Some ten years ago, the impending demolition of a red-bricked building in Singapore stirred a passionate public debate about the importance of social memory, heritage conservation and cultural identity among Singaporeans. On the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s plan, the 40 year-old National Library at Stamford Road was slated to make way for a tunnel and a new university campus. Architects, academics, and newspaper editors sought to convince government authorities that the iconic building embodied the experiences that most Singaporeans had as school-going children, and that these common memories contributed to the …