Docomomo Singapore

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Docomomo Singapore

Started in Einhoven, Netherlands in 1988, DoCoMoMo International is a non-profit organization dedicat

The Singapore chapter of Docomomo (Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites and Neighbourhoods of Modern Movement) was formally established in early 2021. It is a non-profit group that consists of members from diverse backgrounds. It was set up to:

・research and educate ourselves about the modern built heritage of Singapore.

・advocate for and work with partners to find creative, sustai

nable, and inclusive ways to conserve and retrofit the modern built heritage of Singapore. The origins of the Docomomo Singapore can be traced to the formation of a working group in early 2018 after the Pearl Banks Apartments was sold in a collective sale and threatened with demolition. With the recognition that the Pearl Banks Apartments might be the first of many modernist icons built in the 1970s and 1980s that would be sold in collective sales and demolished through a very narrow understanding of redevelopment, the working group was formed to fulfil the urgent need to advocate for environmentally more sustainable and socio-culturally more appropriate alternatives of redevelopment and value creation. Since 2018, Docomomo Singapore has organised a major international conference in November 2019, published op-eds and articles on different aspects of Singapore’s built heritage in newspapers and magazines, researched and created an inventory of modern buildings of Singapore. We are also building up this website to share our knowledge on the modern built heritage of Singapore. If you share our values and would like to contribute to our mission, join us as members at https://www.docomomo.sg/save.

08/06/2026

In Singapore, we are used to tearing down our old buildings to rebuild them anew. This approach to urban renewal, however, comes with costs to the environment and the memories of its communities. In a recent op-ed for the , DOCOMOMOSG explains why we cannot continue this way—and how retrofitting offers a more sustainable and imaginative alternative to building our Singapore.

16/05/2026

Thow Kwang Dragon Klin is one of only two such kilns remaining in Singapore today, and the only example that is still operational. The kiln was constructed in 1940 by immigrants from Chaozhou and Fujian, on what was thought to be an older Hokkien three chamber kiln. In 1965, the kiln was then bought over by Mr. Tan Kim Seh, who founded Thow Kwang at its current site.

More than ten dragon kilns were scattered across the 10th to 15th milestones of Jurong Road in the 1960s. Another example is the neighbouring Guan Huat Dragon Kiln (now known as Jalan Bahar Clay Studios), which still exists but is no longer operational. Together, such kilns supported a village that made pottery and ceramics for a living alongside agriculture cultivation and animal husbandry.

Read the full article by Tang Wei on DocomomoSG website: https://www.docomomo.sg/modernist-100/thow-kwang-dragon-kiln

Photos by Tang Wei and JNZL

23/04/2026

Completed in 1969, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗰𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘄-𝗛𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗙𝗮𝗿 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 is a distinctive example of humanistic factory architecture within the heavy industrial landscape of Jurong. It brought production, editorial, and administrative functions together in a thoughtfully integrated environment that looked after the well-being of its workers. While the publishing business has closed, the building still stands as a compelling reminder that even industrial buildings can aspire to spatial generosity and architectural grace.

Read the full article on our Modernist 100 list at https://www.docomomo.sg/modernist-100/former-mcgraw-hill-far-eastern-publishers

10/04/2026

Industrial training centres helped to rapidly upgrade Singapore’s manufacturing sector for the high-tech industries during the 1970s and 1980s. In light of the on-going demolition of the former German-Singapore Institute, Justin Zhuang looks back at this “teaching factory” and Singapore’s industrial revolution.

Read the article on our website: https://www.docomomo.sg/happenings/the-teaching-factory-and-singapores-industrial-revolution

Photos by Justin Zhuang and Darren Soh

12/12/2025

𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄: “𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗲” 𝗖𝗕𝗗 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿 🇸🇬 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁-𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝗺

Have you walked past this building on Cecil Street before? Do you know that it is an example of how a Singaporean architecture firm adapted American Corporate Modernism into our tropical environment?

Find out more more on our walking tour of the “Golden Shoe” CBD to uncover our modern urban heritage. This tour will stop at often-overlooked buildings, including groundbreaking architectural landmarks whose future remain uncertain in our ever-transforming city.

This tour is led by architect Ronald Lim, an expert on Singapore’s modern architectural culture. Ronald curated the first major retrospective exhibition for the Singapore Architecture Collection and was, until recently, Chief Editor of the Singapore Architect magazine.

Date: Saturday 13 December 2025, 10am – 12.30pm

𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝘁 https://www.docomomo.sg/shop/p/golden-shoe-cbd-tour-with-architect-curator-ronald-lim

10/12/2025

𝗨𝗽𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁: “𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗲” 𝗖𝗕𝗗 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿 🇸🇬 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁-𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝗺

Did you know who the “Three Sisters” of Shenton Way were? Today, the last surviving sister, Shenton House will soon be demolished for redevelopment – along with its unique “Gothic modern” architectural details.

Learn more on our walking tour of the “Golden Shoe” CBD to uncover our modern urban heritage. This tour will stop at often-overlooked buildings, including groundbreaking architectural landmarks whose future remain uncertain in our ever-transforming city.

