Colonial architecture

#1 Town and Country: Nation's very first town plan.

Jon Lim | 20 March 1991

THE charm of Singapore, by way of its people and usage of buildings, owes much to the origins
of the old city. As such, we need to look more closely at the forces that shaped the original town
plan.

Laid under the guidance of Stamford Raffles after Singapore was founded in 1819, the country's
town plan reflected 180 years of history behind the British, who had planned India's newer cities
since the 1640s.

According to author Anthony King, who wrote the book, Colonial Urban Development In India,
the colonial society consisted of three cultures - the Colonial First, Second and Third Cultures.

The British "at home" in England, whose economies were generated by the Industrial Revolution,
made up the Colonial First Culture.

The natives in the colonies made up the Colonial Second Culture, and belonged to the pre-
industrialised world. The Colonial Third Culture consisted of the expatriates who were
administrators and corporate traders.

INSPIRATION

Raffles wanted Singapore to become a premier centre of trade between the East and West. To
achieve this, the town plan incorporated the needs of the Colonial Second and Third Cultures.

This had to be woven within a common civic entity, yet remain separate in certain areas, for the
sake of development. It was done through the Town Planning Committee. In many ways, the
civic plan of Georgetown, Penang, served as a model of this vision when it was laid out by
Captain Francis Light in 1786.

The Penang town plan provided for a typical British settlement. But, unlike India, the native
towns of the Chinese and Indian immigrants are formal extensions of the town plan.

As a result, the Colonial Second and Third Cultures shared a common civic vision in the plan.
Raffles understood this as he dealt with all races with regard to the maintenance of the township.

He observed that the state of sanitary health in the European and native areas of Georgetown
were generally in a much higher state than expected. This contrasted with colonial cities like
Madras and Calcutta, where the state of sanitary health varied extremely between the British and
native areas. This had something to do with the fact that the bazaars, or native towns, of India
developed separately.

The native streets did not run continuously, neither were they linked by main roads to the areas
of British settlement. In Calcutta during the early 19th century, the native towns were known to
have been forced out in order to make way for extensions of the British settlement. It is arguable
that Raffles saw Georgetown as a model city which shed civic responsibility among its citizens.
Colonial architecture
The core of the town plan of Singapore belonged to that of Georgetown and th e towns of the
Indian eastern seaboard. This layout was dominated by the military installation.

It consisted of a fort and its "field of fire", or maidan, as it is called i n Calcutta. Besides the
barracks and parade grounds, this also included the military cantonment.
The civilians, or Colonial Third Culture, occupied what King calls the "Civil Station". The area
housed the civic administration, but churches, institutions and clubs were also included.
Their business district was set apart from the residential suburb, which was linked to the
recreation areas for sports or gymkhanas, horse racing and polo.

However, Raffles, as State Secretary dealing with the citizens in Georgetown, realised that the
Malay kampungs did not share the same infrastructure with the native (Chinese or Indian) towns.

A similar situation existed in Batavia, or Jakarta, where Raffles acted as Lieutenant- Governor of
Java (1811-1815) following the invasion of Dutch Java by the British in 1810.

Here, the native town belonged to the Batavian Chinese. Their business and residential areas
were combined, and could be regarded as a form of Chinatown.

This was reflected in their urban buildings that conformed to the rigid tow n plan of Batavia, laid
out earlier under Dutch rule.

The Javanese natives tilled the land outside Batavia. Raffles allowed native

affairs and land cultivation to be governed among the natives themselves. It was a liberal policy
endowed with self-enterprise which the Batavian Chinese thrived on under the Dutch, prior to
the mid-18th century.

Although Raffles' land policies failed in Java, the spirit of it was apparently revitalised under the
town development of Singapore.

The citizens of the Malay and Arab world, the Chinese from Fujian and Guangdong, and the
other races prospered under British rule.

PRAGMATISM

When the Dutch re-acquired Java following the Anglo-Dutch treaty, Singapore was founded to
guarantee the safe passage of British trade to China. Not surprisingly, Raffles perceived Singapore
as a fortress against expanding Dutch influence in the region.

It is interesting to note that his direction for the layout of Singapore town appears to be cast in
the mould of Calcutta, where he was earlier stationed in preparation for the invasion of Java.
Calcutta then was dominated by the new Fort William, with its surrounding maidan, and the
River Houghli. This followed a replanning programme when C fell to Maharatta raiders in 1756.

