Paper title: |
Adaptive Reuse and Conservation: Case of Singapore’s Chinatown |
Authors: |
Chin, Lawrence; Binjuan, Chen |
Summary: |
As heritage gains importance to become an integral part of the urban identity for the present and the future of cities in their bid to set themselves apart from one another, the status of adaptive reuse has been elevated to re-image and re-imagine the city. While conservation is highly promoted, the underlying philosophy is placed on economic pragmatism. This paper examines the adaptive reuse of buildings in Singapore’s Chinatown and its relevance to the heritage conservation and tourism. It evaluates the types of attitudes towards ‘authenticity’ and, the important aspects and dominant features that contribute to the realization of authentic experiences for visitors in this conservation district. The findings revealed that the differential definitions of ‘authenticity’ under the three types of authenticity and consequently a variation in emphases in the different aspects of site presentation have resulted in a less intensive experience for tourists inclined towards objective authenticity. Even as similar aspects were identified, the interpretations of the same stimuli differ. The main contribution of this research is to provide an understanding of the tourists’ mental processes and identify the dominant aspects and features of presentation that contribute to the authentic experience. These findings will allow urban planners, tourism authority and private investors to come up with strategies that can achieve a fine balance between tourism needs and heritage conservation. |
Type: |
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Year of publication: |
2009 |
Keywords: |
Adaptive reuse, heritage conservation, tourism, Chinatown |
Series: |
ERES:conference |
Download paper: |
/pdfs/eres2009_349.content.ppt |
Citation: |
Chin, Lawrence; Binjuan, Chen (2009).
Adaptive Reuse and Conservation: Case of Singapore’s Chinatown. 16th Annual European Real Estate Society Conference in Stockholm, Sweden,
http://itc.scix.net/paper/eres2009_349
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