GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY OF
THE PEOPLE’S ASSOCIATION’S NEW HEADQUARTERS
Having been located at Stadium Link at three double-storey buildings which were part of the old Kallang Airport and other single-storey buildings built since its formation in 1960, the People’s Association (PA) is taking a historic step to re-locate its Headquarters (HQ) to Tyrwhitt Road in 2009.
2 This Saturday, over 300 guests, including grassroots leaders, will join Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Wong Kan Seng to officiate the ground breaking ceremony of the PA’s new HQ. The line-up for the ground breaking party is at Annex A.
3 The new HQ will occupy a smaller piece of land. The main block of former Victoria School will be conserved, while an adjoining new six-storey office block will be added and the hall/canteen block renovated to accommodate PA Talents. The design of the new office block is inspired by the idea of a “rain tree with outreaching foliage” which symbolises PA as the umbrella organisation of a strong network of grassroots organisations looking after the community.
4 The “rain tree” idea is also the inspiration for an environmentally-sustainable design, which includes a naturally-ventilated central atrium as well as a lightweight secondary roof, which serves to keep the building cooler and provide more shade for the facades. It also has a “breathing” wall with the texture of a tree trunk. It will form the service core of the building along the
West-facing side, to protect the office from afternoon sun. Many other “green” features will also be adopted to achieve energy and water efficiency, and a good working environment for the staff. Overall, functional considerations dominate, in the design brief.
5 Your journalist and photographer are cordially invited to the Ground Breaking Ceremony of the PA’s new HQ this Saturday, 20 January 2007 at 9.30 am at 2 Tyrwhitt Road, Singapore 207523. Please meet us at the entrance. The programme and map is at Annex B and C respectively.
_____________________________________
Date of Issue : 17 January 2007
Contact person : Ms Peng Ling Corporate Communications Manager
Hp: 97843514
DID: 63405432
Email: Peng_Ling@pa.gov.sg
Ms Grace Leong Acting Head (Corporate Communications)
Hp: 94770469
DID: 63405168
Email: Grace_Leong@pa.gov.sg
Issued by : Corporate Communications Division
People’s Association
Tel: 63405432/168
_______

What took them so long.... :banana:

PA to move out of Kallang to Tyrwhitt Road by 2009
By Farah Abdul Rahim, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 19 January 2007 2159 hrs

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/imagegallery/store/phpxxwpAc.jpg
New PA HQ at Tyrwhitt Road

SINGAPORE: The People's Association (PA) is moving out of its historical Kallang site after nearly half a century.

By 2009, it will move to another gazetted landmark – the former Victoria School at Tyrwhitt Road, off Jalan Besar – at a cost of about S$50 million.

Construction work at the new site is set to kick off over the weekend.

The conserved old school building of the former Victoria School dates back to the 1930s and was designed by the same architect behind the Kallang landmark.

Even though it is half the size of the current site, there will still be space for a football field, practice studios and even new additions like a 6-storey office podium.

Tan Boon Huat, Chief Executive Director, People's Association, says: "Moving to the new site means we can house everybody under one roof. Today, we are in sprawling buildings and that's not very conducive for close coordination of work.

"The new site is far more cost-effective – we save on land, we won't need such a large site. Secondly, we can make use of existing infrastructure; for example, share the car park with Jalan Besar Stadium. And as there are many eateries, we won't have to construct a canteen."

The building will also go 'green' – with natural ventilation and a 'breathing wall' to reduce power consumption by as much as ten percent.

However, 52-year-old Tan Kia Jin is sad to move as he has been working at the Kallang headquarters for nearly 30 years.

Mr Tan watched the place transform when the Public Works Department and the Central Manpower Base vacated two blocks and warehouses were converted into dance studios.

He says: "My favourite memory is the vibrancy of this place. It has always been a happening place for community, cultural activities. On weekends, this place is filled with activities – people playing football in the soccer field, basketball in the 80s, roller-skating, children's art competitions, band practices, bagpipes and the military bands."

PA aims to ensure the same vibrancy remains despite the move.

