National Museum: Revamped!

After its revamp, the National Museum has become more modern and informative. Benjamin Low reviews the galleries, facilities, and façade of the new Grand Dame of Singapore’s heritage.

After 3.5 years, at a cost of S$132 million, the National Museum of Singapore is ready to welcome visitors once more. When I went there to have a look, it was far from the dusty and old building it once was. Architect Mok Wei Wei has done an outstanding job creating the new wing and refurbishing the original one.

The original dome in the main entrance hall has been redone. The older stained-glass panels were kept, but the exterior tiles have been replaced with titanium-coated ones, all 3000 of them. It was immediately apparent how well-lit and airy the whole place was, despite most of the windows being closed.

The new wing epitomizes modern glass-and-stone architecture. Only the floor and interior walls are made of stone, while the rest of it is made of glass. The glass panels making the ceiling have another special feature: solar reflective properties to prevent the sun’s heat from warming up the place. Also, there are no supporting pillars in the wing. In fact, the wing ‘leans’ against the original museum building. Talk about add-ons.

Other innovations include bar-coded tickets, used to get through MRT-style barriers at each gallery, and making air conditioners cool the top floors first, so that the cold air sinks down to the lower floors.

Furthermore, as one walks from the original wing to the new wing, the transition is absolutely seamless.

Heritage Gallery

The highly interactive Singapore Heritage gallery takes advantage of many technological as well as aesthetic innovations. Upon entry, visitors find themselves on a bridge suspended inside a large rotunda 15m high and 24m wide. This is in fact a large 3d theatre, where a short film will be shown. The encapsulated experience of sound and picture is simply astounding.

After that, visitors would collect a little computer-like device known as “The Companion”. It introduces each section and gives information on the various artifacts on display. It even plays the recorded testimonials of many people long gone, and synchronizes it with video clips when available.

One very distinct feature of this gallery is that there is a ‘personal’ route and a ‘general’ route. The former actually shows you how life was like during that period from personal recounts while the latter focuses on the macroscopic view of things. It also creates an atmosphere by playing with lighting, wall texture and music, giving the visitor insights into the situation of the people back then.

Along the way, there are also a number of cozy little corners where visitors can sit, rest their weary legs, and watch a short film detailing people’s accounts of days past.

Next week: More info about the other exciting Galleries in the NEW National Museum. NEXT >

By Benjamin Low