Soon after his arrival in Singapore, Raffles proposed that Bukit Larangan, o r Fort Canning Hill,
be made into a fort. He forbade development within the clearing between the Singapore River
and the eastern coastal plain (the Padang).
Colonial architecture

This open space extended northwards along the present Stamford canal, where an ancient Malay
defensive wall skirted the fresh-water stream.

The Bras Basah Park of today is part of the 200-yard setback of what is believed to be from the
Malay wall or "old lines" referred to by Raffles.

The most familiar feature between Calcutta and Singapore is the relation of the fort to the open
space and river.

Fort Canning, which is bounded by the Singapore River, the Padang and Bras Basah Park, can be
compared to the new Fort William in Calcutta, which was bounded by the maidan and River
Houghli. The use of parklands to encourage the impression of a prosperous city are also shared
between Singapore and Calcutta.

From the Padang, this view includes buildings at the civil station and business districts - Empress
Place, Fullerton Place and Raffles Place, as well as institutional buildings from Bras Basah Park.

This may be compared with the views of Esplanade Row and Dalhousie Square from the maidan,
representing the civic and business districts of Calcutta.

Lieutenant Philip Jackson's town plan of Singapore is based on a proposed development by the
Town Committee under Raffles in 1822. It was the earliest street plan of Singapore which
allowed all citizens a commanding view of Fort Canning and the Civil Station at its foothills.

Natives from Chinatown and the (Indian) Chuliah kampung were served by two streets, namely,
South Bridge Road and New Bridge Road, south of the river.

The residence of the Malay royals was located next to the Bugis and Arab kampung, between the
coast and Rochore River, north of the proposed European town.

They were linked, through North Bridge Road and Victoria Street, to the Civi l Station and the
south side of the Singapore River. The kampung of the Temenggong, which originally stood at
what is now Empress Place, has been relocated to Telok Blangah.

It was, perhaps, no accident that all sections of the native community prospered according to
their allocations in the town plan. This had not been provided for in Dutch Java. For instance,
ethnic trades with the Rhio, Bugis and Indonesian islands existed with the natural harbours at
Rochore.

The Chinese eventually prospered from their entrepot trade at the Singapore River.

The Temenggong not only profited from sales of his property to shipping activities at Telok
Blangah, but also cultivated gambier and spice in Johor.

The proposed town plan shows that business and warehouse area were reserved for the British
from the south bank of the Singapore River to the Telok Ayer bay mark by the Fish Market. This
spread to Collyer Quay, later Telok Ayer Basin after more land reclamation in late 19th century.
Colonial architecture
The British were obsessed with cross-ventilation. The residential suburb at Kampong Glam gave
way to the search for sites atop hillocks by the mid-19th century. Thus, the European town,
marked by Rochore Square, never materialised.

In general, the township of Singapore was a container of cultural diversity. The blueprint of
Singapore's town plan therefore reflect a certain universality of civic vision which belonged to
Raffles.

Jon Lim is a senior lecturer at the National University of Singapore School of Architecture. This
article is based on his PhD thesis (NUS: 1990), Colonial Architecture And Architects Of
Georgetown And Singapore (1786 -1942).

