FranzWood carves out a niche in Singapore's conservation sector
[SINGAPORE] From restoring century-old churches to developing locally blended patination chemicals for copper domes, FranzWood has carved out a niche for itself in the areas of conservation, restoration, engineering and innovation.
'My passion is in conservation and restoration – I collect old stuff,' said Francis Lim, the consultancy and engineering group's managing director. He enjoys preserving relics from his childhood – such as a timber rocking horse, a rarity nowadays.
He holds a master's degree in civil structural engineering and was working as an engineer before deciding to strike out on his own.
In 2008, he founded FranzWood with a partner who has since left. The firm started out with two units: FranzWood Associates for conservation and restoration consultancy, as well as project management, and FranzWood ASA for engineering and diagnostics services.
To preserve and restore buildings, the firm undertakes work that spans multiple fields, such as structural engineering, materials and architecture.
These interdisciplinary demands mean that FranzWood engineers need to be 'trained with an eye for architecture', said Lim. It also means they can offer project management services, with the ability to address every facet of the operation.
A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU
Friday, 8.30 am SGSME
Get updates on Singapore's SME community, along with profiles, news and tips.
Sign Up
Sign Up
Restoration work on old buildings usually comes with a lack of information on the structures and their sturdiness. In 2010, FranzWood began investing in diagnostic tools which provide the needed information in such projects, and help to ensure that no damage is done to the sites.
The instruments cost anywhere from US$20,000 to US$100,000. The company sets aside 3 to 10 per cent of its operational expenditure budget annually to upgrade the tools when new models enter the market.
With these tools, FranzWood offers non-destructive diagnostic services for built environments such as 3D scanning, infrared thermography and colorimeter scanning, among many others.
In 2011, not long after it began business, FranzWood landed its first large-scale heritage conservation contract – as material conservation consultant for the restoration of the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall. The firm's role was to check on the sturdiness and health of the building's materials.
The project cemented FranzWood's credibility within Singapore's conservation and restoration industry. The company has since provided consultation services for the Ministry of Health's Tan Teck Guan and College of Medicine buildings, as well as for the National Museum of Singapore.
However, its biggest project to date – and the one that Lim is most proud of – was the restoration of the 113-year-old St Joseph's Church in Victoria Street. The work clinched one of five conservation awards at the 2024 Architectural Heritage Awards.
During the five-year-long restoration project, FranzWood was both the conservation consultant and structural engineer.
Besides providing solutions that restored the steel truss of the church's roof and integrated ventilation into its dormer windows, the firm also brought in expert artisans to bring the stained-glass windows back to life.
Next step, innovation
FranzWood is expanding into a new but related area in the industry – artificial copper patination.
Patination is the production of green or brown film, or rust, on the surface of metals such as copper and bronze. It can take years for the patina to naturally rust into the familiar weathered teal, even in humid climates such as Singapore's.
'People love that colour because of its uniqueness,' said Lim. It can often be found on copper roofs and domes, and artificial patination accelerates the oxidation process.
Local buildings sporting accelerated patination on their copper domes include the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall and the National Art Gallery. The work was done by a Japanese artisan.
Those skilled in artificial patination hail mostly from other parts of the world, such as Japan and Europe, where there is an abundance of copper domes. However, the spreads used in these projects are suited for more temperate climates.
This is where FranzWood comes in. In 2022, it collaborated with Singapore Polytechnic to produce a chemical spread that specifically targets the high humidity and harsh sun of the tropics – making it suitable for Singapore's hot and humid environment.
The project cost around S$10,700, with a grant from Enterprise Singapore covering 70 per cent of it.
'It is quite a good blend,' Lim said about the joint effort, which was between engineers and architecture practitioners from FranzWood, and chemists and material scientists from Singapore Polytechnic.
The teams complemented each other with their expertise in different areas. The firm's engineers came up with the idea to produce the spread, while the experts from the polytechnic helped to make it into reality.
As the spread is locally blended, there are cost savings to be enjoyed as well. 'You save on the import tax (on materials) and the overseas artisans,' said Lim.
