric of Manila and its environs fell on the Philippines. Victorious in the Spanish-American War, the United States

the so-called “second-generation” and “third-generation” Filipino architects

acquired the Philippines in 1898 though the Treaty of Paris. Neoclassical archi-

who were eager to embody the ideals of modernism in their works. The

tecture was to emerge, shaped by American imperial ambition and the logic

second-generation architects Pablo Antonio, Fernando Ocampo, and Juan

of democratic apprenticeship. The United States sought to reshape Manila’s

Nakpil—who initially introduced Art Deco and were instrumental in crafting a

urban environment after an imperial image of a well-ordered, healthful, and

Filipino protomodern aesthetic in their designs—produced commercial, res-

beautiful tropical city – aligned with the tenets of the City Beautiful aesthetics.

idential, and institutional buildings in the new language of modernism which

Paradoxically, the Second World War heralded the end of colonialism in the

symbolized an emancipated and progressive nation.

Philippines. From the ruins of war, the new Philippine Republic emerged. The

Modernism provided the means for a new nation in the mid-century to

war provided an empty slate to start anew. Postwar austerity meant straightfor-

craft architecture that did not only represent progress, but also offered a de-

ward and no-nonsense architectural forms which coincided with the modernist

colonizing agenda since modern architecture was perceived as untainted by

disdain for ornament. As Filipinos moved on to post-war reconstruction, they

the stylistic vocabularies and images associated with colonial practice. The old colonial styles of architecture were not acceptable as models for the new

to erect a new nation. As Manila lay in ruins, a new capital city was to be

independent nations; and indigenous or traditional architecture was viewed as primitive, rural, and backward. Modernism therefore became a popular

Modernism ignited the creative imagination of the Filipino architects,

choice, for it provided the progressive images that were sought. Its discourse

who at the behest of the newly formed nation state found inspiration in the

was presented as ‘natural’ determined solely by a purely rational response to

modernism of Brazil. Government architects were deployed to the United

climatic factors, free from ideological or political underpinnings.

rose with the buildings of Federico Ilustre and other government and private

spatial and temporal reference points to sustain social continuity and collec-

applied externally to tropicalize and tame the climate-insensitive designs of

architects who began to incorporate localized forms into their interpretations

tive memory and to incorporate peripheral loyalties to the new body-politic.

modernism.

of modernism. This was especially evident in Ilustre’s plans for the new

The state is invisible; it must be symbolized architecturally before it can be

Alfredo Luz and Carlos Arguelles were adept at reinterpreting the high

loved, imagined before it can be conceived. Post-independence architecture

internationalist style to the tropics with exacting geometricized forms. Alfredo

in the Philippines endeavored to dispense an image that stimulates nationalkalasag or shield. This plan however was met with

istic spirit, inspires patriotism, and invokes faith in the unknown future of the

his expert use of geometric forms made tangible with concrete and steel. The

national imagination. eventually being scrapped.

By 1953, the Philippines hosted the Manila International Fair as a

Ilustre’s designs for other institutions such as the Department of

showcase in the global arena that it had recovered from war and that it was

of the complex by an ovoid thin-shell concrete dome assembly hall closed off

Agriculture buildings (Fig.2) were realized and continue to be used today. The

undergoing a process of modernization. New building geometries were

by glass curtain walls and surrounded by vegetation. Further down the road,

developed which were made possible by the technological advances in the

) is a seven-storey glass

by precast concrete screens in the form of carabaos, the local agricultural

production of structural steel, prefabricated components, and reinforced concrete.

of the building, which delicately envelope and soften the massive form of the

of a wide triangular base lined with bas reliefs of the life of Manuel Quezon

The younger third-generation architects such as Carlos Arguelles, Felipe

and soaring triangular monument of three pylons sixty-six meters high (corre-

Mendoza, Cesar Concio, and Alfredo Luz, and later on Leandro Locsin and

sponding to Manuel Quezon’s age when he died), is topped with three angels

Francisco Mañosa to name a few, introduced a more tropical expression of

Inspired by Brazilian modernist architecture, Filipino architects used

modernism which made for an internationalist yet uniquely local response to

chiaroscuro in their facades, utilizing geometric patterning of concrete and

garbed in the local ladieswear typical of the country’s three island groups: the

the tropical climate of the country.

pierced screens—allowing a dynamic play of light and shadow that changed

terno and balintawak variations of the traje de mestiza for Luzon and Visayas respectively, and the arbita blouse and malong for Mindanao (Fig.3). The Modern architecture and monuments provided venues to establish

tower block and emphasize its horizontality to blend with the low-rise buildings in the surrounding district.

Though evidently modern, buildings in the Philippines then developed

with the movement of the tropical sun. Brise-soleil became ubiquitous devices

surfaces that were Baroque in character through its utilization of brise-soleil.

to refashion modern buildings to suit the tropical climate. These devices,

The brise-soleil

largely made using reinforced concrete, traverse building exteriors with

authoritarian Marcos regime to create a unitary national identity encapsulated in the propaganda slogan “One Nation, One Soul.” (Fig.5

The government-sponsored buildings of Leandro Locsin were some of the most memorable manifestations of the authoritarian regime’s quest for a

local contexts, and unmistakably Filipino. Its contemporary resurgence was fueled by the need to arrest the effects of climate change and the pitfalls of an airconditioned nation. While adopting a neovernacular design philosophy in his works,

brise-soleil supports of the Old Rizal Provincial Capitol in Pasig City by Ruperto Gaite. The tropicalization of modernism however—especially in the 1960s—was

completed at feverish speeds and dream-like costs. Locsin’s design for

Francisco Mañosa was also a forerunner in adopting green architecture

the National Arts Center—a partner institution to his iconic Cultural Center

concepts in his designs long before the idea entered the lexicon of Philippine

of the Philippines—was one of the forerunners of this regionalist approach

charged with the politics of identity and nationalist discourse. Tropicalism’s

to modernism (

purpose was two-fold: Maintaining cultural differences in the era of multi-na-

Baños, Laguna, is a large pyramidal structure open on three sides supported

Miguel Corporation (Fig.7), a collaborative project with his brothers Manuel Jr.

tionalism and high-international style; and ensuring that the built-form is

by pairs of large slanted columns at the corners. The composition is capped

and Jose Mañosa, adopted a terraced form reminiscent of the Banaue Rice

responsive to climatic and functional considerations.

by a truncated pyramid clad in clay tiles, reminiscent of the typical hipped

Terraces of the Cordilleras. Its terraced massing is further emphasized by its

). The open-air theater, situated on the mountains of Los

roof the bahay na bato Perhaps. this grafting of a familiar roof form as a tropical and marine-oriented environment. Iconographies and cultural patterns from the tropical locale slowly permeate the modernist buildings of the

in the creation of other state-sponsored spaces around the country, such as

1960s to 1970s. The tropical agenda reintroduced familiar cultural symbols

the Baguio Convention Center and Zamboanga Convention Center, both by

by grafting or pasting them to modern buildings and is expressed in different scales, modes of appropriation, and varied public and critical reception.

Mañosa’s designs for contemporary homes have emphasized the tenets of green architecture (Fig.8). Most of his residential projects are characterized

by Felipe Mendoza.

by their use of wide overhangs, high ceilings, large fenestrations, and con-

From the poetic resonances of the vernacular Filipino house in the buoyant

Tropical Regionalist Architecture in the state-sponsored nationalist

sculptural and brutalist compositions of Leandro Locsin, to the structures clad

agenda, coincided with the oil crises of the 1970s, warranting low-energy

contemporary, yet strongly resonating its vernacular roots. Examples of this

in tropical materiality of Francisco Mañosa, tropicalization was coopted in the

buildings. Local architects were compelled to revive vernacular architectural

are his designs for the Tahanang Pilipino or Coconut Palace in Pasay City, the

laced with dramatic plurality as Filipino architects attempted to imprint Filipino identity upon their works, by endowing these with tropicalizing elements, nativist forms, and state-spectacle. Through these mediations and interpretations, we recognize how Filipino architects were able to exercise their ingenuity and creativity in expressing the forms of modernism derived from the West and adapted to conform to the socio-political-economic-cultural-climatic sphere of the local context. These forms range from the absurd, literal pastiche to highly metaphorical design schemes. Details, symbolisms, iconography of design were strategically chosen to imbue and engage the modern building with the discourse of Philippine identity. When analyzed, modern architecture in the Philippines cannot be simplistically reduced to mere faithful facsimiles of foreign counterparts but must be taken as a complex product resulting from the rigorous process of adaptation, mediation, and transformation.

