Winners Announced for the 2010 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards
Hong San See Temple, Singapore, has been honoured with the Award of Excellence in the 2010 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.
A total of 33 entries, from 14 countries in the region, were submitted for consideration. The conservation project entries include museums, hotels, cultural institutions, educational institutions, religious sites, industrial sites, public institutions, residential buildings, urban districts and islands.
Revived an important icon of Minnan temple architecture of the late Qing dynasty which is a living heritage landmark for the Lam Ann settlers and the Singapore community as a whole. The project’s rigorous conservation methodology has ensured that the authentic structure and fabric of the building are well-preserved. The community-based approach to restoration at Hong San See Temple stands to have a major impact in shifting the paradigm of conservation policy and practice in Singapore and around the region.
The two Awards of Distinction went to the Red Brick Warehouses in Yokohama, Japan and Gulabpur Khanqah in Skardu, Pakistan.
The three Awards of Merit include the Fu’long Taoist Temple in Sichuan, China; the Chowmahalla Palace in Hyderabad, India and the Old Houses in the World Heritage Fort of Galle in Sri Lanka.
Three Honourable Mentions were also announced. They are the Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute in Ballarat, Australia; North Xinjiao Street in Zhejiang, China and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (Prince of Wales Museum) in Mumbai, India.
No projects were selected for the 2010 Jury Commendation for Innovation. The Jury Commendation aims to recognize newly-built structures which demonstrate outstanding standards for contemporary architectural design which are well integrated into historic contexts. The 2010 Jury Commendation submissions include three projects (an educational institution, a city complex and a museum) from two countries in the region.
For the press release about the 2010 UNESCO Heritage Awards winners, please click here.