However, copper domes and roofs are not common sights in Singapore, he noted, so FranzWood intends to look at markets overseas later this year.
Overseas restoration
The company remains focused on its core business of conservation and restoration – in fact, it has just received offers to consult on the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station and the Parliament House restoration projects – but Lim has ambitions to expand overseas.
He hopes to take FranzWood's services to the rest of Asean since Singapore's market is small. He has his sights set on Cambodia and Indonesia in particular.
Cambodia, for example, has a large supply of old buildings and natural heritage sites – the most famous one being the Angkor Wat, which is also a Unesco World Heritage site.
But 'to do conservation, they must be willing to pay', said Lim. 'Not everyone wants to do it.' In these markets, funding is often needed to restore even normal houses or buildings.
Singapore, in contrast, is affluent and can spend on preserving heritage and culture. This is why Lim is still waiting for the right moment to step into regional markets.
He has observed that there is limited expertise in the area of conservation in South-east Asia – so there will still be a niche for his services.
He expands his business with a view to transfer FranzWood's proficiency to the region, to revitalise historic sites for future generations to enjoy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business Times
Myanmar recovery dented by devastating quake, World Bank says
[NAYPYIDAW] Myanmar's economy is headed for its worst performance since the pandemic as the strife-torn country reels from the impact of a devastating earthquake in March that's estimated to have caused US$11 billion in damage, according to the World Bank. The 7.7 magnitude earthquake on Mar 28 affected more than 17 million people and wrecked widespread damages to residential buildings, public infrastructure and heritage sites in areas accounting for about one-third of Myanmar's gross domestic product. The impact of the quake still continues to disrupt lives and livelihood, 'exacerbating the already very difficult conditions in the affected areas,' the bank said in a report Thursday. The dent to economic output due to the earthquake will be equivalent to about 4 per cent of Myanmar's GDP in the fiscal year ending March 2026, the development bank estimated. The economy will contract 2.5 per cent in 2025-2026 before rebounding to a growth of 3 per cent the following year due to rebuilding efforts and the low base, it said. Prior to the earthquake, which left 3,800 people dead and 207,000 people displaced in townships including Mandalay and Naypyidaw, the World Bank had forecast a 2 per cent expansion this year. The worst-affected regions are expected to lose about a third of their production between April and September, it said. 'The economic aftershocks of the earthquake have struck on the back of ongoing challenges from conflict,' the World Bank said. The nation has been struggling with a civil war, stinging inflation and a shortage of US dollars since the military seized power in 2021 February. A raging conflict between rebel groups fighting for independence and the regime has displaced about 3.5 million people, the lender said, citing United Nations estimates. Inflation, which quickened to 34.1 per cent in the year to April, may remain high at around 31 per cent in the current fiscal year due to supply-chain disruptions associated with the quake and conflict-related logistics challenges. The poverty rate may climb 2.8 percentage points from an already high ratio of 31 per cent last year, according to the World Bank. Myanmar's budget deficit is seen widening to 6.9 per cent by the end of March next year, up from 5.1 per cent a year earlier with much of the deficit funding coming from the central bank, the report said. 'The earthquake caused significant loss of life and displacement, while exacerbating already difficult economic conditions, further testing the resilience of Myanmar's people' Melinda Good, World Bank Division Director for Thailand and Myanmar said in a statement. 'Recovery efforts are essential to help the most vulnerable populations.' BLOOMBERG
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Indonesia invites foreign stakes in $102 billion seawall to shield coasts from floods
