The dilemma between preservation and development

Posted by shuping under Buildings and Monuments
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Boasting vivacious colours coupled with a sleek modern touch, Hotel Re! is one of a kind as compared to the deluxe hotels which we are familiar with.

Sporting a retro theme, its corridors and the walls of the guestrooms are clad in bold colours of lime green, hot pink, yellow, purple, gold and bronze. Silhouettes of pop icons from the past, such as Bee Gees and Abba are printed on the walls and appear to transport visitors to the yesteryears of ’60s and ’70s instantaneously.

Doesn’t this already sound uniquely different from the other hotels? Well, there’s something even more distinctive about Hotel Re!. Situated at the base of Pearl’s Hill on Chin Swee Road, the building was actually the former Pearl’s Hill Primary School (alumni, anyone?).

Popular in the 70s with many prominent old boys, such as former President Dr Wee Kim Wee and High Court Judge Choor Singh, the 12-storey primary school was also the tallest school in Singapore then. This sounds more like a HDB block to me, than that of a primary school.

Anyway, here’s some background information of Pearl’s Hill Primary School for those who have not heard of it (or is it just me being a country bumpkin again?!). The school started in 1876 at Cross Street as the Singapore Chinese Branch School. With each relocation, first to Upper Cross Street in 1889 and in 1914, to Pearl’s Hill Road, it had its name changed.  Finally in 1971, it relocated to its present site (that of Hotel Re! today), which is a 12-storey building at Chin Swee Road, retaining its last name as the Pearl’s Hill Primary School, probably inspired by the name of the road.

With 125 years of school history and 95 years in using the 12-storey building, the long history is enough to warrant a visit from us as we check out the traces of the former primary school at Hotel Re!

Bus number 174 is the only bus to reach just outside Hotel Re!. Imagine my amazement when I saw this after I alighted from the bus.

A replica of what a school would have - a sheltered walkway unavailable in other places (definitely not in Orchard Road which I would very much wish for one to motivate me into going shopping on a rainy day).

Anyway that aside, there are even more surprises ahead.

A school gate leading to Hotel Re!. Had it not been for the hotel’s name on the gate, I would have thought that I was about to step into a school instead. That’s how similar I found the exterior of the hotel is to the former primary school.

The lush green field right beside the stairs leading to the hotel looks so inviting for a game of soccer, especially with the good weather (though a little humid these days). I can still remember how my male friends during the primary school days (not in Pearl’s Hill Primary though) would like to rush straight to the field area for their game of soccer every time the bell rang for recess or the dismissal of school. It’s as if soccer is part of their life (which I can never fathom, but I think it’s the same for females with shopping).

These faint yellow lines on the ground caught my eye just before I reached the hotel. Something alike a graphic, but I wasn’t sure, so I took a closer look and realised that it’s the outline of the hopscotch! Just thinking of the fond memories which I had with the childhood games, such as hopscotch, zero point and catching, makes me nostalgic once again. If only I can be a child again - free from worry and to spend every single day indulging in games.

My friend, Gavin, was as excited as me as we realised that it is the hopscotch area, and he decided to reminisce the childhood days by playing the game (though without the usual throwing of wallets or keys as before).

Bidding goodbye to the hopscotch area after 10 minutes of jumping and recollecting how we used to play it, we continued with the long walk up the stairs before finally reaching Hotel Re!.

Just right outside Hotel Re!, we saw a carpark-like space which I’d assume was the assembly ground then, but without the flag poles this time round.

Thinking back of my own primary school days (nostalgic yet again), the assembly ground was frequented by my friends and I as the place to play catching and having fun together before the bell rang to remind us that it was time to be back in class. It was a place which held the memories of my happiest days during the six years of education.

Something worth feeling relieved about - though the school has been refurbished into a hotel, the building is being retained without any changes to the appearance of it. I was particularly glad that at least this redevelopment has preserved some of the school facilities which will find resonance more easily especially with the alumni. Every one of us, at one point or another, would have fond memories of somewhere, be it a building or just a location. However, it is beyond our control when it comes to redevelopment plans, especially when we are faced with limited land space yet having to keep up with the times. Despite the hotel’s need to provide a cozy and trendy area for its visitors, such little effort by the management to preserve some memories of the school should be commended. In any case, it is better than having the school torn down completely, just like how my primary school was. I could only make use of the photos taken in the past in order to reminisce the old school days and to remember how the school building used to be like.

Just like me, Chun Kit who graduated from Pearl’s Hill Primary in 1998, felt that it was already heartwarming to see the old primary school campus be put into good use while it continues to stand at its own site. Seeing the infrastructure itself already has the ability to bring back the fond memories of his primary school days. He also agreed that there was no need for the hotel to keep everything of the primary school. After all, it is still a hotel.

Perhaps, sometimes all we need is that bit of memory to cling on to, though it may not need to be the exact same thing. We often find ourselves triggered of the past with just a reminder of something similar. In my opinion, what’s most important is how some parts are still retained which allow us to reminisce the past. After all, we can’t always remain undeveloped. Such is the dilemma between preservation and development - what would you have chosen?

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