752 Dunearn Road

Former Dunearn Depot

The History

Dunearn Depot was completed by the City Council of Singapore in 1952 as part of the infrastructure to meet the growing water demands from new residential estates in the Bukit Timah area.

The depot’s supporting function for water operations in western Singapore continued after the Public Utilities Board (formed in 1963), took over from the City Council.

Within the depot, the 3-storey building at 752 Dunearn Road originally housed a district office at the 1st storey and flats at the upper storeys for 16 junior officers. In the mid-1980s, the entire building was converted to office use.

From the 1990s till the early 2000s, the PUB Water Department’s Projects branch site office was located within the building to oversee major water resource projects in the western part of Singapore.

This included the upgrading and expansion of Singapore’s water supply infrastructure such as the Johor River Waterworks Extension Scheme and the laying of the second 84-inch diameter pipeline from the Johor River Waterworks to Singapore.

The Building

The conserved Art Deco building has a long rectangular shape plan with reinforced concrete structure and a clay-tiled double pitch roof. It is bookend by distinctive fair-faced brick walls, constructed using a variation of the basic Flemish bond arrangement.

Similar fair-faced brick finish and detailing accentuate the two entrances and staircases which have modern style vertical concrete fins, moulded window surrounds at the front, and round casement mild steel windows at the rear.

Within the front and rear facades, each storey is punctuated by modest mild steel casement windows inset within 3 sets of elongated concrete surrounds.

The Legacy

The conserved building is located within the former Bukit Timah Turf City area within a site that is planned for residential use to capitalise on the proximity to Sixth Avenue MRT station. Its direct frontage to Dunearn Road will contribute to the familiar streetscape of the area. The building will be integrated into the site and adaptively reused to complement the needs of future residents

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.

• Apply for Specific Restoration Guidelines (SRG) (opens in new tab)

• Submission Process for Works

Gallery

Modern style elements of the building such as vertical concrete fins and moulded window surrounds.

End gable walls with distinctive fair-faced brick walls in Flemish bond arrangement and moulded window surrounds.

Originally designed as flats, the 2nd and 3rd storeys were converted into offices by PUB in the 1990s.

View of main block from Dunearn Road in 1993. Source: National Library Board

Explore Street View

The building can be found at this street.