Artist’s impression of the refurbished Maxwell Chambers. Source: Maxwell Chambers
To support the expansion of Maxwell Chambers, the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) will refurbish the Red Dot Traffic building at 28 Maxwell Road, with heritage restoration featuring strongly in its refurbishment plan.
This includes restoring the inner-leaf façade elements, timbre louver windows and cast-iron rainwater downpipes, as well as repainting the walls to its original off-white colour, MinLaw said in a statement.
MinLaw announced in January that Maxwell Chambers will take over the conservation building from 1 May to support the growth of dispute resolution institutions in Singapore, and strengthen the city-state’s reputation as an international dispute resolution centre.
The ministry will call a tender for construction services this month, while works are expected to commence in May, to be completed in 2019.
Aside from restoring the building, the ministry is also looking to share its storied past with Singaporeans and foreign visitors, with the launch of Heritage @ Maxwell.
Under this initiative, members of the public are invited to share old photographs and experiences of the old Traffic Police Headquarters. These photographs will then be featured in the wall of the new building.
“28 Maxwell Road was where our pioneer generation of traffic policemen worked, and where older Singaporeans took their driving tests and got their licenses. We want to capture these memories before they are lost, and share them with younger Singaporeans,” said Han Kok Juan, Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Law, who also chairs the Project Steering Committee.
“Heritage is what gives the place character. It will help distinguish Maxwell Chambers from other dispute resolution facilities in the world.”
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
