THE Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday said it would conserve another 100 buildings in Katong and Joo Chiat to retain the area’s history and character.
The buildings comprise 95 shophouses and terrace houses, two churches and three bungalows.
They will complement some 700 buildings in the Katong/Joo Chiat area which have been gazetted for conservation since 1993 to keep the social memories of the place.
These include shophouses located along Joo Chiat Road, Joo Chiat Place and East Coast Road.
URA said the latest buildings were selected based on a set of comprehensive criteria that included the architectural merits, cultural, social and historical significance of the buildings, as well as their contribution to the streetscape and identity of the place.
URA also considered feedback from building owners, members of the public and the Conservation Advisory Panel. The panel, formed in June 2002, is an independent body appointed by the Minister of National Development to give inputs on built heritage proposals by URA as well as to propose buildings for URA to study for possible conservation.
It includes professionals from the building industry, arts and heritage, as well as education sectors and government representatives.
URA said in its press statement yesterday that more than 6,800 buildings have been conserved since its conservation programme was launched in the early 1980s. They include traditional shophouses, black-and-white bungalows, civic buildings and modern developments such as the Asia Insurance Building and Jurong Town Hall.
Source : Business Times - 17 Jan 2009
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