Located at 9 Stadium Link and fronting the Nicoll Highway today, the former Kallang Airport is sited on reclaimed land of what was once the swampy Kallang Basin. The landing strip was a large circular field in front of the Terminal Building. The boundary of the Airport once extended into what is now Old Airport Road. The surrounding land and the runways were redeveloped in the 1950s when the airport facilities were relocated to Paya Lebar Airport.
The former Kallang Airport was built by the British Colonial government in the 1930s as Singapore’s first commercial international airport building, and served the city-state from 1937-1955.
At the time of the airport’s conception, Sir Cecil Clementi, the Governor of the Straits Settlements, indicated that the new airport, as Singapore’s aviation gateway to the rest of the world, should be located near to the heart of town. The site at the Kallang Basin was chosen as it possessed three outstanding advantages - its proximity to the centre of the city, its free aerial approaches, and the combined facilities for both land and marine aircraft.
Kallang Airport was officially opened on 12 June 1937 by Sir Shenton Thomas, who had by then replaced Sir Clementi as the Governor. Touted as one of the most modern airports of its time, it was hailed as the finest airport in the British Empire. It was also Singapore’s first purpose-built civil airport and a testament of the priority placed on the future of air travel, and Singapore as a gateway between England and Australia.
With the opening of the new and larger airport at Paya Lebar in 1955, the civil airport functions at Kallang ceased. The site was taken over by the People’s Association (PA) in the early 1960s, and the former Terminal Building became the PA HQ building until PA moved to its current site at Tyrwhitt Road in 2009.
The former Terminal Building of Kallang Airport is an iconic and visually stunning building. The Modernist language of the former Terminal Building can be interpreted as a metaphor of a contemporary airplane, with its elevated cylindrical glass control tower centrally placed as the cockpit. This made reference to the concepts of progress, speed and machinery.
The design of the building is accredited to Frank Dorrington Ward, the Chief Architect of the former Public Works Department. The building clearly displayed the new Modern architectural language of functionalism, with exposed concrete, horizontal lines, transparent glazed walls, and streamlined curves. The common characteristics of the International Style are easy to identify in the building: a radical simplification of form, a rejection of ornament, adoption of glass, steel and concrete as preferred materials, the transparency and ‘lightness’ of the building, and a clear reading of the function of the different spaces.
The East and West Blocks, originally built to house the airline offices, are designed simply and built in reinforced concrete. They are similar in appearance to other military buildings found within British military camps, with the regular repetitive columns and windows. Their contrasting heaviness balances the lightness of the former Terminal Building, and can be seen as anchors on either side of the site.
The hangar adjacent to the West Block is a lofty and simple column-free structure where planes used to park. The building is a functional piece with large expense of windows to bring light into the space. The hangar is also conserved to complete the aviation history for the site.
The gate posts with the lions crest and original lamp posts are also conserved to complete the historic setting of the site.
The Kallang Airport is Singapore’s first purpose-built civil airport and was touted as one of the most modern airports of its time. With the iconic architecture of the Terminal Building, and its rich social history adding depth as a backdrop for the area, the conservation of the selected buildings and structures at Kallang Airport serves as physical reminders and markers of the humble origins of the development of Kallang and its role in establishing Singapore’s position on the international aviation map.
Gazetted on 5 Dec 2008 for conservation