Top 7 Heritage Building Restoration Firms in SG

1. GIM Construction Pte Ltd

GIM is a main contractor with one of the longest continuous track records in SG conservation works. Their signature project is the 1998 restoration of the Old Hill Street Police Station (MICA Building), which involved replacing 927 timber windows and restoring the entire plaster facade under URA guidelines. They maintain a dedicated in-house team for lime plastering, a skill most general contractors have outsourced. For heritage projects, GIM routinely produces condition surveys using 3D laser scanning to map cracks before writing the method statement for repair.

2. Keong Hong Construction Pte Ltd

Keong Hong focuses on structural upgrading of brick-and-timber heritage buildings. They did major works on the Raffles Hotel arcade, inserting reinforced concrete frames into existing brick walls without disturbing the Peranakan tile floors. Their method involves temporary steel shoring sequences that are reviewed by both the engineer of record and URA’s conservation board. They also handle the tricky interface between heritage finishes and modern M&E services—chasing new electrical conduit through original brickwork rather than surface mounting it.

3. Lian Ho Lee Construction Pte Ltd

This firm occupies the shophouse niche, specifically terrace houses in Emerald Hill, Koon Seng Road, and Blair Road. They handle full interior gutting while preserving the facade, including reproduction of plaster cornices, timber louvred windows, and Peranakan ceramic tiles. Lian Ho Lee has a workshop that mills custom timber profiles to match original sections, which is critical since modern stock timber dimensions don’t match colonial-era mouldings. For tiles, they source replacements from licensed reproductions rather than stripping tiles from other buildings.

4. Fang & Associates

This is a conservation architecture consultancy, not a contractor. Principal Fang Ning is one of the few URA-appointed conservation architects in Singapore. The firm prepared the restoration strategy for CHIJMES and the Alkaff Mansion, which involved documenting existing conditions through photogrammetric surveys and drafting repair specifications for bid documents. They act as the client’s representative during construction, approving sample panels of plaster and paint before work proceeds. A project with Fang & Associates typically requires monthly progress reports to URA with photographic evidence of repair phases.

5. W Architects

W Architects, led by Mok Wei Wei, is responsible for the National Museum of Singapore restoration (2002–2006). That project involved returning the neoclassical dome to its original form while installing a new basement gallery under the existing structure—a feat of sequencing that required working within a live museum environment. They also handled the adaptive reuse of the former Tao Nan School into the Asian Civilisations Museum extension, which required compliance with both NHB monument codes and current barrier-free access regulations.

6. DP Architects

DP’s heritage division worked on the Capitol Singapore mixed-use project, which restored the Capitol Building facade and reconstructed its iconic roof profile. Their role required reconciling modern retail loading requirements against the structural limits of the original 1930s concrete frame. DP coordinates with curtain wall specialists who replicate the original metal window sections using extruded aluminium with electrostatic powder coating to match. Capitol remains a reference case for how large architectural firms manage heritage as part of a commercial program.

7. ONG&ONG

ONG&ONG handles heritage projects with a heavy landscape and interior component. For the Former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, they completed conservation studies covering interior finishes, timber flooring, and the external Marble and granite cladding. They also produce heritage impact assessments (HIAs), a mandatory document for any restoration work proposed within a conservation district. Their plant nursery supplies species appropriate to colonial-era planting palettes, which matters when the landscape is part of the gazetted monument.

Summary Table