#2 Shophouse tales: they DID NOT originated in China
Jon Lim | 3 April 1991
ORIGINS
AMONG the building types which emerged from Sir Stamford Raffles' town plan of
Singapore, in relation to racial boundaries and military defence, the most unique were the
shophouses of Chinatown.
Contrary to popular belief, Singapore's shophouses are not the same as those in south China.
In fact, the Singapore shophouse owes its origins to Raffles, and can therefore be called
Shophouse Rafflesia.
The term "shophouse" is not found in the English dictionary. It may have bee n literally
translated from Chinese: dian wu in Mandarin, tiam chu in Hokkien, and siong tim and poh
tao in Cantonese.
The vernacular term hong, meaning business house, was used among the English traders in
Guangzhou (Canton) during the 19th century, and originally referred to the local Chinese
trade syndicates that dealt with European traders.
From pictures recorded by European artists, it is evident that China's shophouses are very
different from the "contemporary" ones in Singapore.
Those in China have neither regular shopfronts nor verandahs, or even five-foot ways.
Instead, their facades are made up of a mix of one and two storeys, and vary from shop to
shop. During the hot season, shade is created from rattan or bamboo awnings, or by
stretching a tent of oyster shells across the street.
Even street patterns are different: they do not form grids, as in Singapore, but run in
serpentine rows. These are intercepted by street archways, or pai lou, and courtyards, and are
incidental civic spaces.
In Singapore, the layout of Chinatown forms a grid. Each street represents a cramped
Chinese kampung whose occupants, besides being self-enterprising, depended heavily on
colonial employment.
Colonial architecture
Along the main thoroughfare, the superior and spacious estates of the colonial masters
become apparent. Evidently, the layout of Chinatown and its shophouses reflect the
differences in economic and social stratas of colonial Singapore.
The reverse is true in China, where the European traders were confined to cantonments
(such as those found outside the city of Guangzhou).
SHOPHOUSES, RAFFLES STYLE
Today, one can find rows of Shophouse Rafflesia in the former Chinese Treaty ports such as
Guangzhou, Ningbo, Shanghai and Xiamen. How did they get there?
The sponsors were, in fact, European and Chinese traders from Singapore and South-east
Asia.
On closer study, one can see that Raffles' shaping of the Singapore shophouse was based on
the views he formed from his travels in Asia before he founded Singapore.
Upon leaving England, Raffles first called upon Madras in 1805 and Calcutta in 1810. In
both cities, the "shophouses" were a variety of disjointed bungalows and flat-roof houses
which formed the bazaars. Contemporary artists record no covered public shelters even in
the English town.
In Penang, the shophouses which Raffles saw were basically long rows of single-storey
structures. The platform constituted the floor which was raised on stilts, supporting a hip-
gable roof.
Access to each shopfront was by individual planks placed above a communal ditch. These
buildings served the basic needs of urban shelters, but were hardly permanent.
In Penang, Raffles knew of town fires arising from these structures. Such experiences would
have influenced him to prescribe the use of fire-proof building materials.
In Batavia (Jakarta), where Raffles served as Lieutenant-Governor between 1811 and 1815, a
variety of building types appear to have preceded the shophouse form.
The most common were the godowns of the Dutch East India Company which acted as a
defensive wall in locations along the outer canals of the city. Raised above ground level over
a single-storey base, the upper storey incorporated a continuous verandah behind a row of
stout brick piers.
This supported great lengths of tiled roofs which formed part of the uniform facade.
