Monks Hill Secondary School by Jeremy San

Completion: 1939 (Elementary School block), 1958 (Assembly Hall, Science block, Domestic Science block)

Architect: Public Works Department, Singapore

Established in 1939 as Monk’s Hill Elementary School, the institution was turned into a secondary school after World War II as part of the colonial government’s ambitious Education Plan to boost enrolment in state-run schools. Faced with the need to build as many schools as rapidly and economically as possible, Public Works Department (PWD) adopted a ‘kit-of-parts’ approach. Spatial requirements, room dimensions, and block designs were rationalised into school building ‘types’, and tailored to fit different locations.

For generations since, these PWD schools have become a familiar backdrop to childhood memories.

A new Science block, Domestic Science block, and a large Assembly cum Badminton Hall were added to Monk’s Hill Secondary School (MHSS) in 1958. Featuring modest forms of elegant proportions, adept use of low-cost materials, and sensitive climatic response, it represented a period of design maturity for PWD. The Assembly Hall pictured here features a breathing, permeable building envelope of precast concrete ventilation blocks, well suited to the warm and humid tropics. MHSS was merged with another school in 2006, and the premises vacated. As yet conserved, the campus is on short-term lease for a mixed-use scheme. Though most structures have been retained, the heritage and design character has been somewhat compromised with the loss of original details through renovation.

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Approximate Size: 1 m x 1.249 m. Framed.

This is the original print that was exhibited at “Moderns in Our Midst: A Photographic Tribute to Singapore’s Modern Architectural Heritage” in 2015.

UV Printing on 3 mm white DIBOND with 10 mm square aluminium channel on 4 sides. Print does not feature the artist's signature. No other framing options available. No certificate of authenticity provided.

UV Printing on 3 mm white DIBOND with 10 mm square aluminium channel on 4 sides. Print does not feature the artist's signature. No other framing options available. No certificate of authenticity provided.

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