Anne Warr, China director of architects AJ+C and author of Shanghai Architecture, renovated a 1936 lane house in Shanghai she and her partner had leased from a local family that has owned it for 50 years. It took three days to gain building approval for their plans and eight months to renovate. As it's located in a conservation zone (one of 12 in Shanghai that include nearly 1,200 municipally protected buildings) they were not permitted to make any changes to the exterior. The reaction from her friends and colleagues was 'Why bother?'

'We really wanted to live in an old Shanghai house and the lane houses are a piece of architecture unique to [the city]. These houses are now highly sought after, with prices reflecting this,' she says. 'To start with it was expats buying, renovating and living in these historic places, but now the occupancy is quite mixed. Often the occupants will be overseas-educated Shanghainese.'

Warr says a recent tour of refurbished French Concession houses she organised for the American Institute of Architects proved very popular. Spencer Dodington, an architect and contractor specialising in historic renovations, says the lanes are attracting small, independent retail outlets that visitors seem to prefer to the big shopping malls.

In many ways the plight of Hong Kong's architectural heritage is mirrored in the post-war history of Singapore. A lack of preservation policy meant that until the late 1980s many historic buildings, especially those in and around the central business district, were demolished and replaced with high-rise offices. The restored Fullerton Hotel, a former General Post Office, is one obvious exception. Under the auspices of Singapore's Urban Redevelopment Authority, conservation status has been given to 94 areas that are home to 6,859 buildings throughout the island (just 1,444 historic buildings are listed by the Antiquities and Monuments Office for the whole of Hong Kong). And under the city state's Concept Plan 2001, an urbanisation strategy for the next 40 years, there is to be a focus on identity by conserving 'built heritage'.

Part of that built heritage can be found at The Scarlet, a boutique hotel occupying a row of 15 former shop houses dating back to 1868. The facade of the buildings, bought and refurbished for S$45 million (HK$240 million), is a testament to the policy of protecting the city's architectural identity. According to Michael Tan, the hotel's concept director, his company welcomed the challenge of restoring an element of nostalgia in the city's historic Chinatown. The result is an award-winning hotel that attracts visitors from home and abroad.

'Singaporeans, who are big on the idea of 'staycations', have taken well to the uniqueness of a hotel that is a nice fusion of the new with the old,' he says. 'We felt that by carefully preserving and combining the architectural styles of Singapore's heritage buildings externally, but with an audacious, sensuous, dramatic and theatrical design internally, The Scarlet would be able to provoke the senses, impress and fascinate all guests who visit or stay at the hotel.

'Being able to occupy an entire row of conservation buildings has been a rare opportunity for us in land-scarce Singapore [and] has contributed to Singapore.'

But there's a familiar tale of woe from others wanting to protect Asia's distinctive architecture. With no funding to maintain traditional homes or buildings that have fallen into disrepair, owners find it easier to sell a property, which is then demolished, to make room for modern structures. All too often the problem is exacerbated by a complicated process for registering historic buildings. In addition, some owners resent preservation orders that restrict the use of the property without offering any financial incentive for complying. The challenge is even greater in developing countries, where low incomes and decrepit buildings tend to go hand-in-hand, thereby giving developers disproportionate power.

Compared to other major cities in the region, Vientiane is a sleepy backwater where rampant development has yet to take hold. The result is that the city is rich in traditional Laotian and French colonial-era architecture - albeit woefully neglected.

Spotting an opportunity to help local families, preserve historical buildings and, of course, the chance to manage a successful commercial concern, Alison Brown became involved in Unique Lao Properties. Established in 2002 to preserve and restore buildings more than 40 years old, the company leases ramshackle properties for rents that are part cash and part equity. When a restoration is complete, the company sublets the property at a commercial rate, which covers building costs, maintenance and insurance. At the end of the lease period, about 10 years, the building reverts to the owner, who is then invited to negotiate a continuing management agreement.

'Unlike most local construction firms, we try very hard to retain the authentic look of an old building. The resulting combination of old and new gives our houses and apartments unusual details that visitors and tenants appreciate - a hobbit-sized garden door, a tiled roof visible from an interior space and old doors and shutters left unpainted to show off the beautiful wood grain,' says Brown.

'[However], expansion of the project is limited by the availability of funding. The high front-end costs of helping the owner to move and then completing the renovation mean that only one or two properties can be accepted each year. In the meantime, more buildings are lost.'

Recognising that the needs and missions of small businesses differ from their larger cousins led the Vinyl Group to restore a building in Shanghai's historic French Concession and another in Xintiandi. One, branded Oasis@French Concession, is a former 1920s detached villa that retains many of the building's original features such as fireplaces and a sweeping staircase.

'Shanghai is filled with many exciting period buildings that have so much character and tell the story of the city's tremendous growth,' says Ben Ling, Vinyl Group's director and principal project designer. 'There are many serviced offices in grade-A buildings, so the model of Oasis is to provide alternative locations in spectacular buildings. Being in a converted building is great for smaller businesses, as [the property] reflects a more creative and alternative look and feel. They give the impression of an enterprising, creative, non-traditional company, which is why many media, developing and creative companies choose to rent space in Oasis.

'Restoration preserves and enhances the culture of the city as well as adding a completely new dimension,' he says.

'Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing are doing a great job preserving [themselves, but] this is less obvious in Hong Kong.

'But I can appreciate that land is so much more expensive in Hong Kong and hence it only becomes economically viable for developers to build high-rises as opposed to preserving low buildings with low gross floor areas.'

Restoration preserves and enhances the culture of the city as well as adding a completely new dimension

Ben Ling, director and principal project designer, Vinyl Group