Obviously, the design of these godowns not only responded to utility, but to climatic needs
as well.
The fire walls that sprouted above roof level existed in the terrace houses at Kali Besar East,
Batavia. This prevented the spread of fires among row development. Construction of similar
walls were later adapted in Singapore's shophouses.
Colonial architecture
At the same time, the Chinese attap shophouses, such as those at the corner of Gang
Kenanga and Passer Senan, Batavia, were more advanced in design than those which Raffles
saw in Penang. These single-storey buildings were distinguished by air wells or courtyards
spaced between large and small gable roofs, running along the depth.
As in the shophouses of south China, there were no five-foot ways in the completely open
and irregular fronts, which were also marked by vertical signboards.
At night, security was obtained by vertical boardings. However, these shophouses did not
convey the rich urban character that the street scenes of south China did. They appeared
along one side of the street, apparently leading to nowhere, and seemed lost in the vast
expanse of space. The buildings here, as in Penang, posed fire hazards.
The most exceptional building type which Raffles would have seen was the terrace houses
which set the scene of the infamous massacre of the Chinese in 1740. This came from
historical records kept by the Batavian Society of Arts, which Raffles revived and later
presided over.
An outstanding detail was the roof apron which ran from corner to corner of the city block,
shading the first storey. This was obviously a utilitarian solution, in addition to the use of
ornaments like those on the roof.
Surprisingly, the use of the roof apron was not commonly adapted to other buildings with
regular fronts. Could Raffles have noted this deficiency in a tropical city like in Batavia?
UNIFORM FRONTS FOR HOUSES
This question seems to be answered in Singapore on Nov 4, 1822, when the Tow n Planning
Committee, under Raffles' direction, stated that "all houses constructed of brick or tile
should have a uniform type of front, each having a verandah of a certain depth, open to all
sides as a continuous and open passage on each side of the street".
This shophouse prototype was documented by J.T. Thomson in his paintings, Singapore
Town From Pearl's Hill (1847) and Singapore Town From Government Hill (1846).
They show a massive housing programme along New Bridge Road between Upper Circular
Road and Pagoda Street, which spills towards the coastal Telok Ayer Bay. What is impressive
is that the shophouses here were not built piecemeal, but covered entire city blocks. This
project was, in effect, a precedent of the modern Singapore housing and development
programme.
Singapore was the first Asian country in which the Shophouse Rafflesia appeared. Similar
shophouses with regular fronts and verandahs in Penang and Malacca appeared only after
1887, following a Municipal Act which defined the town limit.
The shophouses of Bangkok only appeared after the 1870s, and were first introduced by
King Rama V at Bunrung-Mueng Road after his visit to Singapore.
Colonial architecture
Those in Batavia developed from street grids at Glodok and emulated the shophouses in
Chinatown, Singapore.
The shophouses in Phuket appeared after development in Penang, while the one s in the
Chinese quarters of Rangoon, Manila and the Treaty ports of China appeared late in the 19th
century.
The Shophouse Rafflesia originated from a tropical context in Singapore. It was then re-
appropriated by merchants from South-east Asia who spread them along the mercantile
route to China along the Pacific rim.
Thus, Shophouse Rafflesia acquired a seminal status in urban architecture from Singapore.
This conclusion also upturns the commonly held assumption that everything in South-east
Asia came from outside the region.
#3 Storeys of old: Origins of villas and bungalows.
Jon Lim | 1 May 1991

