AC5003 Urban Conservation and Regeneration: Kreta Ayer

Briefings

Module Focus

Participating Students

As cities grow and develop, it’s inevitable that their historical fabric is disrupted and threatened to be erased entirely. For the sake of the continuity of a city’s identity and its’ familiarity with the citizens, conservation and regeneration are strongly advised to be conducted on an urban level, where layers of the city are assessed and empowered beyond its physical fabric.

Kreta Ayer, more known as Chinatown, is a historically significant place in Singapore susceptible to heavy gentrification. Its former shophouse neighbourhoods that housed Southern Chinese immigrants (and other ethnic groups) and their descendants were transformed into an exaggerated version of the ‘oriental enclave’ where tourists go to witness the ‘Chinese’ side of Singapore. Moreover, this part of the city ended up being irrelevant to the younger Singaporean population, where they don’t feel a connection to the grounds of their ancestors. Without active communities of the locals, both young and old, Kreta Ayer is destined to be a dead heritage whose only significance lies in the old masonry bricks of the shophouses, covered by saturated-colour paints.

Therefore, to bring back life to Kreta Ayer, this module challenges the students to devise strategies for conserving and regenerating vibrancy in the historical district’s buildings, streets, and lanes. The plans are devised through various inspirations of the past, such as alluding to its historic role as the centre of water distribution, reliving the heydays of the Cantonese operas, and even reviving the bustling lanes where hawkers used to sell their noodles. A mixture of the old and the contemporary will result in a unique Kreta Ayer in which all generations can come together and feel a sense of belonging.