The new PA headquarters will only be ready at the end of 2008, so the 400-strong staff will make the move in early 2009.

PA says its current site in Kallang will be returned to the Singapore Land Authority, to give urban planners greater freedom and options to plan for future developments in the area. - CNA/so

That would liven the area. :)

Exciting!

Imagine the new structure rising out from the old one...and finally the abandoned building is put back to life :happy:

I wonder what will happen to the old Kallang Airport building though

I've a picture showing its new location in context. In 2009, the area would be very lively with PA HQ, City Square Residences and mall.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h204/hyapic01/Untitled-1-6.jpg

I've a picture showing its new location in context. In 2009, the area would be very lively with PA HQ, City Square Residences and mall.


The area in 2009/2010 should become more lively with PA HQ, City Square Residences and Mall, Citylights, and >1000 hotel rooms plus 10,000 sqm of retail at 2 new hotel sites planned near Lavender MRT and to a lesser extent, the Southbank SOHO apartments with 16 new shops to be built behind ICA Building. :)

Kerrisdale residents should have a birds-eye view of the Chingay and NDP practices on the new PA field.

reposted

Some recent pics of the site:

http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/8643/cimg2052xh6.jpg

http://img362.imageshack.us/img362/8676/cimg2065eh0.jpg

Work on new People's Association's HQ kicks off
By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 20 January 2007 1612 hrs

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/imagegallery/store/phpTWIOx9.jpg
SINGAPORE : Work on the new People's Association's headquarters has started.

The ground-breaking ceremony on Saturday was carried out by Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng and several leaders from PA, including its new Deputy Chairman, Lim Boon Heng.

On hand to pass them the shovels for the ground breaking was a group of younger Singaporeans, representative of the post-independence generation and the country's future leaders.

The new PA headquarters is located next to the Jalan Besar Stadium and is expected to be ready by 2009.

The new complex will be a blend of both old and new buildings.

The old Victoria School building, which was built in the 1930s, will be conserved as part of the development together with the school's canteen and hall which will be transformed into a training area for PA's various cultural activities.

PA says it had explored various alternatives, including renting existing government premises, to relocate its present Kallang headquarters.

It finally opted for the former Victoria School site.

PA is planning to move to the new site in two years' time. - CNA

This is wonderful news indeed! :banana:

Refurbishing and reusing the venerable old Victoria School building is another excellent move on the part of those in charge of protecting Singapore's architectural heritage. I may complain about them sometimes, but here they made another fine decision. :applause:

This is wonderful news indeed! :banana:

Refurbishing and reusing the venerable old Victoria School building is another excellent move on the part of those in charge of protecting Singapore's architectural heritage. I may complain about them sometimes, but here they made another fine decision. :applause:

I am not surprised that the govt decided to protect the old heritage buildings of Victoria School and pass it on to the People's Association for their use.

Afterall, the current Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development, Youth and Sport (Teo Ser Luck) is an Old Victorian who had studied there.

Our 1st, 3rd and 6th Presidents (including President Nathan) and several of our current and ex-MPs and NMPs (such as S.Dhanabalan, Dr Ong Chit Chung, Ms Kawanjit Soin) are also ex-Victorians who went to school in that old building.

There would be political pressure from above if ever URA decides to clear the land for building new condominiums instead of conserving it.

Ha, thanks for clearing that up for me, Maverick. :)

So this was no deep thought about the potential loss of a piece of Singapore heritage, it was pure expediency! :cheers:

There would be political pressure from above if ever URA decides to clear the land for building new condominiums instead of conserving it.

I think URA is more sophisticated these days....they could still allow new developments on the site, whilst ensuring that the building is conserved.

It would have been nice if the former Raffles Institution could have been conserved too.

Now let's hope the old Airport will be preserved...

It would have been nice if the former Raffles Institution could have been conserved too.
The old RI became Raffles City? Same site?

yah....the old RI was on the site of Raffles City Complex....

