Conserved Building
10 Pender Road
Applicable Guidelines
Bungalow Guidelines
Conservation Area
Southern Ridges Conservation Area
Historic address: 10 Pender Road
Golden Bell Mansion
About
The mansion was initially the private residence of a Straits Chinese community leader and philanthropist, Tan Boo Liat.
The History
As a venue for Tan Boo Liat's activities in the early 20th century, the building was an integral part of Tan's and his associates' endeavours, bearing witness to their trans-regional influences on the society of the Nanyang region and China as a group of prominent social activists and revolutionaries. Dr Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of the Republic of China, twice stayed at the mansion with his family during his last visit to Singapore in 1912, before heading to Shanghai to become the first Provisional President of the new Republic of China.
After Tan Boo Liat's death in 1934, the mansion changed hands and was eventually occupied by the Danish Seamen's Church in Singapore (DSCS), founded in 1984. This marked a new chapter in its history, transforming it into a hub for the Danish community in Singapore.
The Building
Designed by Mok Wee Tek, Golden Bell Mansion is an exemplary model of Edwardian-style architecture with adaptations to the local climate and cultural influences. The most distinctive feature of the building is its rich and varied composition of materials, ornamentation, and craftsmanship, including a fairfaced brick façade, timber roof truss, inter-laid brass sheets on the dome, and filler-joist floors in concrete with brick chips — an early form of slab construction used between the 1880s and 1920s — as well as transgenerational pre-cast concrete corbels.
The mansion's architecture features a mixture of Neo-Classical colonnaded pediments adorned with Ionic and Tuscan columns, and showcases the "blood and bandages" style, characterised by alternating strata of red brick and white rendered plaster, which was common in the late Victorian era. The star-shaped holes in the cornice and a dome resembling a Buddhist stupa are thought to reflect Tan Boo Liat's commercial ties with Thailand and his homage to his grandfather's connections. The numerous balconies and verandahs were strategically designed to harness the cooling sea breezes, a common feature in colonial architecture.
The Legacy
The historic house features century-old fabric that has been carefully preserved. Through thorough diagnostic investigation, the gutter design and rainwater drainage system were holistically revamped before the original historic fabric was expertly restored using carefully sourced materials.
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.
Explore Street View
The building can be found at this street.
Awards
URA Architectural Heritage Awards (Special Mention)
2024