Built on Memory: Tracing Singapore’s CBD Through Time

Stories and memories often define a place, shaping its identity and deepening our connections to it. What started as an inquisitive probe into the history of the site now home to the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre (SCCC) uncovered a rich and delightful past—one that deepens and broadens our perception of the wider Central Business District (CBD), a precinct synonymous with Singapore’s rapid modernisation and economic dynamism.

The SCCC building and the land it stands on are one of many stories to be unearthed about the CBD, concealed in the shadows of its modern behemoths or overpowered by their polished frontispieces. Together, these stories trace the evolution of the CBD’s landscape into what it is today—reconnecting the humble roots of our nation-state to the trajectory of growth, modernity and progress that followed. 

Built on Memory: Tracing Singapore’s CBD Through Time invites you to look beyond the polished surfaces of the CBD and rediscover the histories these places hold.