I saw it in a few old pics....there is a model sculpture of it at the plaza outside the entrance along Bras Basah Rd.

yeah...as an ex-victorian, im really glad.

anybody knows about the even older building at syed alwi? is it still around?

yeah...as an ex-victorian, im really glad.

anybody knows about the even older building at syed alwi? is it still around?
You studied at Victoria School at Tyrwhitt Road before?

The old Victoria Bridge School at Syed Alwi might have been demolished but you should still be able to see it everyday as a picture of the building is printed on the back of our $2 currency note. Below was an extract from the VS website:

"From 1900-1932, our school was known as Victoria Bridge School. The school functioned in the now premises at Victoria Street near the Victoria Bridge (the present Kota Raja Malay School). "

I dunno where the Kota Raja Malay School/Victoria Bridge School is now but I guess it might have been situated at the junction of Victoria Street and Syed Alwi, the reserve site which URA would release this year for a new 600 room hotel. Correct me if I am wrong....

~nil sine labore~

Nah, im not old yet. I was the unfortunate batch that used the kallang campus, right before VS shifted to its lavish East Coast campus.

nile sine labore

Kota Rajah? Don't think it exists now? :?

Kota Rajah? Don't think it exists now? :?
Probably demolished. I'm also not old enough to know where it used to be. :lol:

Nah, im not old yet. I was the unfortunate batch that used the kallang campus, right before VS shifted to its lavish East Coast campus.

nile sine labore
You mean the Geylang Bahru campus? That's probably the worst school building VS has ever built. Totally plain and characterless. Luckily they shifted out to Siglap within a short time.

I'm not familiar with school buildings, but I notice that schools constantly play musical chairs with their campuses...or is this just a phase before MOE decides that each school will have a long-term campus that really gels with the school's vision?

I guess Singapore has reached the stage where more schools can have that luxury.

7 July 2007

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1237/751708746_8896d63c3e_o.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1140/751709362_9cfa1e6daf_o.jpg

Anyone knows what the white structure on the left is?

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1114/751712596_ff22395eba_o.jpg

7 July 2007 Anyone knows what the white structure on the left is?

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1114/751712596_ff22395eba_o.jpg
That white structure on the left was the school canteen on the 1st floor and the school hall/stage on the 2nd floor. It was the place where I had my favourite roti prata for lunch nearly everyday and where I attended morning assemblies and listen to a boring principal tell stories.

The big grey building next to it was a general library on the 2nd floor and a dusty reference library on the 3rd floor.

The cleared muddy area where the big rocks for contruction are placed used to be the science labs, music classrooms, and the former Victoria Pre-U Centre (now VJC).

The construction site office at one end of the school field in that picture was the old public carpark where I had my foot-drill practices every week.

thanks for the insights :-)

It is quite a fine-looking building, and the continuous colonnades show up the colonial character well. Just hope that they dont apply some 'kindergarten-colours' afterwards :lol:

thanks for the insights :-)

It is quite a fine-looking building, and the continuous colonnades show up the colonial character well. Just hope that they dont apply some 'kindergarten-colours' afterwards :lol:

Not sure why they saved the old school canteen block since that looks out of place with the main colonial building. Whatever it is, they should keep the grand staircase in the centre of the main colonial building. Even the libary block has a nice wooden staircase going up from the 2nd floor to the 3rd floor "attic" area with a low ceiling. Hope they keep those parts when they refurbish the interiors.

7 July 2007
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1114/751712596_ff22395eba_o.jpg


Looking at the white staircases of the Library reminds me of an incident long-long ago.

It was 6am on a Sunday. The sky was still very dark. We have camped overnight in the school.
I was standing on the lower stairs watching my friends playing soccer on the basketball court (next to the library and canteen, covered by the trees).
After a while, the place got a little brighter. I realised there was a pool of water in front of me. As I looked closer to my legs, I saw a man laying motionless in front of me. The pool of water was actually blood flowing out of his head. He is dead and I was standing next to him for quite a while!

We called the police. .............

We were interviewed by the CID a few days later. The dead man turned out to be a big-time jewelry theft hidding in VS. He fell while trying to climb into the "new" building (now demolished). .............




I don't think our government's protection of the old VS building got anything to do with Ser Luck. :) But he would surely like the old VS building to be conserved.

