Marina Bay & Singapore River
South, Singapore
May 2013
(This article is part of Merlion Wayfarer's Fullerton Heritage Guided Tour series.)
| The Call Of The Red Lanterns | A "Fight" Between Johnston And Clifford | Signature Ward Elements |
| The Call Of The Red Lanterns | A "Fight" Between Johnston And Clifford | Signature Ward Elements |
The restoration of the Customs House provided the added challenge of connecting the building to the rest of the waterfront development. Its watch tower, centrally located at its waterfront facade, was cleaned up, restored and repainted to preserve its maritime heritage. Even its distinctive concrete “butterfly” facade at its two longitudinal elevations was carefully restored. New modern shopfronts were sensitively added to its first storey such that they blend harmoniously with the former utilitarian building. Of notable mention was the voluntary retention and restoration of the building’s definitive umbrella-like pavilion.
The building’s previous functional office layout was reconfigured and reinvented into hip dining establishments. The new third storey roof space was a creative solution to house the mechanical and electrical equipment without detracting from its architecture. Vertical green planter strips were introduced to soften the appearance of the building and act as a transition between the old and the new. A feature wall was created at the other end of the building to relieve the rather plain facade housing the new substation for the development.
