Abstract

This chapter questions the existence of the vernacular city in architectural heritage trajectories of Southeast Asian cities. Architecture and the urban built environment are involved in the production, transformation, and construction of the identity of the city and its residents. In efforts to achieve the elusive competitive city status, with modern skyscrapers and technologically advanced constructions reflective of global economic institutions, built environments are adjusted and retrofitted. How does the shift from colonial to global cities in Southeast Asia reflect the vernacular city – a city that is built by and for the people – in its architectural heritage? The discussion starts with a theoretical review on the relationship between the vernacular city, urban heritage, and Guy Debord's Society of the Spectacle. While independence is associated with breaking free from colonial rule, urban heritage is often geared towards preservation of colonial buildings, thoroughfares, central squares, and infrastructures. The exoticism of colonial heritage buildings and spaces add directly to the pride of the city in the era of global tourism. Urban heritage becomes less about the vernacular, but more about spectacular images to boost the urban economy. Rather than pointing solely to commodification, this chapter argues that the dominance of the spectacular over the vernacular in urban heritage discourse is a process whereby the power structure and systems of the architectural profession are related in the context of globalizing market forces. Several cases in Singapore and Jakarta illustrate this analysis and lead to a conclusion on urban identity, possible vernacularization of the colonial, and their position in urban development towards global tourism-led urban enchantment.