In a letter to the Straits Times Forum on August 13th 2008, reader Rahul Ahluwalia echoed a voice from long ago. That voice is that of John Ruskin, applied to the Singaporean condition. Rahul brings up local Singapore architectural examples like the New National Art Gallery as well as the brand new Dempsey Village, in a critique of both capitalism and conservation planning:
THIS National Day, Kit Chan’s 1998 song, Home, seems relevant as ever. “This is Home, surely, as my senses tell me,” she croons.
My senses don’t seem to agree. The primary school I studied in just six years ago has been razed; my secondary school’s hall, stadium and (most importantly) canteen, I can no longer recognise.
Buildings as physical reminders of the past form perhaps the strongest of our cultural associations with a place. John Ruskin once remarked, “Without architecture, we cannot remember.” So when we have strong associations with a building, it forms a part of our identity and it is imperative that we conserve it. For if thebuilding is removed, most or all of the bond with the place goes with it…
Get the full text of Rahul’s letter at WILDSingapore news
