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Shophouse with a stunning staircase is among winners at this year's Architectural Heritage AwardsThe Lucky Shophouse at 125 Joo Chiat Place still bears reminders of its past.迷你倉最平 A sign outside, Lucky Book Store, reveals its origins as a bookshop. Inside, exposed bricks show off the workmanship from a time when houses were built to last.For paying tribute to the origins of the 1920s Transitional-style shophouse in their design, the architects behind the project won an award at the annual Architectural Heritage Awards on Thursday. Given out by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, it was among five winning projects this year that were picked from 10 submissions.The jury was particularly impressed with the winners' attention to detail, from undertaking careful research to faithfully restoring old architectural elements.For example, the 100-year-old Hong San See Temple in Mohamed Sultan got craftsmen from the famed Beijing Palace Museum and referred to old records in order to restore its original Minnan architecture style.The other three winners are an office building called 48 North Canal Road that was converted from two shophouses; a bungalow at 5 Chatsworth Park; and a series of eight shophouses in Geylang called the Lorong 24A Shophouse Series.The annual awards recognise owners, architects, engineers and contractors who have taken special care to restore buildings for modern use.There are two categories: Category A is for national monuments and fully conserved buildings, which are judged on how well they have adhered to restoration guidelines. Category B is for buildings which have added new developments to the original conserved building, and these are assessed on how well the old and new features are integrated.A free exhibition showcasing the five winners is now on at the URA Centre. There will also be a series of talks and visits to selected award winners.natashaz@sph.com.sg125 JOO CHIAT PLACEWon: Architectural Heritage Award for conserved buildings with new developmentsArchitect: Chang ArchitectsMaximising floor space is always a key objective in land-scarce Singapore, and it was no different for this shophouse in Joo Chiat Place.By law, its owners - advertising guru Yang Yeo and his wife Ching Ian - could add a four- storey-tall new extension. But doing so would mean that the new structure would tower over the old shophouse - something they did not want when they bought it in 2006.So they designed a single-storey extension that housed the rooms they needed. The renovation took about a year and was completed in late April.The couple have since sold the property and moved to Shanghai. The new owners are a 30something married couple who are lawyers. They did not want to be named.Architect Chang Yong Ter, 44, who got to know the previous owners from working on another shophouse they own, says: "Yang wasn't the typical client who wanted more rooms or to use up every available space. He saw the value of having the shophouse more spaced out."Built in the 1920s, the unit used to be called The Lucky Book Store. The ground floor was where the bookstore was, while the upper level was used as storage.The interiors have been stripped of plaster and paintwork, leaving the bricks exposed. Cavities for timber joists which are no longer there have been kept, while a double-volume dining area was created by removing a passageway to the second floor.Instead of connecting the original house to the new extension, the team put in an open-air garden. The extension is where the bedrooms and bathrooms are.The house also won the Design Award in the Special category and Best Project Constructed under $1.5 million at this year's Singapore Institute of Architects Architectural Design Awards on Tuesday.The current owners say they have been searching for a conservation shophouse for the last few years and saw about three dozen.On finding The Lucky Shophouse last year, the husband says: "When we saw this one, we fell in love with it. We liked the old brick walls which can't be replicated nowadays, the spaciousness of the rooms and that there was garden space. It is also on a relatively big plot of land compared to many shophouses in the area."STST48 NORTH CANAL ROADWon: Architectural Heritage Award for conserved buildings with new developmentsArchitect: WohaWith just a single picture from the National Archives of Singapore, architects from home-grown firm Woha had to rebuild from scratch two shophouses dating back to the 1940s and 1950s.The shophouses, which used to be taken up by small businesses including a spectacle shop, were leaning to one side and had to be demolished as they were structurally unsafe.Based on the picture, the architects drew up plans to restore the three-storey Art Deco shophouse and five-storey Modern-style shophouse to their original forms. They also had additional photos from the Urban Redevelopment Authority and brought in a surveyor to come up with plans to fashion them into identical images of the old buildings.The shophouses (in white and grey) now serve as offices for financial services company Maybank Kim Eng Properties, which bought the two properties in 2009. Building works on the properties started in 2011 and was completed in October last year. The owners declined