House of Tan Yeok Nee

Built in 1882, the House of Tan Yeok Nee is of outstanding importance as the only remaining traditional Chinese mansion architecture in Singapore. Tan Yeok Nee was a wealthy Teochew businessman in cultivating pepper and gambier, and was eventually appointed as Major China of Johor and highly regarded by British colonial bureaucrats. The House of Tan Yeok Nee, a smaller-scale version of Tan Yeok Nee’s mansion in China, while remaining deeply connected to the businessman, formerly housed charities like St Mary’s Home and The Salvation Army. Archival information of the latter allows insight and some rare glimpses into the house’s usage as an institution. While surviving the Japanese Occupation and through multiple ownership changes, the House of Tan Yeok Nee remained largely private. It is fortunate that the current owner agreed to a change of use, which went through an extensive process with the Urban Redevelopment Authority and Preservation of Sites and Monuments Board of Singapore. Finally, the compound has been rehabilitated and spaces adapted for offices, cafes, restaurants, and a heritage gallery which are open to public. Since 2023, the House of Tan Yeok Nee has undergone a series of feasibility studies, wall treatments, repairs and reinstatement of historic elements to bring the building back to its former glory. It is noted that while the Entrance Gateway and the Main Hall retain exquisite Teochew architecture craftsmanship, major modifications were made to the front part of the west wing and rear hall by subsequent occupants, i.e. St Mary’s Home and the Salvation Army in the early 20th century and mid-20th century. Modifications were also made to the front of the east wing with the addition of a pavilion as well as extensions to the rear hall at the cusp of the 20th and 21st centuries. Hence, the House of Tan Yeok Nee is an important architectural resource with its unique blend of traditional Teochew mansion architecture with British influences. The evolution of the house also guided our conservation approach and the extent of architectural interventions. Lengthy and in-depth exchanges with our Chinese craftsmen from Chaoshan, Guangdong allowed the team to discern various aesthetic and construction processes with the intent to restore with historic and visual coherence (修旧如旧) as opposed to contemporary restoration and visual juxtaposition (修旧如新). The House of Tan Yeok Nee’s particular history of use, redundancy and restoration meant that while the house still presents the feel of a Chinese house, its contents are not entirely original to the house due to previous programmatic uses and interventions. As it passed out of family use in the early 20th century, the House is an early example of traditional Chinese houses seeking new non-domestic uses. This project extends the discourse of rehabilitation and adaptive reuse in modern Singapore, where conservation is confronted by absent historic craftsmanship, high land premiums and complementary programmatic insertions; where the House of Tan Yeok Nee can be another beacon of hope in most urban metropolises.