Black&White Houses – Around My Table

Simone Lourey’s house, photos from Expat Living

Gabrielle Cummins’ house, photos from Expat Living

Both the ladies started the Australasian Arts Project with the idea of bringing the arts to the region – starting with Singapore. They’re hugely excited about their first event, The Utopia Story, an exhibition of works by a community in the central Australian desert about 300km from Alice Springs can be viewed at the beautiful home of Gabrielle’s on Tanglin Road in Singapore. Its white-painted walls and timber floors are a spectacular showcase for the vibrancy and drama of Aboriginal art – and one suspects they would do the same for any other genre.

The old Black and White Houses are dotted around Singapore. I have always wondered what it’s like inside. I went on a tour conducted by Geraldene Lowe and this was my opportunity to find out.

Singapore’s colonial Black and White Houses, a category of housing that includes large, double-storey bungalows are still a distinctive element in Singapore’s architectural heritage. They were built from the end of the 19th century until World War II. Originally built by the colonial government, Trading Companies, by the British administration’s Public Works Department (PWD) as quarters for their staff, some of these houses are over 100 years old.

Here are some of my images of the houses we visited during our tour. Today they are mainly occupied by expatriates.