Gaches Village in Las PiĂąas City, and his own residence in ParaĂąaque City. In the wake of Marcosâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; authoritarian rule, the tropicalization of modernism and cio-economic context continues to be an impetus for local architects to create works which are recognizably Filipino yet responsive to contemporary needs.

The prevailing Architecture of the 20th Century is that of modernist ideology. Yet, modernism was translated in the local architectural production and

Moderated Discussion -From The 8th mASEANa Project Conference, 2019-

Moderator: Chang Jiat Hwee (NUS Architecture) With Pinai Sirikiatikul, Gerard Rey Lico, Wong Chung Wan : Gerard, you are also a conservation practitioner, so

: The approaches that both speakers use are similar

Malaysian market, Singapore market and other countries it’s very different.

you are involved in the conservation of a number of very important Modernist

to what we do - we diagnose the building as reinforced concrete because

Although we are tropical, sometimes the raw materials are more easily avail-

and Art Deco Filipino Architecture. I will ask a question that will hopefully

reinforced concrete has its own properties. We do those techniques as well in

able in Malaysia. For instance, in the last 20-30 years, we hardly use lime in

create a dialogue between yourself and the other approaches (which is more

order to assess the fault, and then address them - like a doctor, we prescribe

restoration. We tend to use a lot of cement, although cement is rather detri-

about production, the labour condition, and the technical aspects of architec-

certain measures to mitigate the deterioration as soon as possible. It’s no

mental to some of these heritage buildings. Of course, for post-war buildings

ture). If you take off your hat as the premier architecture historian of Filipino

different for me because I wear two hats now as a conservation architect and

it can use a lot more cement, but sometimes one needs to understand the

Architecture, how does your work involve the practical aspect of conserving

as a historian. That’s why I sometimes cannot distinguish the two.

cement produced in the earlier years and cement produced today is different

CJH: You showed us some of the early examples of Filipino Modern Architecture differently, maybe by sharing the perspectives of Chung Wan

Architecture regarded as ‘imitative’ because they resemble certain prec-

can determine the composition of the terrazzo, in terms of the cement compo-

and Pinai to be more concerned with the more technical aspects?

edents in either Brazil or North America. Pinai would question a category

sition by going back to the actual composition the properties will be different.

like ‘industrial buildings’ produced under non-industrial conditions with very

Whereas in Malaysia, we tend to use more traditional crafts, they tend to go

labour intensive methods and incorporations of traditional craft. What do you

back to a very traditional way of restoring a building, like site-mixed lime. In

think of traditional categories like industrial methods in modern architecture or

Singapore, because labour is expensive we tend to use pre-packed systems. In Malaysia, there is a lot of training to teach contractors, subcontractors, workers, labourers, how to mix lime and how you slake the lime in the ground for months and years before you use it. We cannot afford that over here.

my offer of opportunity is to do something different. I think labour condition is

Aside from lime-based products, you probably have a lot more foundry in

one approach, which seems very promising.

Malaysia - if you want to produce cast-iron and mild steel or also clay prod-

CJH: Chung Wan, I imagine you will be most familiar with questions of labour

ucts, these are a lot more easily available. In Singapore, we have to import

because you are involved in that. You mentioned that there some differences

everything and as a result, sometimes we tend to use the easy way out. What

in labour conditions in Malaysia and in Singapore; could you maybe elaborate

is the most convenient way of using and producing something, with labour

a bit more about these differences? : In terms of raw material usage between the

pared to Singapore. But having said that, there are probably more traditional

carpentry works over there while in Singapore everything is machine-made.

variation we expect and for steel we know the pressure aspect. But for brick,

The joineries of windows and doors are very different. We have worked on

it depends on the source of production. It can be handmade; it can be 5

projects where the contractors said, “I think it is easier for me to replace all the

different degrees. Even when using lime for instance, at the bottom part of

doors and windows with new timber rather than replicate them”. If you move to other countries, for example Myanmar with a sub-tropical

brick quality can vary. The challenge when you deal with other buildings is

climate, you have dry and wet seasons. Teak wood there is very different from

you have a lot more variability in trying to re-stock. But for concrete structures perhaps is easier, I won’t say it’s easy, but you can understand the behavior

teak wood because is very affected by dry and wet seasons where you would

of the material much better.

have the growth rings. So assessment of wood in those countries compared

: My

to Singapore would be very different, which is knowledge that will be very

question relates to the earlier question on labour and I was thinking of extending it to Gerard and perhaps even Pinai. I am very curious, in terms of the shift

we have gone through in Malaysia and Singapore, for instance, is the use of

in labour of production, how much of these changes from concrete then later

newer technological products. Of course, it’s nice to use newer technological products, but one has to be very careful. Sometimes the use of some of these

much of it affects their involvement in this nation building, in the sense that

products may result in undesirable outcomes, like the terrazzo panels, (when

not just these particular architects were doing this work, but how much of it

we used hydrophobic coating over the terrazzo, it led to streaking). Perhaps within ASEAN countries this could be shared, how the information can be documented and disseminated amongst members.

: We have an institution called Escuela Taller, a vocational school for out-of-school youths, where they study traditional buildings crafts from brick

: For materials,

making, plastering etc. It’s being re-introduced, the coconut, (the techniques of

we have several types of heritage, such as brick buildings, wood buildings or

coconut are not very well disseminated). Reinforced concrete techniques are

concrete buildings. In order to revitalise the heritage, what is the advantage

very well known in the Philippines, in fact, as early as the American era - in order

or disadvantage of concrete buildings compared to other buildings like wood

to really operationalise colonial modernity, they went to look for the source of

buildings or brick buildings?

cement in the Philippines. They trained Filipinos in the technology of concrete

: I think concrete buildings have certain advantages in terms of strength,

through the Bureau of Science. The use of concrete was really embedded with

durability and structural performance, as compared to brick and timber. We

us in the early 20th century in colonial education in the Philippines, up to now.

have worked on concrete buildings, brick masonry buildings and so on. I am

We use a lot of concrete, which is sometimes not tropical at all.

not so sure about the advantage but I think one of the problems we have in

today’s learning is that in universities and schools, we tend to teach a lot more

at that time, the majority of the labour were emigrants from China and they are

about concrete and steel structures. When it comes to assessment, repair and

quite skilled labourers. They are carpenters so they do very well under the

perhaps eventually restoration of concrete structures are well established.

designs by the Italian architects. But there was major change in the 1950s

We do a lot of diagnosis on concrete and in terms of diagnostic methods and

because the Americans stopped the Chinese from coming to Thailand. The

assessment, investigations of concrete structures are very well-established because they are the more modern material. But if we trace back slightly

East regions. I think concrete is a very peculiar material because on one

earlier (probably with the early post-war years), we still have a lot of masonry

hand, you can make it with very high-skilled people and on the other hand,

and timber structures. The design concepts of masonry and timber structures

concrete empowers people with general knowledge of construction to do a

is very different so the understanding can be very different because concrete

kind of durable structure on a scale beyond their capacity and means. The

is produced as a ready-mix. The quality is controlled, we know the kind of

case study that I showed builds on that kind of unskilled labour entirely.

: Why Portland Cement from Aalborg - why that particular cement in your restoration?

variety, from glass, to mosaic, to tiles, to stone and whatnot. In a way, this can make the restoration more complicated in that sense.

Portland Cement is a convenient product. In a lot of little constructions

CJH: Maybe the question could be extended to Gerard, in the sense that in

building? Even now, I have issues on the risk of the presence of down spouts

we used a lot of lime but because the earliest production of lime was hydrated

Architecture history and theory, there is a kind of long tradition of the question

for the building because there was someone who wrote to the agency - it

lime, you had to slake it (which means you take the lime, burn it and then put

of authenticity and what constitutes the authentic way to conserve something.

desecrates the building. What do we choose? Our choice is really to prolong

it into the water and wait for it for months until it stabilises before you use it).

