From forgotten to fabulous: Breathing new life into Singapore’s state properties

[SINGAPORE] When Colin Low and his team at the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) first stepped into 11 Keppel Hill, the colonial-era bungalow was little more than a liability – overgrown, derelict and long vacant.

“When we first went in, it was very dark, even in the daytime, and bats flew out. We got a shock!” says Low, who was chief executive officer at the agency until the end of April.

Not long after, the once-forgotten building became the unlikely stage for Chanel’s first haute couture presentation in Singapore.