Neo-Palladian Features
The National Museum of Singapore is housed in an iconic building. Designed by Colonial Engineer Henry Edward McCallum, this elegant neo-Palladian building was officially opened in 1887 as the Raffles Library and Museum.
The building underwent an extensive redevelopment project from 2003 to 2006, retaining its colonial grandeur while being seamlessly joined to a new modernist extension of glass and metal. Today, the National Museum of Singapore stands as the nation’s oldest museum and a well-loved custodian of its people’s shared memories.
Come marvel at the architectural highlights of our building the next time you visit.
The building features an elegant neo-Palladian design, a European style of architecture characterised by a highly symmetrical façade and the use of pediments above windows.
The use of pilasters and columns also reflects the incorporation of neo-Classical features in the building design. The pilasters begin with the simplest Doric order, increasing in complexity until the highest point with eight columns of ornate Corinthian order supporting the dome – a crown befitting the grand rotunda.
Rotunda Dome
The entrance of the museum leads into the open rotunda, where natural light streams in through Victorian-stained glass panels with floral and grid motifs — A captivating sight to behold.
During the museum’s major redevelopment project, all 50 pieces of stained glass panels were carefully removed, cleaned and repaired, bringing out the original colour and shine of the beautiful flower and square patterns. The glass pieces’ reinforcement system, joints and lead work were also fixed.
At a height of 27 metres, the rotunda dome is one of the museum’s most striking features.
Glass Rotunda
Designed as a modern interpretation of the original rotunda dome, the glass rotunda is the main feature of the museum’s new extension.
Measuring 16 metres in height and 24 metres in diameter, the glass rotunda comprises a smaller steel mesh drum encapsulated by a larger glass façade drum.
From 2017, the museum’s treasured William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings has been brought to life within the glass rotunda. Story of the Forest, an immersive digital experience by internationally renowned art collective teamLab, allows visitors to interact with animated illustrations inspired by the collection.
Glass Passage
The glass passage rises almost 11 metres off the floor and is one of the world’s largest outdoor self-supporting glass structures. This structure has been cleverly designed to blend into the building’s neo-Palladian architecture. Optical glass was used for some of the glass beams to give visitors a clear view of the museum’s dome in its entirety.
This installation took engineers from four different countries more than a year to construct as the engineering behind it was extremely complex despite its simple appearance. To date, it is the only modern intrusion allowed by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, Singapore.
While providing visitors access to the new modern extension through the original museum building, the glass passage creates a choreographed experience of bringing together the old and new. Its unassuming form accentuates the building’s elegant 19th-century neo-Palladian architecture and the fish-scaled zinc tiles on the external façade of the dome.
The Gallery Theatre
Situated at the site of the car park of the former National Library building at Stamford Road, the Gallery Theatre’s unique brick wall surface pays tribute to the iconic red-brick library building that was demolished in 2004 to make way for the construction of the Fort Canning Tunnel.
The 16,720 bricks on the walls have been laid out in a herringbone pattern, allowing sound to be absorbed by the noise-buffering material behind the walls.
Equipped with the latest digital surround sound, projection systems and movable seating, the Theatre plays host to the museum’s programmes as well as performances and events.
