Why Lionel Leow prefers renovation over rebuilding

Leow became a proponent of A&A during his time at Delft University of Technology, where he completed a Master of Architecture programme from 2004 to 2006. This followed a bachelor’s degree from the National University of Singapore.

While in the Netherlands, he noticed that the Dutch were averse to demolishing buildings: “The funny thing is they didn’t even have strict guidelines, like a URA, saying that you have to conserve. It was very natural that something old was not automatically torn down.”

He brought this thinking back to Singapore, especially after setting up TA.LE Architects with his wife, Tay Yanling, in 2014. The name, formed from the first two letters of their surnames, is particularly fitting, since they “believe there is a meaningful story behind every well-designed space”.

In the past, he noted, buildings here were designed to last at least 60 years but were demolished in a third of that time: “Nobody cared, because a lot of things were economically driven. But we were really doing the environment a disfavour.”

As such attitudes increasingly fade, Leow sees only opportunity in the A&A work he does: “Singapore has a limited amount of land and there is only so much we can build and tear down. One of the most sustainable things we can do as architects is to extend the life of what already exists. Between demolishing a building and giving it a second lease of life lies the imagination of the designer and their ability to see how it can be meaningful to the community.”