This tour is led by architect Ronald Lim, an expert on Singapore’s modern architectural culture. Ronald curated the first major retrospective exhibition for the Singapore Architecture Collection and was, until recently, Chief Editor of the Singapore Architect magazine.

Date: 13 December 2025, Saturday, 10am – 12.30pm

Limited tickets are available on our website at https://www.docomomo.sg/shop/p/golden-shoe-cbd-tour-with-architect-curator-ronald-lim

07/12/2025

𝗨𝗽𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁: “𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗲” 𝗖𝗕𝗗 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿 🇸🇬 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁-𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝗺

Do you know that Singapore’s downtown was nicknamed the “Golden Shoe” because it looks like a shoe when viewed from above or on a plan drawing.

Learn more on our walking tour of the “Golden Shoe” CBD to uncover our modern urban heritage. This tour will stop at often-overlooked buildings, including groundbreaking architectural landmarks whose future remain uncertain in our ever-transforming city.

This tour is led by architect Ronald Lim, an expert on Singapore’s modern architectural culture. Ronald curated the first major retrospective exhibition for the Singapore Architecture Collection and was, until recently, Chief Editor of the Singapore Architect magazine.

Date: 13 December 2025, Saturday, 10am – 12.30pm

Limited tickets are available on our website at https://www.docomomo.sg/shop/p/golden-shoe-cbd-tour-with-architect-curator-ronald-lim

03/12/2025

𝗨𝗽𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁: “𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗲” 𝗖𝗕𝗗 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿 🇸🇬 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁-𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝗺

Did you know that each of the twisty sunshades on this tower are also structural columns that hold up its floors? Completed in 1976, the Wing-On Life Tower is one of very few buildings in Modernist architectural history with an expressive structure on the outside so that its interior spaces can be without columns.

Join us on our walking tour of the “Golden Shoe” CBD to learn more about our modern urban heritage. This tour will stop at often-overlooked buildings, including groundbreaking architectural landmarks whose future remain uncertain in our ever-transforming city.

This tour is led by architect Ronald Lim, an expert on Singapore’s modern architectural culture. Ronald curated the first major retrospective exhibition for the Singapore Architecture Collection and was, until recently, Chief Editor of the Singapore Architect magazine.

Date: 13 December 2025, Saturday, 10am – 12.30pm

Limited tickets are available on our website at https://www.docomomo.sg/shop/p/golden-shoe-cbd-tour-with-architect-curator-ronald-lim

Photo by Darren Soh

29/11/2025

𝗨𝗽𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁: “𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗲” 𝗖𝗕𝗗 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿 🇸🇬 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁-𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝗺

Do you know that this was the first large modern building in Singapore’s city centre? When it opened in 1967, the MND Tower Complex was the largest office building in newly-independent Singapore.

Join us on our walking tour of the “Golden Shoe” CBD to learn more about our modern urban heritage. This tour will stop at often-overlooked buildings, including groundbreaking architectural landmarks whose future remain uncertain in our ever-transforming city.

This tour is led by architect Ronald Lim, an expert on Singapore’s modern architectural culture. Ronald curated the first major retrospective exhibition for the Singapore Architecture Collection and was, until recently, Chief Editor of the Singapore Architect magazine.

Date: 13 December 2025, Saturday, 10am – 12.30pm

Limited tickets are available on our website at https://www.docomomo.sg/shop/p/golden-shoe-cbd-tour-with-architect-curator-ronald-lim

26/11/2025

𝗨𝗽𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁: “𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗲” 𝗖𝗕𝗗 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿 🇸🇬 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁-𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝗺

Docomomo Singapore invites you for a walking tour to explore the history of Singapore’s modern Central Business District as conceived by our pioneer urban planners in the 1960s and 70s.

Retracing the original “Golden Shoe”, this tour will stop at threatened and lesser-known landmarks in our downtown, including:

• Wing-On Life Building (1976) by James Ferrie, Southeast Asia’s only “structurally expressionist” office tower.

• MND Tower Complex (1967) by PWD, the first large modern building in Singapore’s downtown.

• GB Building (1986) by Kenzo Tange, the first completed building in Singapore by the renowned Japanese architect and Pritzker laureate.

• Shenton House (1975), the last surviving of Shenton Way’s original “three sisters” which will soon be demolished.

Carefully-researched archival visuals will be shown during the tour, reconstructing the early life and evolution of Singapore’s transforming city-centre in its early decades.

This tour is led by architect-curator Ronald Lim, Exco member of Docomomo SG. An expert on Singapore’s modern architectural culture, Ronald curated the first major retrospective exhibition for the Singapore Architecture Collection. He was, until recently, Chief Editor of the Singapore Architect magazine – the Singapore Institute of Architects’ official journal.

Date: 13 December 2025, Saturday, 10am – 12.30pm

Limited tickets are available on our website at https://www.docomomo.sg/shop/p/golden-shoe-cbd-tour-with-architect-curator-ronald-lim

Address

7 Keppel Road #02-14/15 Tanjong Pagar Complex
Singapore
089053

Telephone

+6591182557

Website

https://www.docomomo.sg/

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