The villa, originally a Roman country house, later became strongly associate d with the
Italian architect, Andrea Palladio. Palladio's villas had the likeness of a Roman temple.
George D. Coleman, who built Singapore's Residency on Fort Canning, also built other
Palladian-style villas. This is apparent from these two paintings of the Padang, dated 1837
and 1851.
SINGAPOREANS today tend to think of a bungalow as simply a detached house se t within
a plot of land. According to the Oxford English dictionary, the word "bungalow" originates
from a Hindi term, bangla, and refers to a single-storey house.
The original bungalow was a humble native shack which was raised on a platform made of
earth. It had a pyramidal thatched roof and was supported with pillars forming a four-sided
verandah.
The British in India took advantage of this native skill by enlarging the bungalow design for
housing their civil and military officers and their families.
This was the Anglo-Indian bungalow, which usually included an upper roof tha t enhanced
indoor ventilation and lighting, as well as a carriage porch.
The landscape around the bungalows was characterised by flower gardens, orchards and
dairy farms.
Large tracts of cheap land were made available to the settlers. Thus, a bungalow estate
represented a colonial world in miniature, a romantic escape from city life.
Indeed, the British expatriates saw themselves as living "in exile in the colonies", and their
estate was compensation for their "state of isolation" in serving king and country.

Colonial architecture
The single-storey bungalows in Bangalore, India, were an eclectic combination of Classical
details with flat and Gothic roof forms.
The roof canopy or "monkey-top" sheltering bay windows, carved in timber fretwork with
scalloped details, were particularly outstanding.
The bungalows in Singapore incorporated either the traditional Malay stilts or European
brick arches. This incorporation later led to the development of the unique two-storey
Anglo-Singaporean, or Anglo-Malayan, bungalows. These had earlier been developed in
Georgetown, Penang.
A drawing of the first European settlement in Singapore, by Lieutenant Phillip Jackson in
1822, showed a predominant collection of Anglo-Indian and some Anglo-Singaporean
bungalows.
Indeed, the early bungalows of Georgetown, such as those recorded by artist James Wathen
in 1811, can be regarded as the ancestor of the now well-loved "black-and-white" bungalows
of Singapore.
One of the earliest of such bungalows in Singapore was recorded by J.T. Thomson in his
painting of Telok Ayer Street in 1846. This black-and-white was lodged between some
shophouses!
Contemporary examples of black-and-whites are seen in Sembawang, Changi and
Goodwood Park, as well as Malcolm and Pender roads - former British enclaves.
A special feature of these bungalows is a verandah-like living room above th e upper space
of the carriage porch.
Two of the original double- storey bungalows from the 19th century have remained mostly
unchanged.
They are Burkill Hall at the Botanic Gardens, which was the Director's bungalow; and Sri
Temasek, the former Colonial Secretary's bungalow, at the Istana grounds.
In both bungalows, the first storey is open except for the four corners, which consist of
staircases and bathrooms.
Upstairs, the dining room is in the centre and leads directly to the bedroom s and verandah-
like living rooms.
The kitchen and servants' quarters are detached outhouses (this was in line with the Anglo-
Indian practice of exerting cultural exclusivity).
The preservation of both bungalows is assured. Currently, Burkill Hall houses the School of
Ornamental Horticulture, but it could be enhanced as a state house or hotel, like the Sri
Carcossa (the former King's House) at Lake Garden in Kuala Lumpur.
Colonial architecture
THE VILLA
The dictionary defines the term "villa" as a Roman country house, complete with farm
buildings. However, by the Renaissance period, the term was strongly associated with the
country houses designed by the Italian architect, Andrea Palladio.
Palladio concluded from his archaeological studies in Italy that ancient Roman domestic
architecture comprised the "pediment and portico style" - that is, it had the likeness of a
Roman temple. He adopted this style, and his houses became universally known as
"Palladian villas".
In England, Renaissance architect Inigo Jones briefly introduced Palladio's style under the
patronage of Charles II during the mid-17th century.
The style was so intensely cultivated by later British monarchs (King George I-King George
III) and their subjects, that it became widely known as the Georgian and Regency styles
during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Hence, Georgian and Regency villas are also
referred to as part of the "Revival style" in the colonies.
In Singapore, the pioneer design of the Palladian or Regency villa was introduced by an
architect called George D. Coleman. He was described by his patron, English merchant John
Palmer, in Calcutta as an "in-genious young artist".
After a brief sojourn in Batavia, he received his first commission in Singapore by Raffles to
design the Residency on top of Fort Canning, in 1822.
According to a painting of the seafront by Barthelemy Lauvergne in 1837, the Residency
showed a likeness to Palladio's Villa Emo (circa 1556) - its central block also had wings.
Lauvergne's painting showed that Coleman's villas and church, which were below the hill,
were designed in the Regency style, with a strong flavour of Roman temple fronts.
The purity of their details may be appreciated with Coleman's other contemporary buildings,
the Armenian Church and Caldwell's House, which still survive today.
Coleman's Armenian Church owes its form to Palladio's Villa Capra, a country house whose
central dome is flanked by Roman temple fronts on all four sides.
Coleman's Caldwell House, which is located on the grounds of the former Convent of the
Holy Infant Jesus in Victoria Street, is strongly influenced by Jerviston House (1782) in
Lanarkshire, England, which was designed by two architect brothers, Robert and James
Adam.
The most interesting feature is the curved or "bow-front" projection used in place of the
Roman temple facade. Coleman could have sourced this from the publication entitled The
Work In Architecture Of Robert And James Adam (1822).