*faint*. I thought I was reading a ghost story ... dead man just in front of you and you didn't realised it. No wonder I always feel a chill down my spine whenever I was walking alone at the "new" blocks.

I am sure this place had quite a bit of unsavory history, since it was next to a major Sook Ching site and was a former Japanese language school during the occupation years.

Are all the colonial buildings of the campus preserved?

Are all colonial parts of the campus preserved?

Are all colonial parts of the campus preserved?

Yes they are all preserved. Only the "newer" buildings were razed.

I don't think our government's protection of the old VS building got anything to do with Ser Luck. :) But he would surely like the old VS building to be conserved.

I think so too .... just like the late Devan Nair might roll over in his grave if the old VS building he had studied in is not conserved. In fact, it is likely the incumbent SR Nathan might be be invited back to his old "school" when this new PA HQ officially opens in 2009/2010.

I think so too .... just like the late Devan Nair might roll over in his grave if the old VS building he had studied in is not conserved. In fact, it is likely the incumbent SR Nathan might be be invited back to his old "school" when this new PA HQ officially opens in 2009/2010.


Reading your words reminds me of the day when we welcomed Devan Nair and his black Rolls Royce to the school.

Reading your words reminds me of the day when we welcomed Devan Nair and his black Rolls Royce to the school.

You are PrecisionDrive? Why change nick?

You are PrecisionDrive? Why change nick?

I went MIA for the past 2 months cos' everytime I logged in, I received the server busy message. I gave up finally and registered a new name. Some of my messages posted previously went missing too.

PreciseDrive and PrecisionDrive are quite close right? :)

Ah, the reminiscences! :)

Your photos brought on quite a few of those, Raffi! :okay:

Now I'm truly intrigued by this one:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1140/751709362_9cfa1e6daf_o.jpg

For one thing I'm amazed that you managed to take it in the first place. Did you sweet-talk your way into a higher building in the immediate vicinity? :cheers:

Also, I just love those tiny little men on top of the roof, one in blue & one in red and both with yellow hardhats.

So we're dealing with a building to be conserved here:

The main block of former Victoria School will be conserved

Good! Raffi took his photos at a critical point. The old building is at a delicate stage: things have been knocked off and removed all over the place, and if these actions aren't stopped immediately or are at least performed with more consideration and ergo more slowly, it may well be that the entire building will become useless as an architectural monument. :ohno:

I've seen this happen all too often (the famous Oops, we didn't mean to factor, and suddenly the precious old building is gone or has been severely compromised). :( I therefore fervently hope that the venerable old school building will survive intact to truly become a monument to Singapore's architectural heritage! :angel1:


@PreciseDrive: welcome back! :wave:

haha, there seems to be alot of talk about devan nair and sr nathan...well, u guys forgot abt yusof ishak, spore's 1st president. yup, vs produced 3 of singapore's presidents.

the singapore 2-dollar note has alot of significance to vs too; on the front is a portrait of its alumni (yusof ishak) and on the back is a picture of vs' old campus.

haha, there seems to be alot of talk about devan nair and sr nathan...well, u guys forgot abt yusof ishak, spore's 1st president. yup, vs produced 3 of singapore's presidents.

the singapore 2-dollar note has alot of significance to vs too; on the front is a portrait of its alumni (yusof ishak) and on the back is a picture of vs' old campus.


Pai sai! You are right!
Can I blame the school for not teaching me that? :lol:

Just found this.
I only know SerLuck.

Heads of State
Yusof bin Ishak: 1st President of Singapore
C V Devan Nair: 3rd President of Singapore
S R Nathan: 6th and present President of Singapore

Politics
S Dhanabalan: Former Cabinet Minister and MP; Chairman, Temasek Holdings
Peter Sung: Former Minister of State and MP
Teo Ser Luck: Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports and MP
Dr Ong Chit Chung: MP
Lim Biow Chuan: MP
Sha'ari Tadin: Former Senior Parliamentary Secretary and MP; 1st Malay graduate PAP MP, 1968
Major Abbas Abu Amin: Former MP; Former Chairman, FAS
Andy Gan: Former MP
Kanwaljit Soin (Ms): Former and 1st female NMP
Assc Prof Ngiam Tee Liang: Former NMP

Ken Sunn: Founding member and former secretary-general of opposition National Solidarity Party

So was the Principal then Mr. Looi??? Haha, rather boring ok...

