Nation-wide survey of Singapore’s heritage sites to kick off in coming months

Today Online 6 May 15;

SINGAPORE — The National Heritage Board (NHB) will be launching its most comprehensive survey to date on Singapore’s tangible heritage in the middle of this year, said the statutory board today (May 6).

The survey — first announced by Minister for Community Culture and Youth, Lawrence Wong at the Ministry’s Committee of Supply budget debate in March — will cover buildings, structures, sites and landscape features of architectural, historical or cultural interest, including structures or sites completed before 1980. Sites and structures associated with historical events, as well as those that carry social, cultural or educational significance, will also be examined.

The NHB says it hopes to gain a more complete understanding of Singapore’s tangible heritage and their value through this process. The research and data garnered will be made available to other public agencies so that heritage considerations can be incorporated during decision-making and planning phases.

An eight-member Heritage Advisory Panel (HAP), comprising experts from fields such as anthropology and sociology, will be guiding the NHB on the survey’s methodology and implementation.

There will be two components to the survey: desktop research and field work. Desktop research involves consolidating existing information on the heritage sites through sources such as maps, newspaper records, archival materials and publications. Field work, on the other hand, captures information on the current conditions of the buildings, structures, sites and landscapes through descriptions, photographs and geographic coordinates.

“As Singapore’s population grows, it is important to ensure that in tandem with intensified development, there are increased efforts to preserve our heritage,” says NHB CEO Rosa Daniel. “This survey is a step forward to enhance our capabilities in research, documentation and commemoration.

NHB launches survey as part of stock-take on heritage landscape
Project is most comprehensive to be conducted yet, says National Heritage Board
Today Online 7 May 15;

SINGAPORE — A nationwide survey of the Republic’s heritage buildings and sites will be launched in the middle of this year, as part of a stock-take on the local heritage landscape.

The National Heritage Board (NHB) survey will cover buildings, structures, sites and landscape features of architectural, historical or cultural interest, including structures or sites completed before 1980. Research will also be carried out on buildings and sites associated with historical events that influenced the development of the nation or local community, as well as those with social, cultural or educational significance.

Apart from carrying out a stocktake on the current state of these buildings and sites, the survey also aims to develop a broad understanding of Singapore’s heritage landscape for the purpose of long-term heritage planning, the NHB said yesterday.

Mrs Rosa Daniel, CEO of the NHB, said: “As Singapore’s population grows, it is important to ensure that in tandem with intensified development, there are increased efforts to preserve our heritage.

“This survey is a step forward to enhance our capabilities in research, documentation and commemoration. The outcomes will also contribute to our land planning and development processes to preserve heritage and mitigate the loss of heritage value”.

The survey, described by the NHB as the most comprehensive to be conducted yet, comprises desktop research and field work.

Those involved in the desktop research will consolidate existing information from sources such as maps, newspaper records, archival materials and publications.

Field work involves capturing information on the current conditions of the buildings, structures, sites and landscapes, through descriptions, photographs and geographic coordinates.

The board will be tapping the expertise of the newly-formed Heritage Advisory Panel (HAP) to help it with the survey methodology and implementation. The panel comprises experts from various fields, such as architecture, geography, sociology, anthropology and history.

Professor Brenda Yeoh, who heads the HAP, said its members will be able to offer different perspectives on heritage issues.

“By combining documentary research with ground-level surveys, the aim is to build a comprehensive database that will stand us in good stead in supporting endeavours to enrich Singapore’s heritage,” said the dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the National University of Singapore.

NHB to launch nationwide survey on heritage buildings, sites
Channel NewsAsia 6 May 15;

SINGAPORE: The National Heritage Board (NHB) will launch a nationwide survey in mid-2015 as part of a stock-take on the current state of Singapore’s heritage buildings and sites.

The survey will cover buildings, structures, sites and landscape features of architectural, historical and cultural interest. The survey also aims to develop an understanding of Singapore’s heritage landscape for long-term heritage planning, said NHB in a news release on Wednesday (May 6). It is expected to be completed in 16 months.

Some areas of historical interest the NHB will look into include Joo Chiat, Balestier and Mount Pleasant.

The survey includes structures or sites completed before 1980, those associated with historical events which influenced the development of the nation or local community and those with social, cultural or educational significance, NHB added.

