In 1987, French architect Didier Repellin and a team of French and Singaporeans restored 53 Armenian Street to its former glory within just 10 days. Locals in the restoration team also picked up traditional conservation techniques from the French craftsmen. This project was the start of three decades of cooperation between France and Singapore in the field of urban conservation. We recently commemorated the milestone with Mr Repellin at the shophouse unit that started it all. Over the years, he has also shared his expertise in restoring buildings like CHIJMES and the Asian Civilisations Museum building. Find out more at go.gov.sg/ura-cons30didier or visit our ’30 Years of Conservation’ exhibition at the URA Centre anytime from now till 16 Dec.