Teochew Building is a historic building on Tank Road in Singapore. Completed in 1963, it jointly houses the

Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan () is a Teochew clan association in Singapore. ''Poit Ip'', which means eight districts in the Teochew dialect, stood for the eight Teochew districts in the province of Guangdong, China. ''Huay Kuan'' means "clan ass ...

and the

Ngee Ann Kongsi The Ngee Ann Kongsi () is a Charitable organization, charitable foundation in Singapore and governed by the Ngee Ann Kongsi Ordinance of 1933. It is one of many Overseas Chinese Kongsi, or clan associations, that were set up by immigrants from C ...

History

The land on which the building stands was previously the Tuan Mong High School. The building's construction, which cost millions, began in June 1961 and was expected to be completed by the middle of the next year. The ground floor of the building would be occupied by offices for the Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan and the Ngee Ann Kongsi while a large hall and stage with a maximum capacity of 1,000 people could be found on the second floor. The upper three floors was to house the 45 classrooms of the Tuan Mong High School. A $16,000 master clock, which would control the clocks in the classrooms, was to be installed in the central part of the building. The " Peking-style" building was designed by prominent local architect Ng Keng Siang. On 26 May 1963, the Ngee Ann College was officially opened within the building by

Yong Nyuk Lin Yong Nyuk Lin ( zh, s=杨玉麟, p=Yáng Yùlín; 24 June 1918 – 29 June 2012) was a Singaporean former politician who served as the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (Singapore), Minister for Communications between 1968 a ...

, then the

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Chief Justice of Singapore The chief justice of Singapore is the chief justice, presiding member of the Supreme Court of Singapore. It is the highest office in the judicial system of Singapore, appointed by the President of Singapore, president, on the advice of the Prime ...

Wee Chong Jin Wee Chong Jin (; 28 September 1917 – 5 June 2005) was a Malayan-born Singaporean jurist who served as a chief justice of Singapore between 1963 and 1990. Born in Penang, which was then a part of the Straits Settlements, he was the first As ...

, Speaker of the Federation of Malaya Parliament

Mohamed Noah Omar Mohamed Noah bin Omar ( Jawi: محمد نوح بن عمر‎; 13 August 1897 – 6 September 1991) was a Malaysian politician, nationalist, and businessman. He was a founding member and the first chairman of the United Malays National Organisa ...

and Minister for National Development Tan Kia Gan attended the ceremony, while

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (born Harry Lee Kuan Yew; 16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean politician who ruled as the first Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. He is widely recognised ...

later attended a reception. The college moved to a larger premises in

Clementi Clementi may refer to: People * Aldo Clementi (1925–2011), Italian composer * Carlo Mazzone-Clementi (1920–2000), Italian actor and mime * Cecil Clementi (1875–1947), British colonial administrator, Governor of Hong Kong and Straits Sett ...

a few years later. In 1995, it was announced that the building was to undergo a $10 million renovation, after which the ground and first floors would be occupied by the Teochew cultural centre. The centre was to be used for various cultural activities, including art exhibitions, displays of Chinese and Teochew artifacts and the staging of Teochew operas. Renovation works had begun by September and were to be completed by 1997. In 1998, the Ngee Ann-Adelaide Education Centre private institution, formed through a partnership between the Ngee Ann Kongsi and the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

, was opened in the building. The centre stopped accepting new students on 18 July 2016 after the university decided to end the partnership. The Ngee Ann Kongsi Heritage Hall was established within the building in March 2003 to "commemorate the entrepreneurial and sacrificial spirit of the pioneers of Ngee Ann Kongsi." The hall displays several artifacts and archives detailing the history of the Ngee Ann Kongsi. In April 2004, the Ngee Ann Kongsi Collections Gallery, an art gallery, was opened in the building. In 2017, the Ngee Ann Kongsi requested the Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan to vacate the building to allow for a $40 million redevelopment that was to begin on 1 July 2018. However, the Huay Kuan refused to do so and the ensuing dispute between the two organisations led to the redevelopment being delayed. Both organisations then began filing lawsuits against each other. On 7 December 2023, it was announced that the dispute had come to an end, with both organisations having come to an agreement. As a result, it was decided that the plans for redevelopment, which would involve the building's rear being demolished and replaced by a newer building, would be going forward.

References

{{coord, 1.2954, 103.8434, type:landmark_region:SG, display=title 1963 establishments in Singapore Buildings and structures in Singapore