India, Aug. 24 -- Nowhere is Singapore's multilayered past more visible than in the facades of its shop-houses. Today, these long-neglected architectural jewels are being celebrated and restored to their former splendour. Text by Simon Willis; photographs by Darren Soh

When my wife and I moved to Singapore last year for her new job, I expected to be travelling in the future. On my previous visits, Singapore's famously efficient airport, Changi, had seemed like the principal node of a gleaming network of expressways, subway lines, and skyscrapers, all designed to maximise the flow of people and capital. It is a place where your car automatically pays for parking, where the traffic lights are controlled by artificial intelligence, and wher...