Not forgetting that Library block - upper floor with wooden flooring.

That white structure on the left was the school canteen on the 1st floor and the school hall/stage on the 2nd floor. It was the place where I had my favourite roti prata for lunch nearly everyday and where I attended morning assemblies and listen to a boring principal tell stories.

The big grey building next to it was a general library on the 2nd floor and a dusty reference library on the 3rd floor.

The cleared muddy area where the big rocks for contruction are placed used to be the science labs, music classrooms, and the former Victoria Pre-U Centre (now VJC).

The construction site office at one end of the school field in that picture was the old public carpark where I had my foot-drill practices every week.

So was the Principal then Mr. Looi??? Haha, rather boring ok...

Not forgetting that Library block - upper floor with wooden flooring.


The canteen reminds me of another incident long-long ago.

A bar-girl from one of the niteclubs along Jalan Besar, opposite the school, was raped in the canteen. Police came and ..... We can't buy any food from the canteen .....

For one thing I'm amazed that you managed to take it in the first place. Did you sweet-talk your way into a higher building in the immediate vicinity? :cheers:

The old building is at a delicate stage: things have been knocked off and removed all over the place, and if these actions aren't stopped immediately or are at least performed with more consideration and ergo more slowly, it may well be that the entire building will become useless as an architectural monument. :ohno:

I've seen this happen all too often (the famous Oops, we didn't mean to factor, and suddenly the precious old building is gone or has been severely compromised). :( I therefore fervently hope that the venerable old school building will survive intact to truly become a monument to Singapore's architectural heritage! :angel1:


The photo was easily taken from an adjoining public housing flat. Public housing flats often have common openings at lift landings or passageways, and these are accessible to the public. Guess that makes it convenient in this case :D

Unfortunately I didnt manage to get a pic of the demolished portion, but it was posted earlier in this thread. What's left should be the conserved portion.

Old School Charm

http://www.ura.gov.sg/skyline/skyline07/skyline07-04/text/02.html

http://www.ura.gov.sg/skyline/skyline07/skyline07-04/images/pg2_pic_top.jpg

When was the last time you visited your alma mater? Does your alma mater still exist today?

In Singapore, where land is scarce and consequently conservation has to be carried out in balance with development, it is not possible to keep all old buildings without freezing development.

Yet, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) recognises that schools are significant social landmarks. That is why several old schools can be found among the 6,500 buildings which are conserved today. Kept wholly or in part, they serve as physical reminders for many generations of old students who have passed through their classrooms and hallways.

Some of them continue serving their function in educating the young, such as St Patrick’s School at East Coast Road. For others, they have gained a new lease of life as they are adapted to house civic and cultural institutions or entertainment facilities.


Long live Victoria School
One of the latest school buildings to be approved for conservation in January 2007, the former Victoria School (VS) is a prominent urban and community landmark at Tyrwhitt Road, off historic Jalan Besar.

VS has had a long and illustrious history. It had its humble origin as an English class in the Kampong Glam Malay School in 1876 and moved to the site at Tyrwhitt Road when the building was completed in 1933. The school was located here for over 50 years before it relocated to Geylang Bahru and later to its new premises at Siglap Link.

Over the years, this pioneer school has made significant contributions to the growth and development of our country by producing numerous scholars, professionals and leaders.

The old premises boasts unique buildings with interesting architecture and history. Being kept for posterity are the Main Classroom/Administrative Block and the Hall-cum-Canteen Block.

The original Main Classroom/Administrative Block is a handsome, flat-roofed, Neo-classical style building with a signature long frontage and upper storey corridor that continues around the central spine of the classrooms. A school hall, with concrete-arch structures, terminates the block at one end.

