NUS Baba House

Built around 1895, 157 Neil Road is a three-storey townhouse located in the historic Blair Plain district that was once the ancestral home of a Peranakan Chinese family.

The house was acquired in 2006 with funds donated by Agnes Tan in memory of her late father Tun Tan Cheng Lock. Restoration work began in 2007 and NUS Baba House officially opened in September 2008.

More than 100 years later, this restored dwelling is a unique resource for exploration and research, with the aims of promoting appreciation, reflection, and research into Straits Chinese heritage, architecture, urban conservation, preservation and restoration.

Its collections are mobilised as a resource for teaching and study that are accessed by a wide range of faculty and students for research projects and module collaborations. At the same time, tours of the house and weekly programmes have made it a popular cultural destination for the public.

The first and second levels are curated to reflect the household of the Wee family who descended from shipping merchant Wee Bin. The family bought the house in 1910 and it was their ancestral home for decades. Today, artefacts that typify Straits Chinese communities of the early 20th century but are not necessarily part of the Wee’s immediate histories are displayed in their original context. For instance, mother-of-pearl inlaid blackwood furniture from the family furnish the reception and ancestral halls, while nearby, objects such as a marble bust atop a teak sideboard exemplify the community’s contact with Western culture at the time, and are gifts from the Baba House’s various donors.

The third floor of the house was added to the dwelling around 1910 after the Wee family had purchased it. It was initially used as a bedroom when the house was occupied, but has since been adapted as a gallery space as part of the restoration works.

Exhibitions that are presented in the gallery engage with the historical setting on the lower levels. Contemporary projects which cut across different academic disciplines foster a continuing dialogue about the house, its displays and the era it represents from various perspectives.

Visit the NUS Baba House website for more information on the facility and collections, or to arrange a visit.