The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business Asia Campus | Singapore

[redstone]

House of Tan Yeok Nee , a.k.a. The University Of Chicago Graduate School Of Business, House of Administration [执政地]:

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It was built in 1882 as the house of prominent pepper and gambier Teochew businessman Tan Yeok Nee.It is in the Chinese Zhou style twin-courtyard house.

It was later acquired for the construction of the first railway line linking Keppel Harbour to the Straits of Johor. The House was once used as the home of the Station Master
In 1912, the House was used for the Mary's Home and School for Eurasian Girls and in 1940, it became the headquarters for The Salvation Army. Declared a National Monument in 1974, it was acquired by a Wing Tai-led consortium together with the adjacent former Cockpit Hotel site in 1996.

The House has been carefully restored with great sensitivity to ensure that the original architecture and character of the House is kept intact. However, contemporary facilities and equipment have also been cleverly incorporated to adapt the building for modern day usage. With the wide array of beautifully restored traditional Chinese decorative elements and the convenience of present day state-of-the-art technology around the House, this combination of 'old' and 'new' provides tenants a unique environment rich in history and culture.

It is now on lease to the University of Chicago Graduate School Of Business.


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Taken from the URA website:

101 PENANG ROAD – RETROFITTING A MASTERPIECE

Owner: Winpeak Investment Pte Ltd
Architect: RSP Architects Planners & Engineers (Pte)Ltd
Engineer: RSP Architects Planners & Engineers (Pte)Ltd
Contractor: Singapore Piling & Civil Engineering Pte Ltd

This project involved the restoration of the House of Tan Yeok Nee and the creation of an auditorium within one of the buildings. Built in 1885, this traditional Chinese Chou Zhou-style courtyard house was gazetted a national monument in 1974. The owners had turned it into a ‘campus’ for the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business to maintain the dignity of the House. This project was approached with great sensitivity to ensure that the original architecture and character of the house were kept intact while satisfying the needs of the tenant.

Prior to restoration, extensive research was carried out including three surveys - a Measured Building survey, a Photographic Record survey and a traditional Chinese Architectural Works survey. A special team consisting of an expert in traditional Chinese architecture, a material specialist, acoustics consultants and skilled craftsmen were engaged to carry out the works.

During restoration, a "Top-Down" approach was adopted and the 3-R principle - maximum retention, sensitive restoration and careful repair - was closely observed. To address the problem of rising damp, the existing brick base 300 mm above the structural floor level was drilled and injected with DPC (damp proof course). Termite-infested timber trusses, beams and joists were thoroughly investigated, removed and replaced with matching materials of the same size. To salvage the four badly termite-infested gold-gilded timber beams in the main hall, the central portion was carved out and inserted with galvanised mild steel hollow sections to strengthen them.

All original elements and traditional Chinese decorative features of the House were retained and restored. Replacements for missing fragments of the jian nian on the roof ridges were recreated by skilled Chinese craftsmen. Paintings or cai hua were cleaned up and their surfaces touched up before colours were applied. Similar procedure was carried out on the clay sculptures or ni su. The elaborate wood carvings and gold-gilding works were also repaired and touched up where necessary. The gable end walls with their fine artworks and unique shapes depicting the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth were also restored.

The modern needs of the tenant were also carefully and neatly integrated into the building’s architecture. This includes the introduction of air-conditioning with the use of frameless glass to separate the air-conditioned spaces from the external environment while maintaining the open-to-the-sky courtyards. The result is a masterpiece of traditional Chinese architecture retrofitted with modern state-of-the-art facilities to suit its new lease of life as home to a prestigious educational institution.

[sOmeOne]

It's beautiful! I'm a fan of the style - 10/10 :)

[Style™]

I am a fan!

9.5/10! :)

[renell]

i'm not a fan. 6/10

[heirloom]

gorgeous and very clever. 10

[redstone]

http://gsb.uchicago.edu/images/singconf/lecture.jpg
92-seater lecture hall inside The House Of Tan Yeok Nee.
http://gsb.uchicago.edu/images/singconf/multidining.jpg
Large multipurpose room
http://gsb.uchicago.edu/images/singconf/execmeetingroom.jpg
Executive meeting room
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One of 17 small meeting rooms.
http://gsb.uchicago.edu/images/singconf/lounge.jpg
Lounge
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Courtyard
http://gsb.uchicago.edu/images/singconf/businesscenter.jpg
Business Centre

Inside the House.

