Picassos of Singapore’s built heritage: Figment on Travel+Leisure

After decades of demolition, Singapore developed a reputation for corporate blandness and flavourless internationalism. In more recent times however, a preservationist mindset has set in among policymakers and developers alike, with shophouses enjoying a newfound revival.

Be it red light districts converted into fashionable streets (Keong Saik Road), boutique hotels mushrooming across various locations (8M Collective), or iconic stretches of refreshed residences (Koon Seng Road), shophouses are front and centre in this old building boom.

Simon Monteiro, a local realtor who specializes in old buildings, likens this boom to an art-market bubble:
“People are buying them like Picassos.

Not a new face in this trend, our co-founder Fang’s family has been collecting shophouses for more than two decades. With properties in Blair Plain and Petain, Figment has been refashioning these old-world buildings into upscale co-living spaces in collaboration with Singapore-based architects and design studios.

Featured in this article is Canvas House by Ministry of Design. Blanketed in white, Canvas House rhythmically reveals bare brick, exposed timber, and original painted decorations beneath.

Read more below.

Face Value by Simon Willis. Travel and Leisure, September 2020, p. 118-123.

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