Description
In a world of constant flux, we face difficult questions: Can rebuilding or replacement be authentic? How do we balance preservation with change? Is authenticity a clash of values—substance, form, and context? Or is it a matter of analysis, judgment, and decision? We invite you to engage with these questions and reflect on the symposium’s theme and intent through the book’s form.
The Make of the Book
The book is designed with a wrapped-back fold, also known as French fold in the West, wrapped-back. The wrapped-back fold(包背裝) was widely used in China during the Southern Song and Ming dynasties, as well as other parts of East Asia. In a typical wrapped-back fold, each sheet of paper is printed on one side and folded to have the printed page on the outside of the leaf. The folded edges form the fore-edge of the book, while the cut edges make up the spine. Here, each sheet of paper is folded to have the printed page on the inside of the leaf. Unless one makes a conscious decision to make alterations to the book, the information and ideas inside remain inaccessible.
Your Considerations in Reading the Book
Is the original material form important?
Would you preserve the wrapped-back fold, or alter it to uncover information and ideas?
Are you protecting or limiting by leaving things intact?
When you reveal the hidden content, do you lose something in the process?
The decision is yours.
Published by Architecture and Sustainable Design, Singapore University of Technology and Design, and by ICOMOS Singapore
About the Editor
Yeo Kang Shua is Associate Professor and Hokkien Foundation Professor in Architectural Conservation at the Singapore University of Technology and Design. He specialises in Singapore and Southeast Asia’s architectural history and conservation, with special interest in the built heritage of Chinese diaspora. His other books, Wak Hai Cheng Bio: A Dialogue between Architecture and History (Architecture and Sustainable Design, SUTD, 2020), Divine Custody: A History of Singapore’s Oldest Teochew Temple (NUS Press, 2021), and Honourable Mansion: The Invisible Hands Behind Singapore’s Last Traditional Teochew House (ICOMOS, 2025) explore Teochew architecture in Singapore.
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