[heirloom]

hrmmm some rooms are ugly.. others are gorgeous..

[redstone]

I think it is a miracle that the house sitll stands in 1973 ,when it was gazetted a National Monument.

Look at all the things that it had gone through.Death of the owner ,occupancy by a girl's school ,a 'home' for drug addicts ,railway master's house (perhaps he was Chinese?) ,occupancy by the Salvation Army ,World War Two.Wow ,it had endured a lot.

[mhe-ann]

not very appealing to me. 6.5/10.

[babystan03]

Very nice. 10/10.

[redstone]

Tan Yeok Nee, the site of the Chicago GSB campus in Singapore, is a National Historic Building, which reflects the history and traditions of Asian culture while incorporating the most modern technology thanks to an extensive refurbishment. Situated on elevated land at the beginning of Clemenceau Avenue, the campus is right in the heart of Singapore, located near the famous Orchard Road and within walking distance of the offices of the President of Singapore.

Also know as the of House of Administration ( 执政地 ), according to inscriptions in the inscribed in the original stonework, the House of Tan Yeok Nee is the first of four great Teow Chew buildings erected in the late 19th Century. These buildings architecture demonstrates typical Chinese style and culture at the turn of the 20th Century. Built by tycoon Tan Yeok Nee in 1885, the house was classified as a National Monument in 1974,

Occupying approximately 2,000 square meters, the campus has a tiered classroom that seats 84; a function room that holds more than 100 people; 20 group study rooms; a student lounge and several courtyards. The facility also boasts a library, administrative offices and a modern air conditioning system, which is essential for coping with Singapore’s heat and humidity.

The history of the house is colorful and varied. Ownership changed numerous times, starting in 1902 when it was used the residence of a railway stationmaster. It next became a missionary center for St. Mary’s in 1912 and later evolved into the headquarters of the Salvation Army in 1932. Acquired by a property developer in 1991, the house of Tan Yeok Nee again changed hands through a subsequent purchase by the Wing Tai Group, led by alumnus Cheng Wai-Keung, Class of 1973. When he offered it to the GSB, the house was in a state of total disrepair. Reportedly Wing Tai invested some $1.2 million in its restoration.

Restoring of the House of Administration was complicated by to the nature of the building’s structure and a desire to maintain and restore as much of the historical character of the building as possible. Using original materials where feasible, the walls, tiles, roof, pillars, carvings and pottery were restored to their original state of a century ago guided by painstaking research.

Facing east and west are the front and back portions of the house. The lives of Tan Yeok Nee’s ancestors in Teow Chew are carved into colorful pillars made of marble on the front door. As one walks into the builiding there is a courtyard with a shallow pool filled with water and stones. The back of the house, reached through the student lounge and another courtyard that leads into the function hall, has a distinctive style demonstrated by beams with Teow Chew tiles, a main pillar decorated with gold-plated carvings, and a marble floor. Tiles throughout reflect Chinese people, characters and animals.

The House of Tan Yeok Nee is typical of Teow Chew-style residential buildings. The building’s design is co-ordinated to reflect the balance and harmony represented by the five elements important in ancient Chinese thought. The structure exhibits the harmony of Ying and Yang, shown at the top of the ceiling in wood, water, fire, earth and metal. This unique design not only enriches the artistic value of the structure, but also corresponds with the unity of prosperity, intelligence, longevity, health and happiness.

These qualities seem appropriate in describing the ambitions of the tycoon who built the house. Born in 1827, Tan Yeok Nee the man immigrated to Singapore only after making his fortune in a wide variety of business enterprises. Born in a small village, he went to seek his luck in the region of Southeast Asia then known as "Nanyang," where he traded textiles. He eventually became successful planting pepper and spices in Johor, a region in Malaysia, and later became a port owner. In addition, Tan Yeok Nee partnered with another Teow Chew tycoon, Tan Seng Bo, and Chang, a Hokkien leader, in the opium and liquor trades, which were legal at the time.

[Fabio]

6.5/10

looks ok

[Henk]

Nice 8/10.

[Phobos]

6/10

[forvine]

7/10

[Sinjin P.]

7.5/10

[Mosaic]

5/10

[Valia]

7/10

i like the main yard

[marpa]

5,5/10

[delmaule]

6/10

[Nikkodemo]

7/10

[LMCA1990]

8/10

[W!CKED]

7/10