: In one of my recent projects, the Rizal Memorial Coliseum (which would

the life of the building. I told them to treat it aesthetically, but the downspout

For the hydrated lime, hardening takes a long time because it needs to react

be used for the Gymnastics event for the SEA games) is a 1934 building made

is impossible to embed within the reinforced concrete because it will be more

with carbon dioxide in the air so the strength is not as good. Portland Cement

of reinforced concrete, but there were additions of canopies. Everything that

damaging to the building. And then again, with the external appearance of

came in later and became a lot more convenient: it’s easily available, you can

the down spouts, the vertical, we will just make it look like a fake column. But

apply it and it hardens faster. But the problem with Portland Cement when

the question is, am I adding another layer of interpretation of the building? It’s

you apply over the older concrete or older structures, is that it is too hard

tricky part of this conservation project is the integration of the air-conditioning

an issue for aesthetic treatment versus the structural integrity, it’s really hard

and too brittle. If you apply it in too thick a layer, because Portland Cement

system, because the building was not designed to accommodate this utility (it

to strike a balance.

generates heat while curing, when it cools down it will shrink. Portland Cement also contains a lot of soluble salt that can be detrimental to the weaker layers. : So was the original pre-casting of the facade in lime? : No, the pre-cast one was based on white cement. Portland White Cement, which tends to not be as strong as the tradition grey Portland Cement, it is weaker in that sense. : I would like to ask Mr. Wong from Malaysia: I’m interested in the restoration case for Modernist buildings. I am curious to know more about your philosophy when you do the restoration project, between the traditional technique,

keep the authenticity of the project for very modern buildings? Because the old architecture is easy to differentiate between the old one and the new, but for modern buildings it is quite hard. : I thought it would be easier to restore the newer building as compared to the traditional ones because for the newer ones, the materials are perhaps

of restoration are you going for? There is always a debate if something is lost and damaged, should we restore to the original condition or should we leave it as it is - preserve it, arrest the deterioration and leave the damaged part of the

history of the building. This really depends on the taste of the owner, whether they accept that. But you must understand, the myriad of materials used in traditional buildings are simpler. In today’s buildings you have a lot more

6 Plenary Session:

Encouraging Investment in Mid-Century Buildings: The Whyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and Howâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Incentives -From The 8th mASEANa Project Conference, 2019-

Donovan Rypkema

(Heritage Strategies International | US) About Heritage Strategies International -

Rejuvenating Modern Buildings: the Social and Economic Values of Heritage

Encouraging Investment in Mid-Century Buildings:

Fig.1

Fig.2

Fig.3

in other non-economic values of heritage buildings that closed through assistance such as incentives.

Rejuvenating Modern Buildings in England -From The 8th mASEANa Project Conference, 2019-

Elain Harwood

(Historic England | UK)

In Britain there are over 400,000 listed buildings and a system that grew

Buildings, which became English Heritage and is now Historic England. Its

(Fig.2). The architect, Albert Richardson, had become a reactionary against

out of ‘salvage’ lists drawn up in the war to identify which buildings should be

rapid survey showed the value of research, by looking at publications and

modernism in his later years. The former professor of the Bartlett School of

records from the time and interviewing surviving architects, to convince the

Architecture, he believed in the continuation of the classicism. It is built of pink

1944 and was updated in 1947, 1967 and 2013. Being on the list does not

minister that you have selected the best buildings. I have been very privileged

stone because the Financial Times newspaper is printed on pink paper and

necessarily mean that a building must be preserved at all costs, but requires

to be involved in this work, particularly for buildings erected after 1945.

over the entrance there is a bust of Winston Churchill, the wartime leader. It

any proposed alterations or demolition work to be carefully considered.

A handful of buildings, mainly sculptures commemorating important

was a building that was full of history but when printing and the newspaper

By 1980s, a few buildings built in the 1930s were listed, mainly examples of the Modern Movement, but no buildings from after the Second World War

these was the Newbury Park Bus Station of 1947 by Oliver

could be considered. This meant that modern houses by Connell, Ward &

Hill listed grade II in 1981 (Fig.1). Its austere form indicates

Lucas such as No.66 Frognal of 1937-8, but not Lucas’s post-war work for

that this is a building of the 1940s though Hill had previously

the London County Council. The war was a natural hiatus when little was

made a design in the 1930s, the excuse for it sneaking

built, and the conditions for building changed considerably in its aftermath,

under the net. The structure was immensely popular when

with controls on building materials, a greater public involvement and the

it was built, and won a merit award for architecture at the

introduction of new construction techniques.

Festival of Britain in 1951.

The methodology for researching buildings thematically in England really began when an Art-Deco building (for the tyre manufacturers Firestone) was bulldozed during a public holiday. The Department of the Environment had

under threat. Two examples not then proceeded with were the National Union of Mineworkers by Moiret and Wood and

sign off the paperwork before the holiday, and over the weekend the develop-

the Schreiber House by James Gowan, both in London.

ers took the opportunity to demolish its key features. Perhaps every program the change of policy was Bracken House for the Financial led by the Thirties Society, now the Twentieth Century Society, which was

Times, a traditional building dating from the 1950s that

taken up by the department’s Inspectorate of Ancient Monuments and Historic

pointed to the continuation of classical ideas in architecture

Fig. 1: Newbury Park Bus Station , listed grade II in 1981. (Source: Elain Harwood)

industry changed in the 1980s with digitisation, the Financial Times moved

swimming baths and a sports hall into the scheme. The site was also ex-

the campaign for listing showed the growing interest in the brutalist style of the

tended, permitting more buildings and a tennis court. The date of completion

1960s. A scheme for adding to the building was abandoned and it has been

management guidelines determined that the printing press area, which was

also seemed inappropriate because some schemes can take many years to

well restored. The bus station has become a landmark for Preston, talked

the most redundant element, could be demolished. The architects Michael

build, a good example being the same architects’ Barbican Estate, designed

about popularly in the press with need to have that supporting development to support the restoration.

Hopkins & Partners based their replacement element on the proportions used by Richardson, taken from the Palazzo de Castelliano by Guarino Guarini from

One may ask how buildings are and can be regenerated and reused in

option. When we are looking at a building for listing, Historic England can only

was added to the listing in 2013 and has since been refurbished with listed

consider a building’s architectural and/or historic interest. An example of a

building consent.

building listed for its historic interest is one associated with The Beatles, who

Fleming’s villain in the James Bond stories and achieved fame as an architect

How do we determine when buildings should be listed, and when?

incidentally have two other buildings listed: Paul McCartney’s house and John

when the English National Trust took over his own house, a building of 1938

According to the new guidelines issued by a Statutory Instrument in 1987,

Lennon’s house. The Casbah Club was a coffee bar set up in the basement

and opened it to the public as a museum (noted not only for its architecture

buildings can normally be listed when they are more than 30 years of age,

of her nineteenth-century house by Mona Best, mother of the drummer Pete Best, so her lads could be entertained in a safe environment (Fig.4). It is

date of design was not taken as the starting point, since the realised building

now a tourist attraction. It is important to demonstrate to the Minister that a hated working there, for its doughnut plan and large glass windows gave the

can be very different. An example is Golden Lane, the winning design by Geoffry Powell of Chamberlin, Powell & Bon in a competition held by the City

30 years old; it was turned down for listing and might have been demolished,

of London in 1951-2 for housing for keyworkers (Fig.3). The estate erected in 1953-62 was different because of changes in the regulations governing the

due to the fact that Historic England could show its continuing success as a

height of buildings, enabling the architects to make the central tower, Great

bus station and car park, greatly aided by rising enthusiasm from the people

Arthur House, much taller so that they could introduce more open space,

Fig. 2: Bracken House, listed grade II* in 1987 (Source: Elain Harwood)

Fig. 3: Golden Lane, listed grade II and grade II* in 1997 (Source: Historic England)

Fig. 4: The Casbah Club, listed grade II in 2006 (Source: Historic England)

block, Carradale House, in 1967-8, the two buildings sharing the central

noise insulation; the result is a sharp contrast between blocks for rich and

planners, and artists, and people who want to live there. The conversion was

heating plant at the top of Balfron Tower, whose enlargement during the

poor, who now live side by side (Fig.6).

done relatively cheaply and with a light touch that retained the two lift lobbies

construction process made it such a dramatic feature. Carradale House has

More people are now working from home or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;hot-deskingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, and in par-

Fig.5).

been carefully restored, retaining its windows, and remains social housing,

ticular cuts in public funding have forced local authorities and government

business district of Canary Wharf). The architects Studio Egret West and Ab

ings from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s are now looking for new uses and many

insensitive scheme of replacement windows. It is a block of social housing

Rogers have made a statement by replacing the windows with consent from

have been demolished. One that has been sensitively adapted to a great

originally built for the London County Council, and was followed by a second

Historic England, even on the west-facing show front, for improved heat and

reuse (even though it is not listed) is the former annexe to Camden Town Hall,

Fig. 5: The glass murals by ErnĂś Goldfinger in the main lift lobby of

Fig. 7: Camden New Town Hall (Source: Elain Harwood) (Source: Elain Harwood)

sometimes known as Camden New Town Hall, which was built in 1974 to the

Nobody has really criticised engineering structures such as the Severn

for an age they did not know. They represent an optimistic age that can seem

designs of the council’s architect’s department. It was converted in 2017-19

Bridge of 1960-6, nor the buildings of Sir Richard Rogers or Norman Foster.

