Making modern architecture great again.
Meet The Movement Fighting To Protect Singapore’s Modernist Buildings
Written by Low Shi Ping published on A Magazine: read-a.com on 21 April 2021.
The demolition of significant modernist buildings needs to stop, says Docomomo Singapore, which is determined to make sure it does.
What do the Regent Singapore, Wing On Life building and the old National Library on Stamford Road have in common? They are all modern buildings and some of the most significant ones in Singapore.
The organisation that identified them is Docomomo Singapore (DocomomoSg), an under-the-radar group that was accepted by Docomomo International in December 2020 to establish the local Chapter.
Don’t be fooled by the outré abbreviation; the non-profit that’s headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal, is actually the International Committee for Documentation and Conservation of buildings, sites and neighbourhoods of the Modern Movement. This status upgrade is significant because Singapore is one of the most modernist cities in the world and has a veritable treasure trove of buildings with this architectural style.
Unfortunately, the country’s insatiable appetite for progress, economic development and all things contemporary has meant the demolition of many such buildings, with many more under threat.
