MEMORY AND NOSTALGIA: THE APPROPRIATION OF COLONIAL POST OFFICES IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

This study on the appropriation of the colonial post offices by individuals and businesses highlight the efforts of people who have resorted to their individual effort and capability to safeguard sites of urban memory that are not sanctioned by institutionalised nostalgia. Its success, albeit hanging dangerously on the short term, is a testament to the individual’s ability to defend these sites against the destructive force of redevelopment. By using a series of interviews and field studies, it is found that individuals match their needs with the inherent economic value that these colonial post offices possess, be it stemming from its spatial, geographical or physical characteristics. By incorporating economics into the equation, a convincing argument for the preservation and adaptation of these buildings is made. The continual use of the building by the residents around, albeit changing in function, keeps the building relevant to their lives, regardless of the generation they grew up in. The buildings’ near-constant appearance encourages its use as a landmark and symbol that residents can relate and refer to. The survival of these post offices, then, hinges on this reciprocal relationship between those who want to see it conserved and what the building can offer. On a larger level, this study serves to contribute to the study of “living heritage” as opposed to the conventional understanding of conservation as stasis. The study also calls to question the role of conservation in urban planning and its relationship with Capitalism. Finally, the paper also provides evidence that physical space remains important in the digital age.