very different from the 21st Century and our great concerns with the economy,

with American money to the Standard, a luxury boutique hotel. The brutalist

These were highly regarded when they were built and have never lost

ecology and global issues.

façade was carefully restored and three additional storeys are set back and

their popularity. An example is Foster Associates’ Sainsbury Centre at the

in a different style (Fig.7). The interior retains its original coffered ceilings and the new hotel was decorated in a colourful interpretation of 1970s’ style by the

a grade II* listed building (Fig.8). Most other buildings of the period between

American designers Shawn Hausman, resembling a set from James Bond or

1945 and the 1980s have had a dip in popularity, but are beginning to rise

the television series Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Fig. 8: Sainsbury Centre at the University of East Anglia, listed grade II* in 2012 (Source: Historic England)

Singapore

Of Structures and Trees: An Engineering Perspective -From The 8th mASEANa Project Conference, 2019-

Hossein Rezai (Web Structures)

(Fig.1) -

Fig.2

Fig.3

III. Not Good Enough IV. Pearl Bank â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A Gallant Effort

Fig.4

Fig.5

Fig.6

Park Hill: Re-made in Sheffield -From The 8th mASEANa Project Conference, 2019-

Mark Latham

(Urban Splash | UK)

Fig.1

Fig.3

Fig.2 -

Fig.4 and 5

Fig. 2: “I Love You Will U Marry Me”

Falling in love again

Fig.6

Fig. 4: Before and After: key elements of the existing concrete faรงade retained

Singapore

Where Values Collide: Heritage, Social Change and Market -From The 8th mASEANa Project Conference, 2019-

Lai Choo Malone-Lee

(Centre for Sustainable Asian Cities, NUS | Singapore)

Introduction

Fig.2

Fig.1

Where Values Collide

Footnotes

Conclusion

Moderated Discussion -From The 8th mASEANa Project Conference, 2019-

Moderator: Sarah Ichioka (Desire Lines) With Donovan Rypkema, Elain Harwood, Hossein Rezai, Mark Latham, Lai Choo Malone-Lee

SI: SI:

EH:

SI:

I -

HR:

ML: ML:

EH:

Audience Question 5:

ML:

Part 2: Inventory of modern Buildings 1- Inventory of modern Buildings in Kuala Lumpur 2- Inventory of modern Buildings in Singapore

72 74

79 82

Inventory of modern Buildings in Kuala Lumpur

31 32

46 44 45 49

41 40

33 34

50 51

4748 42 43 52

69 70 36

3738

93 27 26

94 95

55 56 5759 58 10 61 8 9 60 62 64 63

65 66

100

Before Independence (1896-1957)

After Independence (1957-)

History of Modern Architecture in Kuala Lumpur Nor Hayati Hussain

western side and the Chinese immigrant business and shophouses on the eastern side of the river, while Malay villages scattered around mostly within the following area. Eventually, these three components expanded and formed the modern

haphazardly built mining town. -

(The Malaysian Institute of Architects)

ernance patterns as well as social culture and development of the design and

History of modern architecture in Kuala Lumpur began as the town transformed from a humble Malay settlement known as Pengkalan Lumpur to the capital city of a nation, a metropolis known globally today for its worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tallest twin skyscrapers, and

and the town rebuilt street by street using brick or wattle with brick tile in phases till

an eclectic hub for cultures and traditions. Kuala Lumpur, which means muddy estuary

development of Kuala Lumpur with responsibilities to ensure cleanliness, maintain

in Malay, derived his name from a natural

streets, lighting, drains and water supply as well as construct and supervise the town market.

Fig.1: An old map showing the

tin ore in an enormous amount profoundly Malaysia)

were optimistic about the future and large-scale development of new building typology

changed Kuala Lumpurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s character.

Formative Years

responsible for many buildings in Kuala Lumpur at that time were Charles Edwin the tropical climate by using pitched, extensive cantilevered roof and large, operable

necessitated the erection of buildings for various federal departments.

purchase negotiation mentioned about a centre of tin production in Klang upriver

. However,

Transformative Years growth and strategic location gravitated regional activities and led to many more Kuala Lumpur grew from a shantytown to a well-policed settlement with brick

buildings, piped water, and street lighting. Majorities of its inhabitants were foreign

Progressive Future exposed them to an international array of consumer goods and cultural styles along with a taste of the technologies and messages of modernity. Kuala Lumpur became a multi-lingual, multi-ethnic urban cultural potpourri supported by English-language

with hotels, convention centres, apartments, and shopping complexes. Kuala

city and converted public buildings, schools, churches, and English mansions into

Lumpur leads other cities in Malaysia on modern architecture, which was shaped through political, economic, and social-cultural progressions since that momentous journey in 1857.

Reformative Years -

democratic values for which Malaysia stands for.

peripheral corridors as overhangs and sun shading, rectilinear spatial planning,

of the examples. Other buildings built during this period are the Kuala Lumpur

Endnotes

the tourism industry which were on the rise then.

ment of architecture and the architectural profession for the betterment of society.

Reference

Kuala Lumpur.

Taman Tunku Housing

Parliament Of Malaysia

Hospital Kuala Lumpur

Construction Year: 1940s - 1970s Architect: Unknown Address: 3.174267, 101.679242

Construction Year: 1963 Architect: W. Ivor Shipley Address: 3.149535, 101.679197

Construction Year: 1950s Architect: Wells & Joyce Address: 3.171604, 101.701845

Hospital Bersalin Kuala Lumpur

Construction Year: 1960s Architect: KC Duncan Address: 3.1710898, 101.7047954

Perpustakaan Sultanah Zanariah

Construction Year: 1966 Architect: Unknown Address: 3.174277, 101.720366

Australian High Commission

Construction Year: 1974 Architect: B. Joyce and W. Nankivell Address: 3.160549, 101.710558

Wisma Equity

Construction Year: 1982 Architect: Hijjas Kasturi & Association Address: 3.159685, 101.711858

Dewan Tunku Canselor

Construction Year: 1966 Architect: K. Loo, BEP Arkitek Address: 3.121447, 101.656752

100

International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies Malaysia

Construction Year: 1960s-70s Architect: Unknown Address: 3.118881, 101.650120

Tenaga Nasional Berhad

Construction Year: 1960 Architect: A.A. Geeraerts A.R.I.B.A Address: 3.119815, 101.671002

Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya

Construction Year: 1960s Architect: Unknown Address: 3.119105, 101.652626

Wisma Angkasapuri / Radio Television Malaysia

Construction Year: 1972 Architect: R. Pratt of BEP Arkitek Address: 3.1136385, 101.6706830

Bank Negara Malaysia

Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur

Federal House

Construction Year: 1970 Architect: N.M. Mahmood Address: 3.152752, 101.692580

Construction Year: 1959 Architect: E. Taylor &Y.T. Lee Associates Address: 3.155419, 101.705957

Construction Year: 1954 Architect: StyleIversen & Van Sitteren Address: 3.146520, 101.693337

Loke Yew Building

Construction Year: 1960s Architect: B. M. Iversen Address: 3.147650, 101.694820

RUANG by Think CityÂ

Construction Year: 1938 Architect: Arthur Oakley Coltman Address: 3.146673, 101.696096

Bangunan Lee Yan Lian

Construction Year: 1960s Architect: E. S. Cooke Address: 3.147919, 101.698018

101

Bangunan Yee Seng

Dayabumi General Post Office

Stadium Bola Keranjang Malaysia

Construction Year: 1960s Architect: Unknown Address: 3.148293, 101.699310

Construction Year: 1984 Architect: BEP & MAA Architects Address: 3.143836, 101.693912

Construction Year: 1971 Architect: Unknown Address: 3.143130, 101.700509

The Federal Kuala LumpurÂ

Construction Year: 1957 Architect: Y.T. Lee Address: 3.144323, 101.708913

102

National Mosque of Malaysia

Construction Year: 1965 Architect: Federal Public Works Department Address: 3.142096, 101.691705

Chin Woo Stadium

Construction Year: 1953 Architect: Lee Yoon Thim Address: 3.141084, 101.699406

National Museum of Malaysia

Bangunan Koperasi Polis

Stadium Merdeka

Construction Year: 1963 Architect: Ho Kwong Yew and Sons Address: 3.137947, 101.687086

