[Talk] Vanishing Views: Urban Conservation in Rapidly Changing Environments

Vanishing Views: Urban Conservation in Rapidly Changing Environments

Date: Saturday, 26 July 2025

Time: 2.00pm

Venue: NUS Baba House

How does one mediate between historical facts, policy making, community expectations and nostalgia when undertaking a conservation project? How can projects situated in rapidly evolving urban landscapes begin to consider the wider physio-social landscape into its conservation strategies?

Join Conservators Laurence Loh (Malaysia) and Ho Weng Hin (Singapore) as they share the behind-the-scenes process of their research and decision-making to conserve urban heritage in Singapore and Malaysia. Explore how conservation goes beyond the simple physical act of restoring and repairing a site in isolation, and what it means to conserve both building and site authentically in the changing context of our urban landscapes.

This talk is part of the “Authenti(cities): Questions in Urban Conservation” series.

About the speakers

Laurence Loh is an internationally renowned conservationist, founder of Arkitek LLA Sdn Bhd in Penang. He has worked on various conservation projects such as the UAB building and Khoo Kongsi, and most notably—The Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion or Blue Mansion, which earned him the Most Excellent Project in UNESCO’s Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards in 2000. Laurence is also involved in the Think City projects and combines work and research on heritage materials with community outreach in his conservation practice.

Ho Weng Hin is the founder of Studio Lapis, a Singapore-based architectural conservation specialist consultancy. Specialising in projects about conservation, rehabilitation and the reuse of historic structures, his practice aims at long-term conservation management, maintenance and repair. Weng Hin’s expertise lies in the documentation and assessment of heritage sites, architectural restoration technology and conservation management, focusing on 20th-century-built heritage and landscapes. His studio has most recently conducted background research into NUS Baba House in preparation for its restoration works.

About the series

As Baba House prepares for a major 18-month restoration project, “Authenti(cities): Questions in Urban Conservation” invites speakers working across heritage in Southeast Asia to engage with pressing issues and discourse in heritage conservation. Situated inside the empty House, the talks encourage guests to consider how the questions of holistic conservation and defining authenticity relate to context of the Baba House’s imminent restoration.