Bringing Into the Open: the Study and Use of Architectural Paint Research Information Within the Context of Singapore
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Bringing into the open: the study and use of architectural paint research information within the context of Singapore Yeo Kang Shua*, Lawrence Chin and Claire Lim Abstract The increasing awareness of architectural heritage and history in the city-state of Singapore is an encouraging and undeniable trend. Public acceptance of urban conservation guidelines and the gazette of listed buildings as part and parcel of the cityscape development is gradually being translated into a greater, shared responsibility for the preservation of the urban fabric. It is within this context that a series of architectural paint research projects was commissioned and undertaken. The primary aim was to provide a snapshot of the use of architectural colour in various significant historic buildings, especially before the widespread use of colour photography. The findings from the study were collated and shared with the owners and custodians of the historic buildings, in addition to being made available in various research libraries. A Creative Commons license was also applied to the publication of the results in order to encourage and facilitate future use and interpretation of the results in an open and transparent manner. With this initial glimpse into the (literally) colourful past of historic buildings, perhaps other like-minded professionals could also be encouraged to contribute towards an evolving understanding of the built heritage of Singapore. Keywords architectural paint, heritage, Singapore, Southeast Asia Singapore’s architectural tradition buildings such as churches, Chinese and Indian temples and mosques. Also marked on the map are the Anglo-colonial In 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles, the former governor of Java, government offices. Henceforth, the morphology and segre- acquired a new trading post and founded modern Singapore gation of the population according to ethnicity followed these by establishing a theoretical sultanate under British sover- orderly grid-like lines as set down in the 1822 Jackson’s Plan, eignty. After negotiations with the regent of Singapore, the essence of which continues to exist today and is a visible Temenggong Abdul Rahman, Tunku Hussein Long, the link with the colonial past of Singapore. contender for the Johor-Riau throne was installed as sultan of Singapore (Pang 1983: 19–20). Although 14th-century Chinese ceramic sherds and intact Yuan Dynasty ‘mercury jars’ found on archaeological sites in Current overview of the built heritage of Singapore Singapore, evidence settlements and activities that predate 1819,1 there were no remains of any vernacular architecture. Singapore is a small city-state with a land area of 716.1 km2 This lack of physical evidence was probably due to the use of and a population of 5.40 million.3 With limited land, the organic materials, such as timber, that does not preserve well. state’s planning agency, the Urban Redevelopment Authority All extant buildings post-1819 are the result of Raffles’ (URA), faces great challenges to cater to the needs of the intervention and the guidelines issued by the Town Planning nation in terms of land use. Limitations and restrictions on Committee on 4 November 1822.2 This set of guidelines is the way land can be utilised include that approximately 40% now commonly known as the Raffles Ordinances or Raffles of the land must be reserved for water catchment and nature Regulations. In the same year, Lieutenant Phillip Jackson, the reserves, a height restriction is imposed on buildings near garrison engineer, produced a master plan, which is com- flight paths, and that some land is set aside for military use. monly referred to as the 1822 Jackson’s Plan. This was to There are inherent conflicts in situating the conservation have a profound influence on the future development of the authority within a planning body such as the URA, but it colonial city (Fig. 1). has been argued that for a small city-state such as Singapore, This famous layout of Singapore’s settlement, which such an arrangement will be effective and efficient. Apart segregated the main ethnic groups into different districts from the conservation authority, the Preservation of Sites (Cangi 1993), is evidenced on the map by different religious and Monuments (PSM, formerly Preservation of Monuments APR-14-Yeo-v2.indd 133 09/07/2014 10:30 134 YEO KANG SHUA, LAWRENCE CHIN AND CLAIRE LIM Figure 1 Plan of the town of Singapore by Lieutenant Jackson, 1822, commonly known as the 1822 Jackson’s Plan. The plan shown here was published by Henry Colburn, London, June 1828. (Image: Lim Chen Sian) Board or PMB) under the auspices of the National Heritage Moving beyond pre-restoration photographic