Singapore heritage buildings: Good example for Jakarta

Singapore heritage buildings: Good example for Jakarta

Although younger than the 478-year-old Jakarta, the city-state of
Singapore, which began as a British colonial trading port in
1819, boasts numerous carefully conserved buildings. The Jakarta
Post's Damar Harsanto took a look at Singapore's respect for its
architectural heritage during a recent visit.

Ten years ago, the Fullerton building -- formerly the General
Post Office -- on the banks of the Singapore River was not very
different from the old buildings lining the Kalibesar River in
Kota, West Jakarta.

But today the building is the image of an immaculately managed
heritage building. After the last occupant vacated the building
in 1996, it was converted into a luxury hotel, while not losing
its historical flavor.

The Fullerton Hotel is now one of the top hotels in Singapore
and the region, with room rates of between S$490 (equivalent to
US$306 or Rp 3.1 million) and S$5,880 per night.

"What a great architectural challenge it was to transform the
different rooms in the old post office into hotel rooms and
suites, while maintaining the original shapes and ornaments in
the rooms. Every room is unique," said the hotel's marketing
director, Susie Lim-Kannan.

Each of the hotel's 400 rooms and suites, which opened to the
public in early 2001, is unique.

The Post observed that some of the rooms still have huge
pillars and decorated window frames from the original rooms of
the post office.

All heritage buildings in the city-state seem to get equally
serious treatment, as the government requires developers
restoring old buildings to follow guidelines set by the National
Heritage Board.

Some of the guidelines enforced by the Singapore governmental
institution overseeing urban development, the Urban Redevelopment
Authority (URA) Center, require developers to follow certain
procedures in conserving the first floors of heritage buildings,
windows and door frames.

The integration of restored buildings with their surroundings
is also a focus of attention.

In restoring the area along the river, which has become a
center for commercial and trade, the Singapore government began
with a massive cleanup of the Singapore River that began in the
1970s.

The URA described the challenging work of cleaning up the
river as "dragging out waste weighing as much as 32 elephants".

The river cleanup was followed by resettling street hawkers
and squatters to other areas of the city-state, which was
completed in 1987 when the government released a million fish
into the river.

A display at the URA Center, titled "Marrying the old and
new", states that new developments fronting the river can be no
taller than four stories, while buildings further from the
river's edge can be as tall as 10 stories.

"It is a deliberate effort to preserve the scale and character
of the place," the display says.

Another good example of well-preserved heritage buildings is
the Far East Square, which houses spacious walkways with vintage
old buildings serving as eateries and restaurants.

I-box

Did you know ...

*Similar to the demolition of the historic Des Indes hotel in
Harmoni, Central Jakarta, Singapore bulldozed its oldest boys'
school, the Raffles Institution (built in 1837-1841), to make way
for the city's tallest hotel and a megashopping mall, Raffles
City (1986).

*Like the demolition of most of the Chinese-style Candranaya
homes on Jl. Gajah Mada, some traditional buildings such as
Chinese-style shop-houses have been demolished to make way for
high-rise residential towers to accommodate Singapore's growing
population.