Construction Year: 1959 Architect: BEP Akitek Address: 3.139074, 101.696806

Construction Year: 1957 Architect: Stanley Edward Jewkes Address: 3.139909, 101.700369

Stadium Negara

Construction Year: 1962 Architect: Stanley Edward Jewkes Address: 3.140692, 101.702874

Tamil Methodist Church

Construction Year: 1960 Architect: Unknown Address: 3.131216, 101.687573

Dewan Bahasa dan PustakaÂ

Construction Year: 1959 Architect: Y.T. Lee Address: 3.134284, 101.703357

103

Arkib Negara Malaysia

Pejabat Pengarah Wilayah Persekutuan Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri

Jabatan Pendidikan Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur

Institut Integriti Malaysia

Good Shepherd Catholic Church

Royal Commonwealth Society

Construction Year: 1961

Construction Year: 1960s

Construction Year: 1970s

Construction Year: 1967

Construction Year: 1961

Architect: Chin Kah Tow

Architect: Unknown

Architect: Wells & Joyce

Architect: Unknown

Architect: BEP Akitek

Architect: Kington Loo

Address: 3.177124, 101.676099

Address: 3.174104, 101.673645

Address: 3.170327, 101.674927

Address: 3.168305, 101.673112

Address: 3.190235, 101.711870

Address: 3.151335, 101.660607

Wisma MRT

Wisma HELP

Wisma Damansara

Unit Skuad Penyelamat DBKL

Bangunan MIC

Federal Cinema

Construction Year: 1970

Construction Year: 1969

Construction Year: 1960s

Architect: Unknown

Architect: BEP Akitek

Architect: Unknown

Address: 3.152506, 101.663362

Address: 3.152920, 101.665257

Address: 3.151094, 101.668229

Address: 3.1707771, 101.6918416

Address: 3.1712093, 101.6922242

Address: 3.1678683, 101.6967206

Supermarkets Wan Lee Heng

Institute of Urology Nephrology

Hospital Kuala Lumpur Radotherapy Department

Hospital Kuala Lumpur Radiology Block

Institute for Medical Research

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Fakulti Sains Kesihatan Kampus Kuala Lumpur

Construction Year: 1947

Construction Year: 1970s

Construction Year: 1962-68

Construction Year: 1970-72

Construction Year: 1959

Construction Year: 1979

Architect: Berthel Michael Iversen

Architect: Unknown

Address: 3.1688268, 101.6951622

Address: 3.1723512, 101.6999808

Address: 3.172038, 101.702864

Address: 3.1720967, 101.7030036

Address: 3.16895580, 101.6993558

Address: 3.1684368, 101.7004190

National Blood Centre

Telekom Headquaters

Wisma JUPEM

Dewan Sultan Suleiman Club

Wisma Central

Plaza Ampang City

Construction Year: 1970s

Construction Year: 1972

Construction Year: 1962

Construction Year: 1970s

Construction Year: 1980s

Construction Year: 1970s

Architect: Wells & Joyce

Architect: Jabatan Kerja Raya

Architect: H.

Architect: Unknown

Architect: Garden City Development Bhd.

Architect: Unknown

Address: 3.173118, 101.706365

Address: 3.172901, 101.716448

Address: 3.170938, 101.717730

Address: 3.161507, 101.701128

Address: 3.158738, 101.714419

Address: 3.159699, 101.748249

104

I. Ashley

Seventh Residential College, University Of Malaya

Department Of Geology, University Of Malaya

The Malaysian Institute of Physics

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Malaya

Faculty of Science, University of Malaya

Faculty of Education, University of Malaya

Construction Year: 1975

Construction Year: 1968

Construction Year: 1960s-70

Construction Year: 1959

Construction Year: 1961

Construction Year: 1963

Architect: Unknown

Architect: Malayan Architects Co-partnership

Architect: Unknown

Address: 3.126283, 101.650436

Address: 3.122253, 101.652303

Address: 3.123067, 101.653160

Address: 3.121222, 101.652779

Address: 3.121975, 101.654588

Address: 3.120256, 101.653145

INTENGAH Federal Government Office

Tuanku Bahiyah Residential College

Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya

Pusat Perubatan Universiti Malaya

International Languages Teacher Training Institute (IPBA)

TNB Generation Building

Construction Year: 1960s-70s

Construction Year: 1958

Construction Year: 1960s-70s

Construction Year: 1968

Construction Year: 1960s

Architect: Unknown

Architect: James Cubitt & Partners

Architect: Unknown

Address: 3.119179, 101.649175

Address: 3.117608, 101.657179

Address: 3.115963, 101.653060

Address: 3.113684, 101.652905

Address: 3.1215688, 101.6650175

Address: 3.119734, 101.668782

The China Press Berhad

Tugu Negara

Campbell Complex

Sarah Hughes Globe

Former Sime Darby & Co. Ltd.

Kuala Lumpur City Hall

Construction Year: 1972

Construction Year: 1966

Construction Year: 1973

Construction Year: 1957

Construction Year: 1950s

Construction Year: 1970

Architect: Unknown

Architect: Felix de Weldon

Architect: Lim Thiam Leong Realty

Architect: Unknown

Architect: BEP Arkitek

Architect: BEP Akitek

Address: 3.123215, 101.675391

Address: 3.149849, 101.683764

Address: 3.156290, 101.696708

Address: 3.155155, 101.696491

Address: 3.154531, 101.701138

Address: 3.152188, 101.693974

Bangunan Bank Rakyat

Amanah Raya Berhad

Former Bank Bumiputera

Bangunan Dato Zainal

Ming Building

Sk. St. John

Construction Year: 1964

Construction Year: 1980

Construction Year: 1978

Construction Year: 1970s

Construction Year: 1950s

Architect: Unknown

Architect: StyleKington Loo, BEP Akitek

Architect: Dato Hisham Albakri designer of Kumpulan Akitek

Architect: Hijjas Kasturi & Associates

Architect: Arkitek MAA

Architect: Unknown

Address: 3.150324, 101.692233

Address: 3.151157, 101.697351

Address: 3.150429, 101.697161

Address: 3.150714, 101.697294

Address: 3.150316, 101.698157

Address: 3.151002, 101.698646

105

Wisma Lee Rubber

Menara Hap Seng Sdn. Bhd.

Wisma Lim Foo Yong

Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Head Office

Agro Bank Building

KL Mansion

Construction Year: 1980

Construction Year: 1970

Construction Year: 1970s

Construction Year: 1915, 1970

Construction Year: 1980s

Construction Year: 1960

Architect: Kumpulan Arkitek

Architect: Unknown

Architect: Messrs Swan and Maclaren

Architect: Unknown

Address: 3.149629, 101.697162

Address: 3.152938, 101.707237

Address: 3.150614, 101.709266

Address: 3.148179, 101.696210

Address: 3.146632, 101.694603

Address: 3.147024, 101.696753

Dayabumi Complex

The Rubber Trade Association of Selangor and Pahang

Bangunan Cahaya Suria

Hotel Malaya

YWCA

Blue Boy Mansion

Construction Year: 1984

Construction Year: 1971

Construction Year: 1974

Construction Year: 1960s

Construction Year: 1953

Construction Year: 1962

Architect: BEP & MAA Architects

Architect: Unknown

Architect: Y.T. Lee

Address: 3.144909, 101.694027

Address: 3.145379, 101.696791

Address: 3.146122, 101.699055

Address: 3.144267, 101.696935

Address: 3.142828, 121.701801

Address: 3.144904, 101.706161

Sungei Wang Plaza

Takaful Malaysia

Wisma Pahlawan

SRK Jalan Hang Tuah

Rumah Pangsa Loke Yew Block Meranti

Pudu Plaza

Construction Year: 1970s

Construction Year: 1971

Construction Year: 1972

Construction Year: 1960

Construction Year: 1955

Construction Year: 1989

Architect: Unknown

Architect: Eric Taylor Associates

Architect: Unknown

Address: 3.144789, 101.710957

Address: 3.139590, 101.695842

Address: 3.139362, 101.697480

Address: 3.137185, 101.704328

Address: 3.136540, 101.704452

Address: 3.137198, 101.713508

Marble Jade Mansion Flat

Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations

Makmur Malaya Sdn Bhd

100 Sri Pulau Pinang Flats

Construction Year: 1963

Construction Year: 1978

Construction Year: 1950s

Construction Year: 1969-72

Architect: Y. T. Lee

Architect: Kumpulan Senireka

Architect: Unknown

Architect: S.P. Chow

Address: 3.128901, 101.688802

Address: 3.133447, 101.702996

Address: 3.123996, 101.713196

Address: 3.117182, 101.720255

106

Survey Members: Students from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Unversiti Malaya, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Islam, Antarabangsa Malaysia, National University Singapore, University College Sedaya International, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Taylorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s University, City University, the University of Tokyo, and Tokyo University of Science