to reveal the cost of the buildings.URA says this is the first time a project that was rebuilt after being demolished has won an award under this category.Mr Tan Pei-San, 42, chief executive of Maybank Kim Eng Properties, says: "We're stockbrokers and this area was where our trade started. So the buildings appealed to us from a heritage standpoint."We knew there would be many requirements to fulfil to get the place up and running, but we were happy to do that."The identical structures saw original architectural elements, such as the steel windows, concrete canopies and plaster walls, put back in place.Architects also added a new rear extension with seven storeys.Another creative move entailed adding open-air gardens at various levels that gave workers nice views of the nearby Hong Lim Park and Parkroyal on Pickering hotel.And in a twist to the indoor courtyards that are typical of many shophouses, the architects carved a spot on the side of the building and filled it with greenery, thus creating a little "pocket park", says Woha's architectural designer Ang Chow Hwee.The 34-year-old adds: "The greenery helps soften the hard exterior of the building. It also helps make a statement and piques your interest when you walk by and spot the green area."Besides restoring the shophouses, the architects also had to ensure that their look melded with a new adjacent building at 50 North Canal Road (with latticed facade) that is also used by Maybank Kim Eng Properties as an office.About 400 people work in both spaces. The shophouses are connected to the adjacent building by a sky bridge.The building at 50 North Canal Road was designed by famed Japanese architect Paul Tange of Kenzo Tange Associates in 2010, but Mr Tan decided to go with home-grown firm Woha to rebuild the two shophouses.He says: "The shophouses merited different treatment from a regular office building. Given their heritage and significance to how our trade started, it made sense to bring in local architects."5 CHATSWORTH PARKWon: Architectural Heritage Award for conserved buildings with new developmentsArchitect: Eco-id ArchitectsThe new wing of this 45,000 sq ft property in Tanglin might be three times bigger than the original house, but it is the iconic 1920s bungalow that takes centre stage.Referring to the older building, Mr Sim Boon Yang, co-founder of Eco-id Architects, says: "It was a challenging project because of the 'prominent old lady'. The building has a significant presence and we felt that the new extension should be delicately placed."The new wing should not fight for attention with the old building. We had to make sure that the layout and design were discreet."Restoration work, which to儲存k 14 months and was completed earlier this year, was also done to the original house. The owners declined to be named or reveal how much the revamp cost.Designed by Mr Frank Wilhim Brewer, one of Singapore's famous pre-war colonial architects, parts of the conserved bungalow, such as the casement windows, the lattice and louvred timber windows, were carefully repaired and restored.The exposed brick pillars - a Brewer signature for his colonial houses - were in bad shape when the architects first took over. So they used bricks from the now-demolished outhouse to replace the pieces that were falling out.The new wing takes inspiration from the older building too. Detailing from the overhanging roof eaves and horizontal louvred timber windows were repeated in the new house. The facade was also deliberately clad in neutral grey so that it would not overwhelm the entire design.Mr Sim says it was an exercise in balancing the old and new, while ensuring that the property was cohesive as a whole.Comparing the two, he says: "We tried to make the qualities of the new wing opposite to what the bungalow had. So while the colonial building has a robust, masculine manner with bricks and solid wood doors, we went with a lighter feel for the new wing and used more steel."The new wing was built to accommodate a multi- generational family. The house on a hillock also has a pool that overlooks the neighbourhood.Mr Sim says: "The house is almost like a village on its own. But it gives each family member privacy while offering spaces where they can gather."THE LORONG 24A SHOPHOUSE SERIESWon: Architectural Heritage Award for conserved buildings with new developmentsArchitects: Atria Architects, Farm with KD Architects, Hyla Architects, Lekker Design, Linghao Architects, Liu & Wo Architects, Zarch CollaborativesWhen businessman Low Seow Juan and three friends bought this series of eight shophouses in Lorong 24A Geylang in the 1990s, he had plans to tag on a condominium extension.Good thing he changed his mind, for the shophouses - at No. 5 and the odd numbers from 9 to 21 - have drawn much praise for rejuvenating the street, which is home to several clan associations and The Buddhist Library.Mr Low, who is in his late 50s, says of the project, which was completed last year: "If I had added a condominium extension, it would have towered over the shophouses and people wouldn't be able to appreciate the beauty of the architecture."Instead, he brought in seven architects to design and build the shophouses any way they wanted, while following the guidelines on restoration.The basic brief was this: Each shophouse had to