Museum has touch of class

FEW new museums of contemporary art, even the most committed to minimalism, would open their doors without a painting on the wall. But when the Singapore Art Museum opened on October 20 the walls were bare, because the star attraction was the building itself, the restored St Joseph's Institution, built in 1867 as a Catholic boys school.

While museums in Asia in the 1970s and 80s opted for the 'white box' of internationalism, after lengthy study Singapore chose to preserve and restore an element of its architectural heritage. Post-modernist architects went to creative lengths to include the charming and eclectic details Public Works Department senior architect Wong Hooe Wai inherited and discovered in the 28-month, S$30 million (about HK$162 million) restoration.

Located in the centre of the arts and heritage district, the museum, with its 3,000 square metres of gallery space spread over 13 galleries, is the first museum in the National Heritage Board's museum development plan.

The Asian Civilisations Museum and the Singapore History Museum are scheduled to be ready within the next five years. The research and curatorial thrust of the museum is contemporary and modern art of Singapore and Southeast Asia.

What on paper might seem an incongruous match of mid-19th century ecclesiastic architecture and contemporary Asian art, works well in the restored reality designed by Wong. Intent on retaining 'the historic fabric of the school', Wong has engaged in a successful dialogue of past and present, presentation and preservation.

Wong paid attention to details that, though unrelated to the functional utility of the space, give the building its distinctive historical character.

He retained or replicated 19th century tile designs, kept original doors and even hinges, allowed marble benefactor plaques to keep their yellowed patina, and 'picked up the rhythm' of the old building's arches in the stylised arches of the new wings.