records, Board (NHB) also regulates national monuments that are of measured drawings, artefact inventories, historic docu- great significance to Singapore. mentary and photographic records, architectural research, Despite Singapore’s small size, the URA and the PSM have dilapidation surveys as well as structural and geotechnical granted conservation status to more than 7,100 buildings in analyses, Singapore is gradually heading towards unravelling over 100 conservation areas,4 and national monument status the knowledge of material culture within the built heritage to 65 structures since the 1970s.5 from the bottom up, led mainly by academics and non- governmental organisations such as the Singapore Heritage Society.9 Despite a history of over 40 years in preservation/ conservation since the establishment of the PMB in 1971, Moving towards conservation of material culture there remains a general lack of understanding of historic building methods and materials. The fundamental principles of conservation, as issued by the Historically, expertise within the built heritage was URA and applicable to all national monuments and conserva- achieved through colonial India, with building practices tion buildings, are based on ‘maximum Retention, sensitive that incorporated Indian plasterwork and masonry for Restoration and careful Repair’, or the ‘3R’s. The ‘3R’s is a both colonial buildings as well as early Hindu temples. The simple reduction of international conservation standards, Chinese also introduced their building methods, especially which the authorities hope will make it easier for the profes- with their mastery of carpentry. In addition, the style of sionals (primarily architects) to adopt. Although in-depth the Anglo-Indian bungalow was influenced by the Malay research is encouraged, the preservation and conservation kampong house. However, building materials and methods guidelines6 produced by the authorities predominantly were not limited to each ethnic community. More impor- regulate historic structures based on their physical appear- tantly, these contributed to the Straits Eclectic Shophouse ance. Such an approach is not unlike the stylistic restoration typology,10 with its ‘five-foot way’ that was principally the movement that began in late 18th-century Europe.7 Not with- legacy of the Raffles Ordinances. As Wurtzburg (1984: 610) standing current international practices, the general tendency notes, ‘All houses constructed of brick or tile should have a in Singapore has been towards stylistic restoration, which is uniform type of front, each having a verandah of a certain at odds with the complex concept of authenticity.8 In most depth, open at all times as a continuous and covered passage cases, research is also limited by the lack of historic records, on each side of the street.’ as well as an understanding of historic materials and cons- Beginning in the mid-1990s, some projects have truction methods. presented important questions on the knowledge gap in APR-14-Yeo-v2.indd 134 09/07/2014 10:30 BRINGING INTO THE OPEN: THE STUDY AND USE OF ARCHITECTURAL PAINT RESEARCH INFORMATION 135 Figure 2 Paint sample cross-section microscopy of 157 Neil Road townhouse. (Photo: Lawrence Chin) our understanding of built heritage. A series of small but University of Singapore. This townhouse (previously owned important pre-development archaeological investigations by a Peranakan family) is perhaps the most comprehensive was carried out by university academics to document the restoration project, if not the first detailed cross-disciplinary sites before major construction works took place.11 In the late study of a conserved building in Singapore, that was sup- 1990s, major restoration projects12 required analysis of historic ported by research into architecture, archaeology and the pargetting (historic plasterwork) to aid restoration works in building’s history. Photography and measured drawings were order to produce a modern cement mix that replicated the undertaken between 2005 and 2006,16 and archaeological technical qualities and character of the original lime-based investigation in 2006, prior to the restoration (Lim and Wee plaster.13 This is mainly out of practicality as builders have, 2007). The Baba House also had the honour of having been over the years, lost the skills of historic construction, includ- the focus of the first detailed material conservation condition ing the handling of lime plaster. In fact, there are few skilled assessment. This was undertaken in 2007 and was not limited local craftsmen dealing with materials that are not common to architectural components, but was extended to include in today’s construction industry, such as in-situ terrazzo, immovable artefacts within the site (Chua and Chan 2007), Shanghai plaster14 and ornamental masonry. Consequently, the iconographic study of artefacts