Category: Special Categories
Design Award
Jury Citation:
“This is a simple space built with little means. The architect did just enough to restore the elegance, character, and sense of space. The amount of research work that the team has done to uncover the material on the original church is commendable.
Special mention also goes out to the client and the community who were closely involved in the restoration process, down to the sourcing of the altar, sculpture, and light fittings, all of which suited the space wonderfully.”
The Church of Saints Peter & Paul is situated at 225A Queen Street Completed in 1870, the church is historically associated with the growth of the Chinese Catholic community in Singapore Over the years, the church had undergone numerous expansion and renovations; most significant ones being; in 1901-1902, a new transept and sacristy was constructed; 1910-1911, extension of choir loft, porch and façade were done; a major renovation was carried out in 1969 prior to its 100th year celebrations; in 2001, a new Parish building, a Columbarium and an Adoration Chapel were added to the church ground The main church building was gazetted as a national monument in 2003 Given the passage of time since its last major renovations, the church had suffered the effects of heavy usage and weathering In 2014, the church appointed a team of consultants to undertake a complete restoration of the Church building With its multi-faceted history and the various renovations to the main church building, it was a challenge for the team to work with the Church to establish the appropriate period of time in its history to restore its building in order to reflect its appreciated form and materiality, yet encapsulating the changes in time with the subtle introduction of the latest technology to meet the present parish needs After serious consideration of its history, numerous discussions with the Church & its key members, dialogues with both the Conservation Unit, Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Preservation of Sites and Monuments(PSM), the team took a collective decision to restore the Church of Saints Peter & Paul to the period before the 1969 renovations This will not only be more befitting to its original roots as a church for early migrants to Singapore but will in turn celebrate its diverse and eclectic history as we also seek to reinstate the religious artifacts & relics associated.