Colonial architecture
The villas documented by Lauvergne in his painting showed a cubic appearance which is
more suited to the dry Mediterranean climate.
It is no wonder that J. T. Thomson's painting of the Padang in 1846 showed a dramatic
change from Coleman's villas, which were dominated by hipped roofs over the skyline. The
villas belonging to Thomas Church, Singapore's Resident Councillor; William Montgomerie,
the Surgeon; and hotelier Gaston Dutronquoy, faced the Padang. Their style is what
Singapore historian Tom H.H.Hancock referred to as "Tropical Renaissance" in 1954. This
particular style exercised the architectural maxim proclaimed by the Roman architect,
Vitruvius: Firmitas, Utilitas and Venustas, meaning "firm design statement, functional
provision and beauty".
The development of tropical-style villas continued up to the '30s. Earlier examples of such
villas include the Indian High Commission in Grange Road, c. 1913 (which features
elements of the Villa Emo form); the Spastic Children's Association of Singapore building in
Gilstead Road, 1927 (which features a Roman temple facade for the front and a curved or
bow-front portico at the rear).
In Singapore and Penang, many rich Chinese either acquired bungalows and villas, which
used to belong to Europeans, or built similar houses for themselves.
This occurred as Europeans vacated the original suburbs of Kampong Glam behind Beach
Road in Singapore, and North Beach at Northam Road in Penang.
These premises were called ang moh lau, meaning "the house of a European". Thus, the
term came to be used by the Chinese freely and interchangeably to mean either a bungalow
or villa.
It was a term denoting wealth and prestige. The new Asian owners also followed the English
custom of naming their properties "Hall", "Lodge" or "Court".
From this arose the popular misconception which still survives today, that a bungalow or
villa is an ang moh lau, built in the European style and set within a spacious compound for
the colonial elite.
#4 Stone feats: Civil engineer architects and their architecture
Jon Lim | 5 June 1991
ORIGINS
TODAY, civil engineers in Singapore are known for their expertise in the computation of
steel and reinforced concrete in construction. They act as consultants to the architects on
building structure.
However, before the Architects Ordinance in England became law in 1931, civi l engineers
also practised as architects.
The pioneer architects of the colonies were military engineers who held all the important
posts in the Public Works and Municipal departments. During the late 19th century, civil
Colonial architecture
engineers who were members of the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Institution of
Structural Engineers in England began filling up posts vacated by the military engineers.
The shortage of qualified architects in the colony made it possible for civi l engineers to
authorise building designs and rely on draughtsmen to complete the job.
Although qualified architects were slowly recruited into Government service, civil engineers
continued to use them as "architectural assistants". This practice went on from 1902 to the
late '20s, and civil engineers got into the habit of claiming credit for work that was not
always theirs.
Things came to a head in 1929 when the Governor, Sir Hugh Clifford, while speaking to the
Legislative Assembly, wrongly attributed the building of City Hall (now the Industrial
Arbitration Court) to the Engineering Department of the Municipality instead of the
Architect's Department.
In the ensuing furore, the habit was discontinued.
Civil engineers did not really make their mark as outstanding architects in Singapore until the
late '20s and '30s. One exception was John Turnbull Thomson, who designed and built the
Horsburg h Lighthouse in 1851. It is the earliest example of a structure resulting from
experiments made on the strength and durability of building materials against the eroding
forces of nature.
Initially, civil engineers did not try to change the prevailing Classical style when concrete and
steel construction was introduced during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. But this
began to change from the late '20s.
The Swiss civil engineer, Heinrich Rudolf Arbenz, departed from the Classica l style in his
shophouse design at Jellicoe Road. The concrete flat roofs are folded into Swiss chalet-like
roofs with balconies and corner towers.
Arbenz also introduced the most modern townhouses in Singapore during the late '30s.
Consisting of box-like apartments with covered garages in the front, this was located at
Bideford Road before it was demolished to make way for the Seiko Headquarters building
during the early '70s.
Another distinguished civil engineer was Emile Brizay, who built the former Ford Detroit
Factory at Upper Bukit Timah Road (now Hume Industries), scene of the British surrender
to the Japanese in 1942.
Here, Brizay used concrete as thin as a shell over the roof structure. The highlight of the
building is the front of the main engine hall, which showed stepped pylons in the Art-Deco
style. Brizay was also known for his modern "white box" houses. A housing estate was
named Brizay Park, after him.
Among Singapore's own civil engineer architects, the partnership of Chung & Wong & its
former associates, namely Chung Swee Poey and Ho Kwong Yew, deserve special mention.
Colonial architecture
The New Asia Hotel at Maxwell Road, opposite the Urban Redevelopment Authority
Building, is one of the earliest and largest reinforced concrete buildings designed by Chung
Hong Woot and Wong Puck Sham. In conservation-conscious Singapore, every effort
should be made to retain this hotel as it complements the Raffles Hotel, which is south of
the Singapore River.
Chung Swee Poey will be remembered for his delightful modern houses, but it is Ho Kwong
