From the observation of the transformation of Kampong Amber to modern day Amber Road development, on the same site, the social activities and genius loci of the place is closely tied to the quality of the urban environment and architecture. The porous and open urban fabric of the 1900s Kampong Amber resulted in a place filled of ‘kampong’ (communal) spirit, one that encourages sharing and public interaction between its inhabitants. In comparison, the modern-day Amber road development, with walled-up high rise development replacing the thatched timber houses on stilts, had lost the same spirit of gotong royong that previously gave identity to the place. The identity and spirit (the body), of the Malay fishermen’s village had long been destroyed along with its skeleton. While the loss of the physical buildings is irrevocable. The spirit and identity of place becomes irretrievable. More so than just preserving the physical remnants of the past, same effort should be spent on preserving the spirit of the place. It is therefore important to preserve places like the Chinese Swimming Club which continues to be a prominent communal spot for the inhabitants, and be an avenue for them to retrace their roots.