107

62 65 67

Inventory of modern Buildings in Singapore

94 91 92

90 14

81 15

5 6

Before Independence (-1965)

After Independence (1965-)

76 77 22

88 89 87 83 84 86 80 23 85 79 78

54 55

3 2

100

34 40

74 75

24 25

68 26

51 50

History of Singapore Modern Architecture

in Singapore in 2002, Singapore’s State Minister for National Development,

rickshaws, trolleys, buses, electric trams, and cars, to create open spaces,

Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan said: “Building in the modern style was also a state-

back lanes, modern sanitation and to develop public housing. SIT built the

Johannes Widodo

Architecture, often seen as a manifestation of a society’s values, thus mirrored

allowed mass production and kept construction costs down. Simplicity,

that break from old values and the warm embrace of the new values and

rationality, and beauty are the main characteristics featured in SIT designed

ideals of an independent and egalitarian Singapore.

apartments. During its 32 years of existence, 23,000 new housing units were

(National University of Singapore)

ment that we were breaking away from the old colonial society, which was riddled with inequality and vast disparities of wealth and living conditions.

built in the Chinatown and Tiong Bahru areas.

Public Works of Singapore architecture and town planning is the Public Works Department grid provided with generous green public open space. Clean and rational “Modern Asia has not developed in a vacuum but has evolved through

to build the infrastructure and public buildings for colonial Singapore. By the

sustained interactions with the West, which has had a constant presence in

1930s, the scope of public works had extended and became a department

ventilation holes gave the place its unique modernist character. The atmo-

our collective consciousness. This shared experience of the world unites us

when Singapore became a British Crown Colony. In April 1999, the PWD was

sphere within the housing complex is intimate and warm, which encourages

as Asians. The history of dealing with the West, with our neighbors and with

residents to mingle outside their houses. The public can walk along footpaths

ourselves, is manifested in the myriad forms of our Architecture. The history of

through the spacious backyards owned and maintained by the residents on

Modern Architecture in Asia is the history of how Asians have become modern.”

to design and manage Singapore’s urban infrastructures and public buildings

(mAAN Macau Declaration 2001)

(hospitals, schools, prisons, airports, seaport, bridges, etc.). Many modern

The block design bears some likeness with the design principles of

style buildings were built during Frank Dorrington Ward’s tenure as PWD’s

the pre-war modern Siedlung in Germany or the post-war New Towns in

Chief Architect.

Britain with the emphasis on creating small neighbourhoods and maximum

Nation Building

PWD designed hospitals, for example, showed modest, rational, simple,

Modernity existed in Southeast Asia ever since the establishment of inter-

and sensitive responses to the tropical climate, such as long and shallow sep-

and to improve security thanks to open views and public surveillance.

national trading ports due to worldwide maritime trade and exchange, at a time

arate blocks to provide proper natural ventilation and lighting, wide verandas,

The block’s design was also incorporated local shop-house typological

when the spirit of free business and innovation thrived. In cosmopolitan cities,

or broad roof overhangs. Another example is the former Kallang Airport’s main

new architectural typologies appeared with the fusion of various elements,

improve the density and hygiene of the overpopulated and dilapidated

materials, and technology, built by culturally mixed communities. Architectural

global modern aviation network. The architectural form is the metaphor of a

shapes such as shop-houses, religious buildings, and palaces expressed a

contemporary airplane with its elevated cylindrical glass control tower centrally

cosmopolitan, entrepreneurial, and inventive spirit. Hygiene and safety issues

placed as the cockpit. The building displays the new modern architectural lan-

Chinatown’s core area, SIT built high-rise apartment buildings on a lot

implemented a similar modern design and local typological elements. The motivated the introduction of modern architecture and urban planning during

effort to preserve these modern housing estates and typology is not easy,

the 1920s and 1930s in colonial Southeast Asia, including Singapore.

due to the demographic changes and economic pressures. The high-rise

Modernism in Singapore related to the nation-building spirit, the country

Social Housing

gained self-government status in 1959 that eventually led into an independent

The Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) was set up and operated during

state, after it separated from Malaysia Federation in 1965. The application

the colonial period (1927-1959) to deal with the problems concerning the

Private Practices

of the modernist style was a conscious attempt to break with the colonial legacy and in a search for a national identity. In the 2nd mAAN conference

environment, to widen existing roads, to cope with the growing numbers of

109

language of modern architecture with an expression of local identity by using

Bibliography

vernacular construction materials such as timber for the walls and ceilings. Singapore. Singapore, Times Edition, 1995.

educated architects graduated in 1963. The group later expanded to include other professionals from the private sector and academics from various disciplines. They discussed, examined,

5: Norman Edwards and Peter Keys, Singapore: A Guide to Building, Streets, Places. Singapore, Times Books International, 1988.

quasi-Art Deco Kampong Kapor Methodist Church (1920), the hybrid Islamic Mimar 7, Singapore, 1983.

Design Partnership was established. Design Partnership (later known as DP Architects) prospered and produced many noteworthy modernist designs such as the Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Park Complex, the Golden Mile Complex, and St who returned and set up a practice in Singapore in the 1930s. Ho Kwong Yew obtained a structural engineerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree and only later became a registered architect in Singapore. Thanks to his civil engineering background, his design was logical, sophisticated, but also artistic, using new building techniques

Postscript Contemporary Singapore is a showcase of the postcolonial economic

and materials such as concrete to play with unique shapes.

who returned to Singapore, the architect of the National Theatre on the

ning principles of its built environment undoubtedly follow the CIAM doctrines important symbols of an emerging independent Singapore, constructed to celebrate self-government status in 1963. It was the winner of an architectural

Modern Architecture has become the symbol of the pioneering spirit of

competition. This ground-breaking modernist building featured a dramatic

the generation that built and developed modern Singapore. It is their legacy and the backdrop for two or more generations of Singaporeanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives. It has formed part of their collective consciousness as a nation. Singapore, as well

to demolish the building due to structural and functional problems, such as

as most cities in Asia, changes rapidly. We are so used to changes that we have lost our understanding and appreciation of what shapes a city. We also tend to forget the past very quickly. The steps which have recently been taken by Singapore to learn from past mistakes and failures, and then to get on

University. In 1960, with some former UK classmates, he formed the Malayan

with the process of identifying, evaluating, debating, and conserving modern urban and architectural heritage should be appreciated and fully supported.

social changes, these young architects experimented with modernism, adapting it to local conditions and using it in their pursuit of a national architectural identity. He designed the Singapore Conference Hall constructed in 1963. It

conditions, inspired the functionalist design concept. It blends the common

110

Jurong Town Hall

Singapore Polytechnic

Pandan Valley Condominium

Construction Year: 1973 Architect: Lim Chong Keat (Architects Team 3) Address: 1.328735, 103.741769

Construction Year: 1979 Architect: Alfred Wong (Alfred Wong Partnership) Address: 1.311385, 103.774403

Construction Year: 1978 Architect: Tan Cheng Siong (Archurban Architects Planners) Address: 1.319938, 103.779565

Unit 8

Construction Year: 1984 Architect: William Lim (William Lim Associates) Address: 1.309713, 103.805839

Singapore Indoor Stadium

Construction Year: 1989 Architect: Vivien Heng; Lee Kut Cheung; Alan Choe; Kenzo Tange; Kazuya Okauchi Address: 1.300766, 103.874347

Kallang Theatre

Construction Year: 1978 Architect: Goh Hock Guan Design Team Architects, Town & Regional Planner Address: 1.301855, 103.8757058

111

Singapore Badminton Hall

Construction Year: 1952 Architect: Ng Keng Siang Address: 1.3140113, 103.8807331

The Colonnade

Construction Year: 1986 Architect: Paul Rudolph and Chao Tse Ann Address: 1.299647, 103.827531

112

Kallang Airport

Construction Year: 1937 Architect: Frank Dorrington Ward (Chief Architect, Public Works Department) Address: 1.306333, 103.884787

Far East Plaza

Construction Year: 1984 Architect: RDC Architects Pte Ltd Address: 1.307116, 103.833781

Masjid Darul Aman

Construction Year: 1985 Architect: Housing & Development Board (HDB) Address: 1.31793, 103.90452

Kandang Kerbau Hospital

Construction Year: 1997 Architect: Tay Kheng Soon (Akitek Tenggara) Address: 1.3108033, 103.8468722

