Singaporean architect and academic Professor Ho Puay Ping discusses the crucial role of culture and heritage in fostering international bonds.

BY SHWETA PARIDA

Prior to joining the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2017, he was Professor of Architecture and served as Director of School of Architecture and University Dean of Students at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He was also appointed to many public and private boards and committees in Hong Kong, including as Chairman of the Lord Wilson Heritage Trust and member of Town Planning Board, Antiquities Advisory Board. He currently serves as a member of the Senior Advisory Board of Global Heritage Fund, and is Patron of the International Dunhuang Project of British Library.

“We have a lot to contribute to the world in terms of sustainability, city development, architecture, urban planning and design, and other aspects. Due to our location, history and the diversity of people that live in Singapore, multiculturalism and racial harmony are our strengths.”

1. How important is it for Singapore as a small nation to build strong international friendships? I think it is extremely important to put ourselves on the world map. We call ourselves The Little Red Dot and I do not like that as it makes us think small about ourselves. We have a lot to contribute to the world in terms of sustainability, city development, architecture, urban planning and design, and other aspects. We should aim to be a big player, even in areas such as cultural heritage, so that people can understand us better. Even in our part of the world, people think of, say, Thai, Vietnamese or Indonesian cultures. But the world is not as cognisant of Singaporean culture, partly because we are a young country. In fact, we should project the idea and image of Southeast Asia as a tapestry of different cultures. Due to our location, history and the diversity of people that live in Singapore, multiculturalism and racial harmony are our strengths.

2. How has your role at Unesco shaped your perspectives of lives, values and the global community at large? I have travelled to many different countries in my official Unesco capacity. I know China and Japan like the back of my hand, as well as parts of India, Southeast Asia, Europe and North America. Unsurprisingly, I share a lot of values with my fellow Singaporeans. At the same time, I also have values that I have developed in my life journey from different experiences. As Unesco Chair, I have a lot of opportunities to collaborate with different parties. Recently, I was helping a museum in Torino, Italy. The museum was putting up an exhibition on Buddhist arts, especially Chinese Buddhist sculptures. This kind of work that I do helps me see the interconnectedness of different cultures. My sense is that openness in Singapore is the best part of our culture. It signals that we are open to receiving influences and accepting different cultural manifestations as they are, or as they were in the past. Everywhere I go, I try to see the culture from the perspective of the local viewpoint.

3. What can we learn when it comes to conservation from other countries or cultures? To me, conservation is interesting because you can approach it in many ways. For example, previously, the Japanese were not happy with the terms of conservation authenticity as defined by European experts. It is traditionally based on stone for the latter, but for the Japanese, it is wood. The Europeans prefer not to touch anything dramatically during the restoration process. They just clean and patch up the stone. But in Japan and China, they take an entire wooden building down and build a new one that is exactly the same as the previous one. Wood undergoes wear and tear over time, and there is termite infestation. The normal practice is to take out one part completely and replace it with a new one. If this practice is classified as inauthentic, that is wrong. It shows disrespect towards their heritage and traditions. In Japan, I witnessed the conservationists painstakingly rebuild buildings from the 8th century – piece by piece. It is earthquake-proof. Even though authenticity in construction is an international concept, we have to tweak it to the local traditions. In the Asean context also, we are in the same situation. If you go to Yogyakarta – a lot of palaces are built with timber. The same applies to Thai and Chinese temples. The West was not able to understand this. So in 1996, there was a new convention called the Nara documents. We need to respect individual cultures while simultaneously redefining international standards.

4. Is there an instance of how your international friendships have made a difference to ties with Singapore? In the past, we learnt from others, but now even others can learn from us. This is not coming from a point of view of superiority, but from the perspective of sharing knowledge. For example, in 2022, we were given a generous donation in the form of a shophouse in Neil Road in Chinatown. We collaborated with a Japanese team on the latest solar panel technology to reduce solar gains by using certain types of tiles. This compensated for the lack of air-conditioning in the entire property. This was a project that involved mutual exchange of ideas, technology and practice exchange, and even cultural learnings. Such collaborations create new avenues for people-to-people ties.

5. What role can Singapore play to preserve common threads such as shophouse conservation seen in other Asean countries? In Singapore, we have preserved the most number of shophouses – more than 6,000. This typology is found not just in Asean but also Southern China, Taiwan and parts of India. The way our Urban Redevelopment Authority conserves shophouses stretches beyond just the properties – they take into account entire neighbourhoods. While they can fine-tune their policy and not make it cookie-cutter to serve all types of shophouses, there are also useful takeaways for other countries that want to conserve their own shophouses. Other countries can learn from our extensive experience in conserving shophouses, while retaining their own unique charm.

“I hope Singaporean graduates can be ambassadors for Singapore, but also good global citizens by engaging in mutual learnings with other communities.”

6. How important is it for Singaporeans to have a global outlook and engage with other communities? The world is a family, a village. We all impact each other. The particular programme at NUS that the department has put together on conservation is really a case in point where we can advance the best approach in conservation from different parts of the world. We have students coming from around the world – China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Mexico. We are also helped by other departments and programmes at NUS, such as the planning and landscape programmes. Our conservation programme is unique in Southeast Asia and is more multidisciplinary than any other comparable programme in Asia. So we can be global citizens through such academic outreach. This is also the precedent that NUS wants to set – to establish Singapore as an education hub. It is fantastic to learn global practices and influence the government in terms of policymaking. There is a former student from my programme, who now works with Unesco in Bangkok. These Singaporeans are global citizens. I hope Singaporean graduates can be ambassadors for Singapore, but also good global citizens by engaging in mutual learnings with other communities.

7. Why is it important for Singaporeans to take a greater interest in world affairs? We are all somehow connected. We cannot think we are in a corner and be comfortable there. The government has showed us the impact of successful planning. We have to be cognisant of the fact that the world is changing, especially when it comes to climate change. It affects all of us. In order to understand the impact, we need to connect with other communities and come together to solve such challenges. Unesco talks about how conservation can fit into its sustainable development goals. In conservation, it has always been top-down, and I hope to make it more accessible to people.

8. How can Singaporeans be good global citizens? I find that Singaporean students seem less passionate about world affairs as compared to, say, Hong Kong students. Once when I was talking about an architectural masterpiece in France, some of my Singaporean students remarked that they would not travel all the way there to visit it. We can sometimes get complacent here because life is comfortable for us. This mindset is slowly changing. I also remember when the late Mr. Lee Kuan Yew visited Hong Kong, I got a chance to interact with him. He asked me why didn’t I move back to Singapore? I politely told him that I see myself as an ambassador of Singapore and that I can serve Singapore even when I live overseas.

9. How do we reach out to the global community so they can better understand Singaporean values? We should promote closer exchanges between people. I host a lot of foreign visitors. Many of them come here due to the high ranking of NUS on the list of global universities. The greenery, both natural and by design, impresses foreign visitors. The fact that we work with nature, public housing and transportation, and it all comes together in the context of urban development, gives them hope that they can replicate at least some of it. We should also have an outpost of NUS in other countries. It will help promote our value system and culture, and build new bridges.

10. What defines the Singapore brand to you? Foreigners often comment on our clean and corruption-free governance. Singapore has done well in making this a very liveable city for not just Singaporeans but other communities too. We have developed green and energy-efficient architecture that is relevant to the tropics. We have also done well in the area of heritage conservation – both tangible and intangible. Being able to tie all these different elements together to make Singapore what it is today underscores its brand value.