Apart from the name and address, the survey will also capture information such as typology, geographical coordinates, architecture and physical condition of the site.

Researchers will study maps, newspaper records, archival materials and publications, as well as information on current conditions of the structures.

When there is limited information on the site, interviews with locals and other informants will be conducted to get more details.

The survey will be guided by members of the newly-formed Heritage Advisory Panel, which comprises experts in fields such as architecture, geography, sociology, anthropology and history. The panel has come up with guidelines on how analysis of places of historical interest will be conducted.

"The criteria will look at some factors such as the age of the building - whether it's associated with any historical events or whether notable people have visited or lived in the place, as well as community or social memories associated with the place," said Mr Yeo Kirk Siang, Deputy Director of Impact Assessment and Mitigation at NHB.

The research data and findings will be made available to other public agencies so that heritage considerations can be incorporated during planning phases.

NHB’s CEO Mrs Rosa Daniel said: “As Singapore’s population grows, it is important to ensure that in tandem with intensified development, there are increased efforts to preserve our heritage. This survey is a step forward to enhance our capabilities in research, documentation and commemoration.”

The survey was first announced by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong during this year’s Committee of Supply debate in March.

Apart from the survey on tangible heritage, another nationwide survey covering the intangible heritage of Singapore - such as traditional trades, crafts, festivals, rituals and cultural practices - will be launched at the end of the year.

- CNA/fs/dl

NHB survey on heritage sites gets the thumbs up
Melody Zaccheus My Paper AsiaOne 7 May 15;

THE first survey of Singapore's heritage sites and structures will kick off within "the next two months".

The National Heritage Board (NHB) yesterday revealed more details of the project, which will study places of architectural, historical, cultural, social or educational significance. It will also include sites or structures completed in or before 1980.

The survey aims to do a stock-take on the current state of heritage buildings and sites here, and was first announced by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong in March.

The effort is expected to cost approximately $1 million.

NHB said that the exercise will have two components.

The first involves "desktop research", which will tap on maps, newspaper records, archival material and other publications to consolidate data about a place.

The second involves field work, which will document and photograph the geographic coordinates, typology, and physical condition of the structure or site.

If information is limited, interviews with the community and other stakeholders will be conducted. The survey is expected to take about 16 months.

The board will use its findings to work with the Urban Redevelopment Authority at each stage of land planning. This includes the 10-year Concept Plan or the five-year Master Plan.

Significant buildings and structures identified through the survey could undergo further research for possible preservation or conservation.

NHB chief executive Rosa Daniel said the exercise is a step forward in enhancing the country's capabilities in research, documentation and commemoration.

"As Singapore's population grows, it is important to ensure that in tandem with intensified development, there are increased efforts to preserve our heritage," she said.

NHB said that it adapted the heritage survey from similar ones done in other cities.

The board cited Hong Kong's 1996 survey, in which more than 8,800 historic buildings built before 1950 were identified. This was followed by more in-depth research and assessment to identify buildings of greater heritage value.

Singapore's version will be guided by members of a newly formed eight member Heritage Advisory Panel comprising architecture, geography, sociology, anthropology and history experts.

They include Brenda Yeoh, dean of the National University of Singapore's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences; Eric Chin, director of the National Archives of Singapore; and Zahidi A. R. Arkitek's principal architect, Zahidi Abdul Rahman.

The heritage community welcoms the survey as it represents the first step towards a more long-term strategic plan for heritage issues.

Kevin Tan, president of the International Council on Monuments and Sites Singapore, said that, for the survey to be effective, the criteria for what constitutes a heritage building should be "crafted as widely as possible".

For it to be truly comprehensive, he believes that surveyors should comb every square metre of the Republic.

"Such a scan will help the authorities consider everything in an area as comprehensively as possible, to help them uncover new stories and things they didn't know about places before," he said.

Heritage enthusiast and editor Choo Lip Sin believes the survey will help the authorities make more informed decisions.

He hopes there will be space for public input to be factored into the exercise, "beyond what the authorities value as heritage".

A separate survey on the country's intangible heritage, spanning cultural activities and traditional trades or businesses, will be launched at the end of the year.