Conserved Building
37 Emerald Hill Road
Applicable Guidelines
Other Building Guidelines
Conservation Area
Former Singapore Chinese Girls' School Conservation Area
Historic address: 37 Emerald Hill Road
Former Singapore Chinese Girls' School (Ong Siang Block)
About
The Singapore Chinese Girls’ School (SCGS), established in 1899, is one of the oldest girls’ schools in Singapore.
The History
Its founders were a group of Straits Chinese men who were against the conservative view then that being uneducated and confined to the home was a virtue for girls. Hence, they established the SCGS in 1899 to provide schooling for Straits Chinese girls. Initially, the school operated from rented premises. The campus at Emerald Hill – the first purpose-built facility for the school – officially opened on 6 February 1926. After almost seven decades, the school relocated to its current premises at Bukit Timah in 1994.
The Building
The three oldest buildings in the campus that are assessed to be of high historical and architectural significance: the Main Block (built in 1925), Principal’s House (built in 1930) and Song Ong Siang Block (built in 1956), are conserved. Each of these buildings features an architectural style representative of its time, serving as a link to the school’s history.
For example, the Main Block, a two-storey building designed with Neo-Classical and Art Deco elements, was meant to be one of the most up-to-date school buildings of its time with details such as moulded pilasters and high central windows to draw attention upwards to the triangular pediment capping the central bay of the façade. Taking reference from the Main Block, the two-storey Principal’s House was designed in the same style, featuring a pitched clay tiled roof, as well as timber louver and latticed glass panel windows. The three-storey Modern style Song Ong Siang Block is characterised by a regular pattern of strip windows with the weight of the building visually resting on slender cylindrical columns at the first storey.
The Legacy
Collectively, these buildings are symbolic of the progressive founding spirit of the school. Together with the adjacent Emerald Hill Conservation Area, they contribute to the rich heritage and distinctive streetscape of the Orchard Road precinct.
Gazetted on 16 October 2019 for conservation
Guidelines and Procedures
All proposed works will need to comply with the Conservation Guidelines and the Specific Restoration Guidelines (SRG). Conservation Permission is required before all additions & alteration works and operations of new use can begin.
Residential Fronts are characterised by timber casement windows flanking a double-leafed timber door. All buildings with residential front which is existing and/or identified in the 'Specific Restoration Guidelines', regardless of land use zoning, shall be retained and restored.
Any proposed additions and alterations to this conserved building are subject to evaluation. Please submit your proposal for URA's review.
Explore Street View
The building can be found at this street.