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Singapore Art Museum
By peace | November 10, 2011
Singapore Art Museum (SAM), Former SJI
SAM Architecture – A National Monument: This venerable building once housed St Joseph’s Institution (SJI), a Catholic boys’ school, run by La Salle Brothers. In 1855, the cornerstone was laid by its founder, Father Jean-Marie Beurel. After 135 years in Bras Basah Road, SJI was relocated, making way for SAM. Standing at 10,000 metre floor space, the restored building includes 18 full climate controlled galleries, an auditorium, a multi-purpose hall, a museum shop, courtyards, one cafés and two restaurants, all to ensure a quality lifestyle experience for the visitors.
This is a description of SAM at their official website. I do not know much facts about the building. Luckily, there are some information provided by National Heritage Board for visitors to know more about Singapore Art Museum (as seen from the photograph below). It wrote: For 120 years, this was the home of St Joseph’s Institution (SJI), a missionary school. Founded by the French priest Father Jean-Marie Beurel and a small group of LaSalle Brothers on 1 May 1852, the school was open to boys of all religions. Construction of the first building began in 1855 and took 12 years to complete.
National Heritage Board: Civic District Trail Information about SAM
The curved semi-circular wings with generous verandahs were completed in 1903 when the original building was enlarged to the design of Father Charles Nain. As the enrollment increased, new facilities were added, including the Anderson Block (1907), the school hall and the Chapel (1912).
In 1987, the school moved to larger grounds in Malcolm Road. However, the statue of St John Baptist de La Salle by Cesare Aureli was left behind as a remainder of SJI’s rich heritage. The restoration of the building to an art museum commenced in 1992. The guiding philosophy was to respect the original building fabric while integrating the requirements for a state-of-the-art museum. The three historical structures, the Central Building, the Anderson Block and the Chapel were retained.
Singapore Art Museum (SAM): Chapel
Singapore Art Museum: Former SJI Chapel
The Chapel: The auditorium was the former chapel. All the important elements of the chapel are preserved. These include the small ‘basins’ for holy water, stations of the cross, original pressed steel ceiling and dado panels, and original concrete floor tiles. The salmon colour is also the original colour of the walls. When the school was taken over for the construction of the Museum, several pieces of old floor tiles were found missing. These were reinstated with the new tiles specially manufactured to match the old. A plaque outside the chapel commemorates Brother Michael (1856-1936) who, as Director of SJI (1900 – 1914) played a major part in the development of the 3 historic buildings that are preserved. This auditorium will now be used for talks, symposiums, seminars, film screenings and a favourite venue for wedding solemnisations.
The Singapore Art Museum was officially opened on 20 January 1996. Its mission is to preserve and present the art histories and contemporary art practices of Singapore and the Southeast Asian region, so as to facilitate visual arts education, exchange, research and development.
Topics: All Posts, Arts, christian, Gallery, Places, Singapore | 1 Comment »
November 11th, 2011 at 2:07 pm
[...] this is the door to the chapel. Seek the permission of a guy working in there and we had a short rest in the place, appreciating [...]