The seawall would prevent floods along the north coast of Java, Indonesia's most populous island. FILE PHOTO: REUTERS JAKARTA - Foreign investors are invited for Indonesia's plan to build a US$80 billion (S$102 billion) seawall hundreds of kilometres long to prevent floods along the north coast of its most populous island Java, President Prabowo Subianto said on June 12 . The seawall project expands on a 2014 plan by the capital Jakarta's government to protect the city from rising sea levels and land subsidence that have caused frequent flooding along the north Java coast. Mr Prabowo said he would form an agency to run the giant seawall project, stretching from Banten to East Java provinces and which could take 20 years to complete. Officials have said the wall would be about 700km long. 'One of the most vital infrastructure projects, which is a mega project, that we need to do promptly is the giant seawall across the northern Java coast,' Mr Prabowo said in a speech at an infrastructure event. '(Sea) waters have threatened the lives of our people,' he said, citing some towns in central Java. Sea levels along Indonesian coasts rose an average of 4.25 millimetres annually from 1992 to 2024, but the rate has accelerated in recent years due to climate change, according to the country's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency. Mr Prabowo said he had invited investment from countries such as China and Japan, without elaborating. Experts say Jakarta is sinking due to excessive extraction of groundwater, leading the central government to plan its move to a new capital in the jungles of Borneo island. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business Times
French cognac makers offer China minimum import prices to fend off tariffs
[PARIS/LONDON] Negotiators representing French cognac producers suggested minimum prices for exports to China of between US$20 and around US$300 per litre as an opening bid in talks aimed at ending a tariff stand-off with China, a document seen by Reuters shows. The minimum prices are part of efforts to avoid permanent tariffs of up to 39 per cent amid tense negotiations with China's commerce ministry, which has opened an anti-dumping investigation focused on the sector. They were sent to producers several weeks ago for their approval by a Paris-based law firm negotiating on the spirit makers' behalf. A spokesperson for the law firm, GIDE, declined to comment. The industry, grappling with falling sales and simultaneous tariff threats from the US, its other key market, has been fighting to secure a deal with China since Beijing first threatened to levy the duties in January 2024. The move came amid a wider trade dispute with the European Union after it imposed tariffs on imports of Chinese electric vehicles. A flurry of political meetings in Paris and technical discussions in Beijing last week raised hopes that a settlement of the trade spat was imminent. But the talks ended with no deal, leaving just weeks to go before a Jul 5 deadline for Beijing to wrap up its anti-dumping probe. Chinese authorities subsequently announced that the industry had made a voluntary 'price pledge' and it was reviewing its terms. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up The price list seen by Reuters included a 'minimum import price' for different bands of cognac defined by how long the spirit has been aged, ranging from two years for the cheapest 'Very Special' (VS) cognacs to the most expensive 'Extra Extra Old' (XXO), aged 14 years or more. Under the offer, VS cognac would have a minimum import price of 144.70 yuan (S$25.78) per litre, while 'Very Superior Old Pale' (VSOP), aged for at least four years, would be priced at 177.92 yuan. High-end 'Extra Old' (XO) would cost 526.52 yuan to import, with the XXO category, where prices reach thousands of US dollars per bottle and more, costing at least 2,126.07 yuan per litre. France's BNIC industry body declined to comment on the prices, citing confidential negotiations. 'We keep waiting and hoping for a good outcome,' a BNIC spokesperson said. The prices in the document refer to the price paid for cognac by importers in China, with distributors, wholesalers, retailers and consumers paying more to buy it. Reuters was not able to determine current import prices across the sector, led by LVMH's Hennessy, Pernod Ricard's Martell and Remy Cointreau's Remy Martin. Hennessy's VS cognac currently sells to consumers for around US$100 per litre on Tmall. Remy Martin's cheapest label meanwhile fetches around US$110 to US$350 for its XO cognac. Talks ongoing Chinese authorities have already imposed steep provisional duties on imports of European brandy – mostly made up of French cognac – in the dispute with the EU. Laurence Whyatt, analyst at Barclays, said it wasn't clear the industry had made a major concession in the price offer seen by Reuters. 'Import prices are usually a third to a half of the retail price, so the prices detailed appear commensurate to the existing import prices,' he said. However, the document seen by Reuters reflected the sector's opening offer and talks are ongoing. A source familiar with the discussions said after weeks of back and forth, the two sides seem potentially close to agreement, but another person said the talks were tough and the sector was being pushed to make a bad deal. A settlement with China, the most important export country by value for France's US$3 billion cognac industry, that removes the duties would be a boon for the sector, whose growth prospects have been hurt by the tariff dispute. REUTERS
