Congratulations to BA Geography student Lazarus Chok, who has been awarded a SEAC 2018/19 Student Dissertation Fieldwork Grant. We spoke with Lazarus to find out more about his research and how the grant will help him:
“This summer, I am conducting ethnographic research into the end-of-life management of public housing estates in Singapore. The SEAC 18/19 Student Dissertation Fieldwork Grant has provided me the funding to conduct in-depth interviews in Chinese dialects such as Teochew, Cantonese, Hokkien, etc., to capture a range of experiences across the Singaporean Chinese community.
The ‘life of buildings’ is often discussed, but its metaphorical extension – what happens when buildings die? – is an under-researched area. What effect or purpose do vacant, obsolete, derelict buildings have in an ever-changing urban fabric? Singapore, where public housing estates have a non-extensible lease of 99 years, is an ideal test-bed for the end-of-life management of housing estates.”
