#Heritage Shophouses in Singapore
Shophouses are found in many parts of Singapore, especially at the four designated Historic Districts in Singapore – Boat Quay, Chinatown, Kampong Glam, and Little India.
Shophouses found in Singapore generally fall into six styles. While shophouses are two- to three-storeys high and comprise built-in contiguous blocks with common party walls, their architectural styles varied according to the time period during which they were built. Constructed between 1840 and 1960, shophouses were built to be for flexible usage, either to use entirely as a home or a home upstairs with a shop downstairs – think of them as the original ‘home office’! Besides residential and commercial purposes, early shophouses were also used as government’s administrative offices, public clinics and dispensaries, hotels, schools, religious places of worship, cinemas, and theatres. Today, over 6,500 shophouses in Singapore have been given the conservation status. Many have since been converted into functional spaces like temples, clan associations, coffeeshops, boutique hotels, cafes, and offices, albeit with modern furnishings and decorations to suit their intended audience.
With so many beautifully preserved examples around today, the shophouses that we see around us continue to define Singapore’s adaptation to change. #HEREitage