Built in 1933, it was designed by the same architect as that of the Supreme Court and the former Traffic Police Building, Frank Dorrington Ward of Public Works Department (PWD). It is elegantly proportioned and faced with Shanghai plaster.

The Modern style Hall-cum-Canteen Block built in 1967 is one of the early prototypes developed by PWD in the post-war years to produce schools that are aesthetically pleasing and are fast to build. This innovative spatial-planning technique was later repeated in other schools on the island.

Characterised by a functional yet decorative second storey façade, VS’ multi-purpose hall on the second storey is supported above the ground floor canteen area by slender concrete columns.

Both buildings, in their distinct architectural styles, serve as tangible anchors and reminders of the development of our educational system and the evolution of the school building types in the pre- and post-war years.

A rare gem
What marks the former VS from the other schools gazetted for conservation is that it is one of the few early city centre schools still in existence today and features two school buildings from the pre- and post-war period in a single site.

The original main building is a one-of-its-kind educational building and the Hall-cum-Canteen Block is the only known school hall left of this style and configuration. Together they show the evolution of school architecture in Singapore, marking both the important periods in terms of architectural development as well as social and political changes.

New life
Come 2009, the old VS will have a new role to play. It is currently being restored and refurbished to house the People’s Association (PA) in future. The canteen and hall are planned to be used as PA’s rehearsal rooms while the existing school field will be used for PA’s large-scale activities such as parade rehearsals for Chingay and National Day.

RC, when was these photos taken?

^^ Probably hard to tell, Excelsvr. Raffi took the article and photos from the July/August 2007 edition of the publication named Skyline. It doesn't give any dates.

RC, when was these photos taken?

Should be just before they start conservation work. Must be end 2006 or early 2007.
Everything on outside looks neat. The classroom is emptied.
The badge is Christchurch SS - not VS. Must be after 1984.

Those pics of the old classrooms and the second floor corridors/staircases certainly brings back lots of memories of the past. The rendering of the new buildings looks good too.

Some of the post-war buildings were demolished though.

The red sign on photo at top right corner is pointing to the Principal office if I'm not wrong or forgotten haha. Mr. Looi was the Principal then during my time.

Renderings from http://www.a61.com.sg/flash.html

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j67/RCSSC/pa.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j67/RCSSC/pa2.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j67/RCSSC/pa3.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j67/RCSSC/pa4.jpg

I went past this site recently .... the expected date of completion is 29th September 2008. That's about 3 1/2 months from now but everything still look kinda messy and raw. However, it looks achievable from what I saw.

It looks really good in those renders, and they appear to have integrated the old building nicely into the design.

It looks really good in those renders, and they appear to have integrated the old building nicely into the design.

With another 3 1/2 months more to go before their stated completion date, it still looks nothing like in the renderings. I see if I can take some pics later.

PA gets historic new home

29 Jan 2010

http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIMEDIA/image/20100129/nupa-alchern.jpg

WHEN the People's Association (PA) was set up 50 years ago, its headquarters was a former airport in Kallang. On Friday, it officially moved to another old building: the former Victoria School building in King George's Avenue.

This time, however, the PA engaged architects and gave its new home a $47 million makeover.

The conserved the old school building while converting the classrooms into sleek offices. The school hall-cum-canteen is now a dance studio and storage area for Chingay and National Day props. A new five-storey extension block was built behind the old school and a sprawling lawn fronts the entire structure.

The changes won it the Architectural Heritage Awards last year, an annual honour given to well-restored monuments and conservation buildings in Singapore.

On Friday night, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is also PA's chairman, officially opened it new home in a ceremony attended by about 1,000 people, including Cabinet ministers and grassroots leaders. The event, held on the lawn, was like a mini National Day celebration, complete with floats, performers in colourful costumes as well as a fireworks and pyrotechnics display.

Mr Lee also opened the PA heritage gallery, an exhibition which charts the association's growth over the past 50 years. The gallery will be a permanent fixture at the building's atrium. These events are the first in a series of activities to be held this year to mark PA's 50th anniversary.

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_483982.html

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v133/RafflesCity/pahq.jpg

I prefer the one in the rendering