The Arts House (formerly the Old Parliament House) is a multi-disciplinary arts venue in Singapore. The venue plays host to

art exhibition An art exhibition is traditionally the space in which art objects (in the most general sense) meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is occasionally true, it is stated to be a "permanen ...

s and

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

s. Built in 1827, the Old Parliament House is the oldest government building and perhaps the oldest surviving building in Singapore. The building was home to the

Parliament of Singapore The Parliament of Singapore is the unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the Singapore, Republic of Singapore, which governs the country alongside the President of Singapore. Largely based upon the Westminster system, the Parliament is made ...

from 1965 to 1999, when it moved to an adjacent new building.

History

The building occupies one of the most historic sites of Singapore. During the refurbishment of the building in 1989,

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

evidence of older habitation in the area was uncovered with

stoneware Stoneware is a broad class of pottery fired at a relatively high temperature, to be impervious to water. A modern definition is a Vitrification#Ceramics, vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic made primarily from stoneware clay or non-refractory fire ...

and

earthenware Earthenware is glazed or unglazed Vitrification#Ceramics, nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below . Basic earthenware, often called terracotta, absorbs liquids such as water. However, earthenware can be made impervious to liquids ...

dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries found. The building's river frontage was also where Sir Stamford Raffles was presumed to have landed on 29 January 1819. The area was occupied by Temenggong Abdul Rahman and his family and followers. Raffles would later persuade the Temenggong to move to

Telok Blangah Telok Blangah ( , , ) is a subzone region and housing estate located in the area behind Keppel Harbour in Bukit Merah, Singapore. Telok Blangah is represented by three contiguous subzones of Bukit Merah in Urban Redevelopment Authority, URA maste ...

in 1823 as he planned for the land to be used for public and administrative purposes.

Design and construction

The building was designed as a Neo-Palladian mansion by

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

George Drumgoole Coleman for a Scottish merchant, John Argyle Maxwell. It was intended to be his private residence, however, Maxwell never occupied the house due in part to a dispute over the ownership of the land on which the house was built. Raffles had originally allocated the land for government use in his Town Plan, however, Raffles' successor John Crawfurd issued a permit allowing Maxwell to build a house on the site. The construction of the Old Parliament House began in 1826 and it was completed in 1827. Maxwell applied for a statutory grant to the site in 1827, and the Resident Councillor of Singapore, John Prince objected as the land was intended for government use. A compromise was then struck whereby Maxwell was granted a 999-year lease in June 1827, but the house would be leased back to the government for a 500

rupee Rupee (, ) is the common name for the currency, currencies of Indian rupee, India, Mauritian rupee, Mauritius, Nepalese rupee, Nepal, Pakistani rupee, Pakistan, Seychellois rupee, Seychelles, and Sri Lankan rupee, Sri Lanka, and of former cu ...

s monthly rent. Later Maxwell's residence went up for

auction An auction is usually a process of Trade, buying and selling Good (economics), goods or Service (economics), services by offering them up for Bidding, bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from th ...

which the colonial government won with a bid of $15,600 Spanish dollars, and the ownership of the courthouse finally transferred to Governor George Bonham and the East India Company on 10 October 1842.

Extension and uses

The building was initially used as a court house, and other government offices including the Land Office also moved into the building. The first court session was held in the central room on the first floor at the front of the building. In 1839, a new single-storey annex was built on an adjacent plot of land, forming what is now the Former Attorney-General's Chambers building later incorporated into the Parliament House. The Courts then moved into this new building (later on to Empress Place Building), and the vacated space was then used for government offices. The government offices were sited at the building until 1875 when the Supreme Court moved back in after the building was renovated. The building went through several major extension works. The first was carried out between 1873 and 1875 by John Frederick Adolphus McNair. In 1901, the building was extended towards the Singapore River. Coleman's original design was lost as a result of the extension works. In 1909, two

courtroom A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...

s were reconstructed and a residence for the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

was built. The Arts House served as one of the two venues held for the opening of the 14th Parliament of Singapore on 24 August 2020, the other being Parliament House; the multiple venues were used for the first time in Singapore's history as a precaution measure for

social distancing In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious dise ...

as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

As Parliament House

The arches at the porch of the building and Palladian windows of the front façade were part of the original design, although the building currently appeared more Neoclassical in style. The building was gazetted a

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

on 14 February 1992. On 6 September 1999, the Parliament of Singapore moved into an adjacent new building which faces North Bridge Road.

The Arts House at The Old Parliament

The Arts House at The Old Parliament opened on 26 March 2004 as an arts and heritage centre. The Chambers were converted into a function room where music performances could be held.

References

*Tan, Sumiko (2000) ''The Singapore Parliament: The House We Built'' Times Media,

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

*Norman Edwards, Peter Keys (1996), ''Singapore – A Guide to Buildings, Streets, Places, Times Books International'',

External links

The Arts House
{{Authority control Government buildings completed in 1827 Arts centres in Singapore Downtown Core (Singapore) Landmarks in Singapore Legislative buildings Parliament of Singapore National monuments of Singapore Tourist attractions in Singapore Former seats of national legislatures 1827 establishments in Singapore 19th-century architecture in Singapore