National Library at Stamford Road by Jeremy San
Inauguration: 1960
Architect: Public Works Department, Singapore
The modest red-bricked structure, designed by Public Works Department architect Lionel Bintley, was inaugurated in 1960 by Singapore’s first Yang di-Pertuan Negara (or Head or State) Yusof bin Ishak. While the institution originated in 1823 as a private collection, philanthropist Lee Kong Chian gave a seed donation in the 1950s and rallied for a public library with publications in “vernacular languages”. Generations have since passed through its brick porches, as the understated Stamford Road library evolved as one of the few postwar civic spaces that Singaporeans, across class and ethnicity divides, identified with.
Nestled at the foot of Fort Canning, the unassuming building showcased, through its fairfaced brickwork details, the meticulous workmanship of local builders in the past. Plans for the building’s demolition were revealed in 1999, and despite a groundswell of protests, the old library made way in 2003 for the Fort Canning traffic tunnel. The emotionally charged episode sparked much public soul-searching about Singapore’s post-war modern built heritage. Captured before the building’s demise, the photograph shows the library courtyard, an urban oasis graced by shady trees and a fountain, well-loved for poetry recitals and nursing a cup of coffee.
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Approximate Size 1 m x 1.482 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.
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A portion proceeds from Jeremy San's work will go to Singapore Heritage Society and Jeremy San's estate.
About Jeremy San
The late Jeremy San Tzer Ning was an accomplished architectural photographer based in Singapore, who documented local as well as regional architectural works in Malaysia, Hong Kong and China. Schooled in RMIT, Melbourne, Australia as an interior designer, his graduation thesis was an ambitious photo-documentation project of modern heritage buildings, which also spawned his photography career.
Upon graduation, Jeremy practised as an interior designer in the architecture office KNTA, and also collaborated with experimental design studios HAM Architects, LingHao Architects and AT Lab on various competition and proposals. His design training and practice experience gave him an empathetic eye as a photographer capturing architecture – whether historic, newly completed, or even under construction – as well as urban landscapes. He has been engaged by leading design firms including Alsop, Foster + Partners, Atelier Liu Yu Yang, K2LD, Formwerkz, KUU, Farm Works, UOL, DPA and ipli. His works are widely published, including in journals such as ish, Cubes, and SA. He was also commissioned by Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to work on the Singapore 1:1 exhibitions (2005, 2007), and has collaborated with Studio Lapis on conservation documentation projects such as Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall. In 2012, he was awarded the Discernment Prize for the ICON de Martell Cordon Bleu photography awards.