Church of the Blessed Sacrament

Post-war Tiong Bahru Flats

Tiong Bahru Wet Market

Construction Year: 1965 Architect: Y. Gordon Dowsett (Van Sitteren and Partners) Address: 1.294596, 103.830385

Construction Year: -1950s Architect: Singapore Improvement Trust Address: 1.31026, 103.8362

Construction Year: 1950s (renovated in 2004) Architect: Singapore Improvement Trust; CPG Consultants Pte. Ltd. Address: 1.2847477, 103.832479

Pre-war Tiong Bahru Flats

Construction Year: 1939 Architect: Singapore Improvement Trust Address: 1.31142, 103.83995

Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Park Complex

Construction Year: 1974 Architect: Tay Kheng Soon, William S.W. Lim, Koh Seow Chuan (DP Architects) Address: 1.284198, 103.842549

Chinatown Complex

Construction Year: 1981 Architect: Housing & Development Board (HDB) Address: 1.282696, 103.843048

113

Tanjong Pagar Plaza

33 Club St

OCBC Centre

Construction Year: 1977 Architect: Housing & Development Board (HDB) Address: 1.276944, 103.842867

Construction Year: 1925 Architect: Frank W. Brewer Address: 1.2823975, 103.8463193

Construction Year: 1995 Architect: I. M. Pei & Partners ; BEP Akitek Address: 1.285184, 103.848895

Singapore Conference Hall

Construction Year: 1967 Architect: William S.W. Lim, Chan Voon Fee, Lim Chong Keat (Malayan Architects Co-Partnership) Address: 1.276267, 103.849071

114

Asia Insurance Building

Construction Year: 1958 Architect: Ng Keng Siang Address: 1.2817911, 103.8514035

Capitol Building

Construction Year: 1930 Architect: Keys and Dowdeswell Address: 1.293552, 103.8517166

Raffles City Shopping Centre

Shaw Towers

Masjid Sultan

Construction Year: 1986 Architect: I. M. Pei; Architects 61 Address: 1.293758, 103.853433

Construction Year: 1977 Architect: Iversen Van Sitteren & Partners Address: 1.2966411, 103.8567304

Construction Year: 1928 Architect: Denis Santry (Swan & Maclaren) Address: 1.3022854, 103.8589636

The Concourse

Construction Year: 1994 Architect: Paul Rudolph Address: 1.301068, 103.862679

Crawford Estate (Precinct North 1)

Construction Year: 1969 Architect: Housing & Development Board (HDB) Address: 1.303489, 103.864522

Golden Mile Complex

Construction Year: 1973 Architect: Tay Kheng Soon, William S.W. Lim, Gan Eng Oon Address: 1.302697, 103.865117

115

Republic Polytechnic

Masjid Assyafaah

Haw Par Tiger Balm Building

St. Joseph’s Church

Choa Chu Kang Crematorium

Church of St. Mary of the Angels

Construction Year: 2006

Construction Year: 2004

Construction Year: 1973

Construction Year: 1964

Construction Year: 2004

Architect: DP Architects; Fumihiko Maki

Architect: Forum Architect

Architect: Ho Kok Hoe (Ho Kwong Yew & Sons)

Architect: Parish Priest Fr Joachim Teng

Architect: CPG Consultants Pte. Ltd.

Architect: WOHA Architects

Address: 1.442923, 103.785494

Address: 1.455713, 103.81937

Address: 1.328056, 103.718716

Address: 1.3676922,103.7667119

Address: 1.376102, 103.754055

Address: 1.34725, 103.759309

The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies

Vivocity

Arcadia Condominium

St. Theresa’s Home

Bishan Library

Thr3e Thre3 Robin

Construction Year: 1998

Construction Year: 1991

Construction Year: 1983

Construction Year: 1938

Construction Year: 2006

Construction Year: 2005

Architect: Cheah Kok Ming and Poon Hin Kong (Public Works Department)

Architect: Toyo Ito

Architect: Chua Ka Seng (Chua Ka Seng & Partners Chartered Architects)

Architect: Ho Kok Hoe (Ho Kwong Yew & Sons)

Architect: LOOK Architects

Architect: Mok Wei Wei (W Architects Pte Ltd)

Address: 1.291343, 103.776646

Address: 1.2644, 103.8222

Address: 1.333466, 103.810619

Address: 1.346825, 103.837807

Address: 1.349922, 103.848684

Address:1.317102, 103.828364

United Square

1 Moulmein Rise

Balestier Point

Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital

Goodman Art Centre

Parkway Centre

Construction Year: 2002

Construction Year: 2003

Construction Year: 1986

Construction Year: 1950s

Construction Year: 1995

Construction Year: 1985

Architect: Ong & Ong Architects

Architect: WOHA Architects

Architect: Chan Fook Pong (RDC Architects Pte. Ltd.)

Architect: Ng Keng Siang

Architect: William Lim (William Lim Associates)

Architect: Akitek Tenggara

Address: 1.317325, 103.843545

Address: 1.319188, 103.847179

Address: 1.322767, 103.851969

Architect: 1.317285, 103.859327

Address: 1.303295, 103.885179

Address: 1.3018671, 103.9061067

Kampong Kembangan Community Club

The Bayshore

Bedok Court

Temasek Polytechnic

Eastpoint Mall

Tampines North Community Club

Construction Year: 2002

Construction Year: 1996

Construction Year: 1985

Construction Year: 1995

Construction Year: 1996

Construction Year: 1991

Architect: LOOK Architects

Architect: Chan Sui Him; Tai Lee Siang; Teo Eng Gee (DP Architects Pte. Ltd.)

Architect: Cheng Jian Fenn (Associates Group Architects)

Architect: Koh Seow Chuan (DP Architects Pte. Ltd.); James Stirling Michael Wilford & Associates

Architect: Tang Guan Bee (Tangguanbee Architects); Team Design Architects Pte. Ltd.

Architect: William Lim Associates

Address: 1.323277, 103.912753

Address: 1.312372, 103.93872

Address: 1.322172, 103.944515

Address: 1.345576, 103.932254

Address: 1.34273, 103.953018

Address: 1.35729, 103.94664

116

Expo MRT Station

Singapore Changi Airport

Camden Medical Centre

The Regent S’pore

Shangri-La Hotel Singapore

Abelia

Construction Year: 2000

Construction Year: 1981

Construction Year: 1999

Construction Year: 1982

Construction Year: 1971

Construction Year: 1993

Architect: Foster + Partners and CPG Consultants

Architect: CPG Consultants Pte. Ltd.

Architect: Richard Meier Architect; DP Architects

Architect: Booty, Edwards & Partners; BEP Akitek

Architect: Seow Lee Heah & Partners

Architect: Tang Guan Bee (Tangguanbee Architects); Team Design Architects Pte. Ltd.

Address: 1.334476, 103.961512

Address: 1.347242, 103.98418

Address: 1.303099, 103.823972

Address: 1.304908, 103.825491

Address: 1.311432, 103.826567

Address: 1.309674, 103.828061

Hilton Singapore

Wheelock Place

The Edge on Cairnhill

Monk’s Hill Secondary School

Cineleisure Orchard

Former Singapore Chinese Girls School

Construction Year: 1970

Construction Year: 1993

Construction Year: 2002

Construction Year: 1958

Construction Year: 1997

Construction Year: 1925

Architect: Booty, Edwards & Partners; BEP Akitek

Architect: Kisho Kurokawa; Wong and Ouyang; RSP Architects Planners and Engineers

Architect: RDC Architects Pte Ltd with Moshe Safdie & Associates

Architect: PWD Consultants Pte Ltd

Architect: Architects 61 with MGT Architects

Architect: Messrs. S. Y. Wong and Co.