Yew who broke new ground. This talented civil engineer echoed the style of functionalism in
modern architecture from France and Germany. His bubble-like Haw Par Villa at Pasir
Panjang was outstanding. Unfortunately, it was bombed by the Japanese in 1942, and the
surviving relic is but the outer concrete walls, displaying rows of spherical balls.
Fortunately, his futuristic shophouse at the corner of Lorong Telok and Circular Road
survived the war, and still have more character than the nearby OCBC building, which was
built during the '70s.
The partnership of Chan Kui Chuan and Tan Koh Keng was active in designing schools in
the Art Deco style. This included the now disused Yock Eng School at Tanjong Katong
Road, the Sun Sun School at Mt Sophia Road, and the Chung Cheng School at Aliwal Street.
#5 From artisans to architects
Jon Lim | 3 July 1991
ORIGINS
TODAY, the National University of Singapore's School of Architecture offers any
Singaporean with the right qualifications the chance to become an architect.
During the colonial days in Singapore, however, formal courses in architecture were not
available to Singapore citizens.
Hence those who wished to become architects had to work as artisans with the Public
Works Department or with self-employed colonial architects.
There was another category of artisans: the craftsmen who complemented the work of
qualified architects.
For instance, the Roman sculptures and columns of the great portico at the Supreme Court
were not produced by architects, but by Cavalieri Rudolfo Nolli, a fourth-generation sculptor
from a well-known Milanese family. Likewise, the magnificent Georgian furniture and
interior of the Supreme Court was designed by William Swaffield, who studied Fine Arts in
Bath, England.
The furniture itself was constructed by the late Yang Ah Kang, who handpicked the
Shanghainese craftsmen to produce the superb woodwork.
Many Singapore architects, such as Bawajee Rajaram, Wan Mohammed Kassim and Yeo
Hock Siang, who built several houses and shophouses, served as draughtsmen, overseers or
surveyors before actually practising as architects.
Colonial architecture
In 1924, William Campbell Oman, then President of the Singapore Society of Architects,
complained that "not one qualified architect could earn a decent living".
He was obviously referring to Singapore architects who received most of the commissions
by the local community. It is clear that a common social background played a part in the
selection of architects by the clients.
The statistics by the Board of Architects in 1928 indicated that the locals were mostly self-
employed and did very well.
Some of the more outstanding Singapore artisans who later became architects were:
* Claude Anthony Eber (1907-88). Eber was born in Singapore. He received his practical
training as a draughtsman while working under the architect and civil engineer partnership of
Westerhout and Oman, and later in the Public Works Department.
After World War II, the colonial government sent Eber to England, where he was admitted
as a Licentiate member of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
His landmark building is the Multi-storey Carpark building at the corner of Market Street
and Cross Street, built in the early '60s. Based on a continuous ramp or spiral system, this is
one of the most user-friendly carparks in Singapore.
He also designed the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation building at Caldecot t Hill, and set
the housestyle for PWD's other works: the National Community Leadership Training
building at South Buona Vista Road, and the former Teacher's Training College at Paterson
Road.
Eber's contributions were important to the development of excellence in PWD architecture
during the mid-'60s.
* Robert Yim Mun Kit was born in China in 1904 and came to Singapore to work as a tracer
for Chung and Wong and became a registered architect by a local special examination in
1948.
During the early '60s, Yim came up with low-cost housing estates with houses that were part
English and part Spanish styled. These were Serangoon Gardens, Opera Estate and Happy
Gardens, off MacPherson Road. He died in 1989.
* Kwan Yow Luen was born in China in 1893. Kwan was a self-taught architect who
practised on his own. His largest work is the former Middle Road Hospital which was called
Doh-jin (c.1943) during the Japanese Occupation. The style is flat and plain, reflecting the
influence of the Modern movement.
However, his design for a mosque (c. 1972) at Tampoi, Johor, is a curious hybrid which
combines the shape of the National Mosque at Kuala Lumpur with a Minangkabau-form
concrete porch. Kwan designed mostly shophouses, and died in 1977.
Colonial architecture
* Ee Hoong Chwee is best remembered for the design of Foo Chow Methodist Church
(1936) at Race Course Road. The entrance porch has Classical columns. Yet all the tall
windows are in th e Gothic style, except for the high vent where round windows reflect the
Classical style.
This facade has unwittingly portrayed the "battle of the styles", which recalls the situation
during the 19th century, when builders in the British Empire were undecided whether civic
buildings should be designed in the Classical or Gothic style.
* Moh Wee Teck was an outstanding architect from the late 19th century. He designed some
of the most ornate villas and shophouses in Chinatown. His best preserved work is a villa
called Golden Bell or Kim Cheng (1908) for Tan Boon Liat at Mount Faber.
The tower, capped with a bell-shaped dome, is counterbalanced by the facade which
displayed a variety of bay windows. Decoration consisted of white pointed brickwork and
star-shaped vents along the roof eaves.
This form of architecture may yet influence the styles of new villas as more old ideas are
revived in Singapore.