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.
__________
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.
_________
Alternative payment
We also accept bank transfer or PayNow. Please contact us at admin@docomomo.sg to arrange for purchase directly with us.
Shipping
Free shipping within Singapore. Please email us at admin@docomomo.sg with any queries or to get a custom shipping quote if you live outside Singapore.
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.
__________
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.
_________
Alternative payment
We also accept bank transfer or PayNow. Please contact us at admin@docomomo.sg to arrange for purchase directly with us.
Shipping
Free shipping within Singapore. Please email us at admin@docomomo.sg with any queries or to get a custom shipping quote if you live outside Singapore.
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.
__________
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.
_________
Alternative payment
We also accept bank transfer or PayNow. Please contact us at admin@docomomo.sg to arrange for purchase directly with us.
Shipping
Free shipping within Singapore. Please email us at admin@docomomo.sg with any queries or to get a custom shipping quote if you live outside Singapore.
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.