Address: 1.305891, 103.82942

Address: 1.304715, 103.83035

Address: 1.308777, 103.837058

Address: 1.309078, 103.841244

Address: 1.301593, 103.836291

Address: 1.3025, 103.83844

Singapore Power Building

Winsland House

Henderson Community Club & Bukit Merah Neighborhood Police Centre

College Of Medicine Building

(Former) Tanjong Pagar Railway Station

Lippo Centre

Construction Year: 1978

Construction Year: 1997

Construction Year: 2000

Construction Year: 1926

Construction Year: 1931

Construction Year: 1990

Architect: Group 2 Architects

Architect: RSP Architects Planners and Engineers

Architect: Tan Kok Hiang (Forum Architects)

Architect: Major P. H. Keys (Keys and Dowdeswell)

Architect: Swan & Maclaren

Architect: Raymond Woo Associates

Address: 1.300168, 103.837295

Address: 1.299338, 103.841228

Address: 1.285917, 103.823354

Address: 1.2803689, 103.8337662

Address: 1.272949, 103.838624

Address: 1.273181, 103.845312

International Plaza

St Andrew’s Mission Hospital (Former)

MND Complex

Capital Tower

DBS Building Tower 1

SGX Centre 1 & 2

Construction Year: 1976

Construction Year: 1923

Construction Year: 1969

Construction Year: 2000

Construction Year: 1975

Construction Year: 2001

Architect: Ang Kheng Leng & Associates

Architect: Swan & Maclaren

Architect: Housing and Development Board

Architect: RSP Architects Planners and Engineers

Architect: Architects Team 3

Architect: Architects 61; Kohn Pederson Fox Associates

Address: 1.2757, 103.84581

Address: 1.28052, 103.845203

Address: 1.278909, 103.845805

Address: 1.277763, 103.847633

Address: 1.278203, 103.849053

Address: 1.279917, 103.850059

117

31 Boon Tat St

CapitaGreen

Old States Court Building

One George Street

Capital Square

Republic Plaza

Construction Year: 1999

Construction Year: 2014

Construction Year: 1975

Construction Year: 2004

Construction Year: 1998

Construction Year: 1996

Architect: Forum Architect

Architect: Toyo Ito

Architect: Kumpulan Akitek

Architect: DCA ARChitect Pte Ltd

Address: Architects 61

Architect: "Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates; RSP Architects Planners and Engineers"

Address: 1.281154, 103.84871

Address: 1.2818421, 103.8501115

Address: 1.286866, 103.842685

Address:

Architect: 1.284036, 103.849024

Address: 1.283443, 103.850978

Change Alley

Hitachi Tower

The Clifford Pier

One Fullerton

UOB Plaza 1 & 2

Parliament House

Construction Year: 1973

Construction Year: 1992

Construction Year: 1933

Construction Year: 2000

Construction Year: 1992

Construction Year: 1999

Architect: KK Tan & Associates

Architect: Murphy Jahn Architects; Architects 61

Architect: Frank Dorrington Ward (Chief Architect, Public Works Department)

Architect: Architects 61

Architect: Kenzo Tange Associates; Architects 61

Architect: CPG Consultants Pte Ltd

Address: 1.2841569, 103.8523814

Address: 1.284234, 103.852445

Address: 1.283996, 103.8537

Address: 1.285711, 103.853938

Address: 1.285471, 103.850704

Address: 1.289726, 103.850453

Supreme Court

Former City Hall

30 Hill St

Peninsula Plaza Singapore

One Raffles Link

Esplanade

Construction Year: 2002

Construction Year: 1929

Construction Year: 2000

Construction Year: 1980

Construction Year: 1999

Construction Year: 2002

Architect: CPG Consultants Pte. Ltd. and Foster + Partners

Architect: A. Gordon and F. D. Meadows (Municipal Council of Singapore)

Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox

Architect: Alfred Wong (Alfred Wong Partnership)

Architect: Aedas; Kohn Pedersen Fox

Architect: DP Architects; Michael Wilford and Partners London

Address: 1.2903981, 103.8509085

Address: 1.29068, 103.851743

Address: 1.293628, 103.849478

Address: 1.292485, 103.85086

Address: 1.292052, 103.855849

Address: 1.289793, 103.855817

Marina Square

The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore

Millenia Tower

100 Suntec City

Construction Year: 1986

Construction Year: 1997

Construction Year: 1996

Construction Year: 1997

Architect: John Portman Associates; DP Architects

Architect: DP Architects; Kevin Roche

Architect: Kevin Roche, John Dinkeloo and Associates; DP Architects

Architect: DP Architects; Tsao & McKown Architect

Address: 1.291355, 103.857715

Address: 1.290754, 103.860091

Address: 1.2931797, 103.8606995

Address: 1.295891, 103.857904

118

Survey Members: Students from National University of Singapore Students of University of Tokyo Students of Tokyo University of Science

Visiting Architecture Tour in Downtown

Students Workshop on Presentation

Visiting UOB Plaza 1

The 8th mASEANa International Conference 119

Networking Event (Photo credit: Feng Yikang)

Farewell Dinner (Photo credit: Feng Yikang) 120

Endgame Exhibition (Photo credit: Feng Yikang) 121

Photo credit: Beer Singnoi

122

Photo credit: Feng Yikang

123

Acknowledgments

mASEANa Project Co-cordinator

With thanks to:

Shin Muramatsu (The University of Tokyo)

Yoshiyuki Yamana (Tokyo University of Science)

Centre for Liveable Cities

Foundation and supported organizations to have “mASEANa Project” made possible. This report is a documentation of the following project:

Japan

We deeply thank everyone who kindly and devotedly gave corporation, especially the Japan

Appreciating Asian modern :mASEANa project 2015-2020 The 8th mASEANa Project Conference, 2019, Singapore The Future of the Past:

“Progressive Once More”

Rejuvenating Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Southeast Asia Term 31. Oct-2 Nov, 2019 Organizer (Japan):

Docomomo Japan, Japan Foundation, mASEANa Project Committee

Organizer (Singapore): Docomomo Singapore Working-Group-in-Progress, NationalUniversity of

Singapore, Department of Architecture, Singapore Heritage Society

Emcee:

Rachel Lim

Venue Partners:

Urban Redevelopment Authority, Zarch Collaboratives , The Projector

Media Partners:

Design and Architecture, INDESIGNLIVE.SG

Supporter:

ICOMOS Singapore

Patron Sponsors:

W Architects, Aedas,

Donor Sponsors:

Royal Institute of British Architects, MKPL Architects,

Supporter Sponsors:

Architects 61, FARM, Breezeway Development, Tierra Design Studio

Singapore, RSP Architects Planners & Engineers, Archurban, Woods

Bagot, Brock Carmichael, Woh Hup, Penta Ocean Construction Co.,

Shimizu Corporation, Mitsubishi Jisho Sekkei Asia, Nomura Real Estate

Development Friend Sponsors:

DP Architects, Park + Associates, HASSELL

The 9th mASEANa Project Conference, 2020, Tokyo, Japan

“Progressive Once More”

Rejuvenating Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Southeast Asia Term 15th February, 2020 Venue:

Meiji Jingu Sansyuden

Organizer:

DOCOMOMO Japan (mASEANa Project Committee)

Co-organizer:

The Japan Foundation

Supporter:

The Toyota Foundation, DOCOMOMO International, ICOMOS ISC20C,

mAAN

Johannes Widodo (The National University of Singapore)

Kenji Watanabe (Tokai University) Kengo Hayashi (The University of Tokyo) Yasuko Kamei (Nihon University) Singapore mASEANa SG 2019 Organising Committee: Ho Weng Hin Jonathan Poh Karen Tan Tan Kar Lin Colin Yip Chang Jiat Hwee Johannes Widodo Imran bin Tajudeen Lai Chee Kien Calvin Chua Sabrina Kuusisto Tashan Selvanayagam

Endgame Exhibition Committee: Vincent Tan Gaius Leong Cheng Ding Yi Leo Lin Zhang Hanfei Jason Lim

Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee Singapore Land Authority Docomomo International UK Department of International Trade Singapore Institute of Architects Archifest 2019 Ana Tostoes Mok Wei Wei Dinesh Naidu Kelvin Ang Mohamed Ismail Muhammad Fauzy Meranda Tang Ying Zi Jerome Ng Alan Tay Jerome Lim Tay Kheng Soon Lim Fong Wei Melody Zaccheus Low Shi Ping Teo Yee Chin Pocket Projects Provolk Architects Studio Lapis

Sponsor

Following corporation gave us support in bringing about “mASEANa Project”, We would like to express our great appreciation.

The Japan Foundation Masanou Ito Koichi Makise Syoya Suzuki Sae Sueyoshi

mASEANa project Secretariat Yuko Nishimura Taeko Enomoto

SINGAPORE ORGANISERS

VENUE PARTNERS

Publication

Design Yu Takahara Yoshiko Takubo Hiroki Osuka Keigo Kubishiro Transcription

Pang Llui Lim Sabrina Kuusisto Photograph Cover Photograph: Chua Shu-Min Ynez Photo: Beer Singnoi, Feng Yikang Printing: TOKYO Print

MEDIA PARTNERS

WITH THE SUPPORT OF

PATRON SPONSORS

DONOR SPONSORS

SUPPORTER SPONSORS

2015 - 2020