Beyond Conserving Concrete Shells: Lessons for the Golden Mile Tower

The cinema block of Golden Mile Tower. COURTESY OF DARREN SOH.

Docomomo Singapore chapter welcomes the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) support for the voluntary conservation of Golden Mile Tower in Beach Road. Its offer of bonus Gross Floor Area (GFA) in exchange for conserving the development’s cinema block follows a similar approach of its neighbour, the former Golden Mile Complex. The on-going transformation into The Golden Mile and the Aurea shows it is possible to conserve and rejuvenate large-scale strata-title buildings.

However, we urge caution of the premise under which bonus GFA is deemed a natural entitlement in such redevelopment projects. This is especially so when the proposed additions and alterations do not enhance—or even damage—the heritage integrity and authenticity of the final built outcome. 

Redeveloping a heritage building requires visionary client stewardship to balance the retention of historical integrity, accessibility to the public and commercial outcomes. In our view, bonus GFA defrays some of this “commercial hardship” borne by developers for conserving Singapore’s heritage, on the condition that a “public good” is returned to the community. This can take many forms: ensuring public access to conserved iconic interiors, programming spaces with preferential rents for communities that used to occupy these buildings, or offering complementary social or cultural uses. Regardless, developers must fulfil their obligation to the public if they expect to receive the bonus GFA that makes their profits possible. 

We appeal to the URA, as the guardian of the public realm, to hold developers to stringent standards in delivering this public obligation beyond lip service. Singaporeans deserve conservation outcomes that go beyond what conventional market-based approaches have thus far delivered. 

Golden Mile Tower’s cinema blocks not only has distinctive architectural features but also interiors worth conserving, such as its iconic staircase. COURTESY OF DARREN SOH

LEARNING FROM PAST EXPERIENCE

Singapore has over three decades of experience in conserving heritage buildings through generic commercial redevelopment. Many of these past projects practice “skin-deep” conservation where only an exterior facade is preserved. The long-term success of many of these developments, however, remain uncertain after 20 years. Here are two examples:  

• Majestic Theatre was an icon of Singapore’s Chinatown since 1928. After its conservation, the theatre at Eu Tong Sen street was converted into a three-storey shopping mall with additional floors and its facade was retained.. Today, this building known as The Majestic is hardly visited by most visitors to Chinatown and contributes little to the area’s vitality. 

• Cathay Building was Singapore’s first “skyscraper” designed in an Art Deco style. Only a part of the original building’s 1930s facade was conserved—with most of the original complex torn down and redeveloped into a generic glass-and-steel shopping centre in 2006. This complex has grown quiet over the years, and is undergoing another redevelopment..

These languishing properties beg the question of whether generic market viability (i.e. standard commercial redevelopment based on generic market viability yet devoid of public relevance) can be the only prevailing consideration in large-scale heritage redevelopment. They show that “skin-deep” heritage redevelopment in the guise of commercial viability on its own will not secure lasting outcomes. This is especially so if the redevelopment process and decisions do not address public relevance and community creation. 

BEYOND CONSERVING CONCRETE SHELLS

The redevelopment of Golden Mile Complex offers lessons in how the conservation of such developments can be improved. Its conservation has undoubtedly preserved many of its key architectural features. However, all traces of the communities it housed for decades is lost. This was a common lament amongst many, including long-time tenants and even members of the public, when the building went up for sale in 2019.

“They keep the building but they won’t keep these people here. Maybe the exterior is the same but the interior will not be the same. No way to replicate this place any more. Once it’s gone, it’s just memories,” a former resident Mr Ande Lai then told TODAY. 

Such sentiments reflect a desire for conservation to not only address the building but also the “spirit” within. The intricate social ecologies and community fabric of such spaces require over a generation to take root. But the rupture of their displacement is immediate once the complex is redeveloped. Singapore’s heritage conservation can—and must—do better in sustaining the communities and ecologies that make these spaces successful urban destinations. The partial conservation of Golden Mile Tower offers URA an opportunity to develop policies and strategies to address this.

A CREATIVE LEGACY

The distinctive forms of Golden Mile Tower’s cinema block. COURTESY OF DARREN SOH

The cinema block of Golden Mile Tower opened in 1973 as Golden Theatre. It was developed by Chong Gay Theatre, and was then regarded as one of the largest cinemas in Singapore. Golden Theatre was part of a string of entertainment developments along Beach Road, including the Alhambra and Marlborough. Both theatres were demolished and replaced in the late 1970s by Shaw Towers, which housed Prince and Jade cinemas. It has also since been redeveloped.

While Golden Theatre eventually closed down, part of it was revived as The Projector in 2014. The venue for screening independent films and hosting art events helped rejuvenate what was by then a Golden Mile Tower in decline. Over the past decade, The Projector and Golden Mile Tower became a vibrant destination well-loved by creatives in Singapore and overseas. (Disclosure: The co-owner of The Projector, Karen Tan, is also a co-founder and exco member of Docomomo Singapore). 

“It would not be an exaggeration to say that the success of The Projector as an anchor tenant of Golden Mile Tower has played a significant role in raising awareness of Singapore’s modern architectural heritage among the wider public in recent years,” said Mr Edwin Loo, an associate director at real estate consultancy Cistri, to The Straits Times.

While The Projector has recently closed down, Golden Mile Tower continues to house other creative businesses such as Carnival Cinemas which screens Indian films, architecture firm Zarch Collaboratives, music recording space The Basement Studio and design shop Shrub. They join a community of businesses that have called the cinema block their home for decades, including Golden Mile Thien Kee Steamboat Hainanese Restaurant and Happy Philatelic Agency.

Over the past decade, The Projector transformed the cinema block in Golden Mile Tower into a vibrant destination. COURTESY OF THE PROJECTOR

KEEPING THE CREATIVE SPIRIT ALIVE

The distinct creative community that has organically developed in Golden Mile Tower deserves to be recognised and conserved. One of the reasons this has emerged is because of the affordable rents, which is unlikely to stay when it is sold and redeveloped. We cannot stress enough the fundamental misalignments between commercial “market-maximalist” rents and the types of authentic, “bottom-up” creative programming that would enhance the “loveability” that URA aspires for Singapore. Thus, the agency should robustly address this in its plans for conserving the cinema block.

This is not a new idea. Since 2003, URA has in place a Community/Sports Facilities Scheme (CSFS) that supports the integration of community facilities in commercial developments. Incentives are offered in exchange for the setup of spaces such as public libraries. In fact, the upcoming redevelopment of the former Golden Mile Complex will also house URA’s upcoming architecture centre because of this very scheme. 

The Golden Mile Tower deserves something similar. In addition to conserving the block, affordable spaces should be kept for nurturing the next generation of creative businesses. A programming plan could also be included as part of any redevelopment proposal for URA’s assessment. This will provide some clarity on how the existing community can continue to be a part of its future. 

By looking beyond concrete shells, Singapore can ensure  that conservation is more than just preserving buildings but the lives they have housed too.