For architect Lionel Leow of TA.LE Architects, demolition is rarely the answer. Through projects such as Hong Leong Building and City Square Mall, he argues that sustainability and cultural memory begin with what we choose to preserve.
…In the past, he noted, buildings here were designed to last at least 60 years but were demolished in a third of that time: “Nobody cared, because a lot of things were economically driven. But we were really doing the environment a disfavour.”
As such attitudes increasingly fade, Leow sees only opportunity in the A&A work he does: “Singapore has a limited amount of land and there is only so much we can build and tear down. One of the most sustainable things we can do as architects is to extend the life of what already exists. Between demolishing a building and giving it a second lease of life lies the imagination of the designer and their ability to see how it can be meaningful to the community.”….
