An old shophouse. A Joo Chiat Client. The passion to retain the charms of a historical place in Singapore. This shophouse is located along Joo Chiat Place, in a conservation shophouse district in the secondary settlement areas of Joo Chiat and Katong in Singapore. The conservation guidelines for this area require the front portion to be conserved and restored, while the rear portion can be redeveloped to a maximum of 4 stories. For this stretch of shophouses, the guidelines require any new redevelopment to be converted for residential purposes.Photography: Invy & Eric NgBuilt in the 1920s, this shophouse used to be a bookshop called The Lucky Book Store. The ground floor was the retail area, while the upper level was partitioned for storage. Behind this shophouse was a long, narrow concreted vacated land. Surrounded by 3 to 4-story service apartments and semi-detached houses, a portion of its side faces a back lane, flanked by houses on both sides.Photography: Invy & Eric NgThe Client is a couple, both having worked overseas and had plans to move back to Singapore. Both grew up in this Katong area and buying a shophouse in Joo Chiat was in many ways homecoming for them. This is a site where they could see their childhood days relived. And so they purchased this shophouse, along with the rear vacant land. Together with their architect friend, the plan was to convert the shophouse into a dwelling place and to transform the concrete land at the rea...