Adaptive Reuse and Conservation: Case of Singapore’s Chinatown

Lawrence Chin, PhD & Chen Binjuan

Dept of Real EstateNational University of Singapore

Outline

Introduction Objectives of paper Typology of authenticity Research method Findings of study Conclusion

SINGAPORE:Size and Skyline

Introduction As heritage gains importance to become an integral

part of the urban identity for the present and the future of cities in their bid to set themselves apart from one another, the status of adaptive reuse has been elevated to re-image and re-imagine the city.

While conservation is highly promoted, the underlying philosophy is placed on economic pragmatism

By adopting an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on the somewhat disparate fields of tourism management, consumer behavior, marketing science, leisure science, urban planning and psychology, this paper aims to explore the ways and aspects in which tourists respond to the heritage experience during their Chinatown visit

Objectives of paper This paper examines the adaptive reuse of

buildings in Singapore’s Chinatown and its relevance to the heritage conservation and tourism.

Tourism pie is big business for Singapore Estimated to generate US$5.5 trillion worth of

economic activity in 2004 It evaluates the types of attitudes towards

‘authenticity’ and, the important aspects and dominant features that contribute to the realization of authentic experiences for visitors in this conservation district.

Findings will allow urban planners, tourism authority and private investors to come up with strategies that can achieve a fine balance between tourism needs and heritage conservation.

3 Pillars of Tourism

TravelStayAmusement & Experience

Tourism Product

3rd pillar is most challenging of all. Cities like HK and Taiwan are revving

up efforts to draw more tourists. S’pore has a tough job to even maintain

6% share of the region’s tourism pie. Important to manage and market our

S’pore as a major must-see tourist destination.

Balance between conservation and economics The understanding of how ‘signals’ (product

and information about them) are received and interpreted is especially vital in achieving a fine balance between the integrity of conservation and economic pragmatism

In the act of presenting Chinatown to its visitors, presenters/marketers and visitors partake in a process that can be broken down into four elements of exposure and awareness, attention and interest, perception and comprehension and, response

Why Chinatown? Chinatown is one of the oldest districts and settlements

when Sir Stamford Raffles founded Singapore in 1819 and established it as a port-city.

In the past 4 decades, Singapore went through rapid urbanization and urban renewal.

The image created for Chinatown as a district “pulsating with a modern heart and a traditional soul” runs parallel to the representation of Singapore as a “dynamic city rich in contrast and color and equipped with a harmonious blend of culture, cuisine, arts and architecture”

In its act to differentiate and market Chinatown, juxtapositions and balances of the old and the new as well as its ‘Chineseness’ are played up as a form of distinctiveness.

Research Method In order to find out how the authenticity

concept affects the tourists’ evaluation of the presented and potentially draws on it for tourism marketing, the main goals are (1) to develop a questionnaire and operationalise the authenticity concept and; (2) determine the relationships between the authentic experiences of the tourists and their focal points of evaluation.

Concepts of Authenticity Objective authenticity (OA) sees pre-modern as

genuine and original “Importance is placed on objects made from what [is]

consider[ed] to be authentic materials and by indigenous craftspeople or on events and rituals that are perceived as being traditional emanations of genuine cultures”

Constructive authenticity (CA) acknowledges the social constructive and negotiated dimension.

Existential authenticity (EA), on the other hand, focuses mainly on the feeling of enjoyment and experiences in the derivation of authentic experiences.

Features of Chinatown To facilitate the discussion of the features

included in the site presentation of Chinatown, these features are broadly categorized into five main aspects architectural conservation information dissemination visual character events and festivals types of trades and activities.

A combination of closed-ended and open-ended questions are used in the questionnaire to obtain a collection of responses towards the alternatives offered as well as to allow a range of opinions respectively.

Stratified random sampling is applied in the collection of data to obtain a well representation of the tourists in Singapore. This is done in accordance to the percentage indicated by the tourist arrivals in 2006.

Findings under Objective Authenticity (OA) For the respondents under OA, ‘temple’ is the most

frequently recalled word in the collected responses. As commented by one of the respondents,

“Sri Mariammam Temple appears to be very well preserved and is kept to its original religious use. The other architectures like the shophouses look too new to be authentic. They look commercialized too.”

This finding concurs with the results uncovered by Chia (1997) where places of worship make better sites for the presentation of authenticity.

It follows the reasoning that “the architecture of these religious buildings acts as sign posts of local culture and as gazetted monuments also as expressions of a historical and cultural story” (Chia, 1997, p.24).

The activities retained within the buildings and “the locals seen within a ‘natural’ setting,

Findings under Constructive Authenticity (CA) The frequent keywords recollected by the

tourists under EA are however very much activity based, relating to the activities, festivals and types of businesses found in Chinatown.

Example of shophouses “I like the shophouses. They are so ‘Chinese’. But the

shophouses depicted in the Chinese Heritage Centre look very old as compared to the ones that we are looking at. They are much more attractive right now. It’s great that the shophouses are kept intact despite the many changes that have occurred through the years.”

Findings under Existential Authenticity (EA) Besides the focus on setting and activities parallel to the

experiences emphasized in EA, such tourists also adopts what Cohen (1996) termed as the ‘recreational’ tourist mode.

Where tourists acknowledge and accept that cultures are accommodated to their needs, these tourists consume the sights, fully aware that they have been ‘staged’ for their purposes.

Example of using colours in buildings “Most of the original buildings have undergone through

extensive restructuring and renovation, but the colors, design and bustling activities do make great pictures!”

The festivals and events such as Chinese New Year, organized by the STB, are therefore essential in bringing about authentic experiences for the tourists in the category of EA.

Leveraging The festivals and events such as Chinese New Year,

organized by the STB, are therefore essential in bringing about authentic experiences for the tourists in the category of EA.

While measures related to the color schemes can be reexamined to address the concerns of the OA in particular, the conspicuous emphasis placed by tourists under EA on events, activities and themed zones can be leveraged on.

Events and festivals scored the highest among the five aspects.

This can benefit both the tourism/business aspect and planning/conservation aspect.

Hence, with the inclination towards activities and events, it makes it easier for the agencies to devise strategies to satisfy the tourists. At the same time, this acts to augment place character

Concluding Remarks This paper has sought to understand the

value of heritage from a consumer point of view and to address the neglect of a human dimension in current heritage management.

Central to this research are the issues relating to the presentation of authenticity in a conserved historic attraction and the responses tourists have towards the presented stemming from their individual attitudes towards ‘authenticity’.

As the consumers of tourism becomes more culturally savvy when it comes to seeking out the ‘authentic’, this sensitivity can potentially de-centers the authentic experiences of tourists while the authorities attempt to re-center the experience through the action plans rolled out to engender the ‘authenticity’ of conserved sites.

In view of the 3 typology of authenticity, EA and CA do not necessary require the setting to be totally untouched and unchanged to be rendered authentic. As CA emphasizes on the social constructed and negotiated nature of authenticity, EA looks at the enjoyment and experiences that can possibly be derived from the trip.

Nevertheless, as shown in the research findings, conservation and authenticity can exist along with development.

Thank you!