Seventh-Day Adventist Church
Completed in 1938, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church at Balestier Road was originally commissioned by Reverend Cecil Jackson to house the Cantonese- and English-speaking congregations of the Assemblies of God.¹ It was designed by C. Y. Kong, who was trained as a structural engineer and designed numerous Art Deco buildings in the 1930s.² The Seventh-Day Adventist Church was an early church in such a style, and combines features from both the Zigzag Moderne and Streamline Moderne. The façade facing Balestier Road has a series of vertical bands that are arranged symmetrically, and they gradually step up towards a central band that terminates in a semi-curricular arch. The arc hints at the vaulted ceiling in the interior, which is lit by clerestory windows on the two sides.³
Locations: 120 Balestier Rd, Singapore 329680
Architects: C. Y. Kong
Year: 1938
Status: Conserved
¹ Frederick George Abeysekera and Rita Abeysekera, The History of the Assemblies of God of Singapore (Singapore: Assemblies of God of Singapore, 1992), 103-07.
² I am grateful to Julian Davison for providing this background information on C. Y. Kong. Author’s email correspondence with Julian Davison, 19 & 20 September 2019.
³ Alyssa Woo, “A Message of Simplicity,” The Straits Times, October 1 2016.
Last modified on 4 May 2021. Description by Chang Jiat Hwee, edited by Justin Zhuang.
