Where do community iconic structures fit in a globalizing city?

In this paper, K. C. Ho considers the iconicity of community buildings, such as schools and churches, rather than buildings of the private sector or state. Iconicity is understood as the ability of a building to be meaningful to a wider group of people. Built with the support of a particular community, community iconic buildings derive symbolic values by reflecting shared memory, identity and solidarity of a society. The paper discusses two examples of iconic community structures in Singapore, a Chinese school and a Malay mosque and describes how in each case the redefinition of state – society relations has affected the symbolic value of the architecture towards the community. In times of globalisation, community iconic structures can act as counterbalance to transnational iconic projects that often threaten to dissociate the local society. Because they are underpinned by social and civic relations of locals, community icons ensure greater cultural diversity, participation and the reproduction of life spaces.