have three bedrooms, lots of natural light and ventilation, and work within a budget of $600,000.Working together with Ms Karen Tan, who runs a creative development consultancy called Pocket Projects, they picked a mix of established and up- and-coming architects.Ms Tan, 32, who oversaw the two-year design and building process, says: "Having seven studios meant that we could see the different solutions for how the shophouses could be used today."It's like Alice In Wonderland. You open each door and you'd be sure to see something different behind each one."The architects also restored each house, paying close attention to the glazed porcelain tiles, coloured glass windows and facade motifs. And while the original Chinese Baroque-style shophouses did not have airwells, the architects incorporated this feature to bring in natural light and breeze.All the shophouses are now rented out at about $10,000 each month. In between leases, they are used as venues for events such as dance performances and photography exhibitions. Ms Tan curates the art programmes there.In 2011, one of the shophouses by Hyla Architects won the same award as an individual unit at the Architectural Heritage Awards. It also won an architectural design award from the Singapore Institute of Architects last year.Hyla Architects was the only firm to design two shophouses in the series - No. 13 and 19.There are no plans to do another shophouse series in Singapore, but MrLow and Ms Tan are looking to take on a similar project in central Kuala Lumpur. The project, which has yet to kick off, will feature more than 16 shophouses and include small businesses and eateries.Mr Low, who owns other shophouses in Petain Road, Blair Road and Emerald Hill, says: "Geylang has always been a place where it's better not to be seen in. But with us gentrifying the neighbourhood, you can come in to see art or the talent of these architects."HONG SAN SEE TEMPLE, 30 MOHAMED SULTAN ROADWon: Architectural Heritage Award for national monuments and fully conserved buildings in the historic districts and good class bungalowsArchitect: Archi-Theme PartnershipWhen members of Hong San See Temple in Mohamed Sultan Road wanted a full restoration of the 100-year-old monument, they called in the big guns.Tapping on the expertise of the consultants for the Beijing Palace Museum, the temple's committee put together a team of craftsmen and artisans from China for the project.Four previous rounds of repairs had rendered various parts of the temple, such as its colour scheme and shape of the dragon sculptures on the roof, different from the original Minnan-style structure built by early Fujian immigrants.The name means "Temple of Phoenix Hill" in Hokkien.The temple, owned by the Singapore Lam Ann Association, was built between 1908 and 1913 by clansmen including MrLim Loh, a well-known contractor from Nan-an, or Lam Ann County, in China. He was the father of World War II hero Lim Bo Seng.The latest full-scale restoration - the most extensive overhaul since the temple was built - took place between 2007 and 2009 and cost $2.5 million.Mr Patrick Goh, chairman of the Hong San See monument restoration committee, says a massive overhaul was needed to return the gazetted national monument to its original splendour.The 64-year-old, who runs his own aviation company, says: "This is the legacy that our forefathers left us. We have to restore it because they worked very hard to build it, and future generations can learn about their heritage from this temple."Three craftsmen used a rope-and- pulley system to remove the temple's roof to check on the timber beams and replace damaged ones.The intricate wood carvings and earlier lacquer work were reinstated, replacing "crude additions" done in earlier repairs, says Mr Goh.For example, the dragons' fins were found to be made of plastic - a material that was not used in the old days.Instead, 40,000 pastel rice bowls were brought in from China. Each was then broken into small pieces to fit the shape of the dragon, in the classic "tui jian wan tiao" cut-and-paste method for creating decorative features with porcelain.The temple's trustees also dug deep into history books to make sure they followed the right methods of building a temple in the Minnan-style of architecture.Referring to 10 well-preserved accounts books, which recorded past purchases made by the temple, they found that orders had been placed for green glazed tiles, which were used for the overhanging eaves, instead of traditional clay tiles. The tiles were unique to traditional Chinese architecture found in Singapore and the Malay Peninsula at that time.The temple won the 2010 Unesco Award of Excellence, the organisation's most coveted prize for heritage conservation in the Asia-Pacific.Mr Goh hopes that the rejuvenated temple will draw more visitors to learn about its heritage. Already, it has been used as a venue for cultural performances.With a vast courtyard overlooking the Mohamed Sultan area, which is home to a few arts groups such as the Singapore Tyler Print Institute and the DBS Arts Centre, Mr Goh says the temple's trustees are open to hosting arts and musical performances too.He adds: "It has to be a living monument where people can come and enjoy the temple, rather than a statue which they just walk past."mini storage