Can a contractor do conservation works without an architect?
Only Category 3 works, which are minor, localised or repair works such as one-for-one replacement of windows, roof tiles or timber floor boards. Category 1 works must be submitted by a Qualified Person who is a Registered Architect, and Category 2 works by a Registered Architect or Professional Engineer. In the 32 Desker Road case, the owner company also faced a charge of failing to appoint an architect to supervise the works.
From the RRD Field Guide, checked against the sources cited in A&A Works to Conserved Shophouses in Singapore: URA's 3R Rules, Permits and Fire Safety. General information, not advice for your project.
The fuller picture
Any work to a conserved shophouse needs URA Conservation Permission before it starts, even repainting. URA's rule is maximum Retention, sensitive Restoration and careful Repair: the roof, party walls, front façade, five-foot way and (in historic districts) timber floors must be kept. Rear extensions and roof mezzanines are allowed only within set limits, and Fire Code clause 9.9 governs timber floors and stairs.
More questions on this topic
- Do I need URA approval to repaint a conserved shophouse?
- Which parts of a conserved shophouse must be kept?
- Can I build a rear extension to a conserved shophouse?
- Can I add an attic to a shophouse?
- What happened at 32 Desker Road?
- Does SCDF allow timber floors and staircases to stay?
- Can a conserved shophouse be converted to a hostel or co-living use?