Where justice reigns - for coolies then and families now

It offered protection and redress in a time of coolies and rickshaws.

When the neoclassical building at 3, Havelock Square, was completed in 1930, it was the home of the Chinese Protectorate, set up in 1877 to check the abuses of the Chinese coolie trade and protect women who were forced into prostitution.

The building had inspired strong feelings - it was described as a "grey awesome squat building" by businessman and former city councillor Yap Pheng Geck in his autobiography; the late Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew cut short a visit to the building in 1959, complaining that it was dirty and calling its condition "deplorable".

It was also here that more than a thousand rickshaw pullers had gathered in October 1938 to demand lower rental rates, according to social historian James Francis Warren's book Rickshaw Coolie.

Today, the building - since spruced up - still offers protection and redress, but for youth and families in distress, as the home of the Family Justice Courts (FJC).

"The similarity of use may not be intentional. Any old building that can be productively readapted for modern-day use, better yet consonant with its original purpose, is an excellent and successful adaptation," said Dr Kevin Tan, president of the International Council on Monuments and Sites.

"The old Chinese Protectorate building had a series of offices and meeting rooms where things were being administered. It is wonderful that we were able to re-use the space imaginatively and efficiently to put courtrooms in there."

The protectorate later came under the former Ministry of Labour, which occupied the building from 1956, before the judiciary took over its use in 1990.

Gazetted as a national monument in 1998, the building was designed in 1928 by H. A. Stallwood, a British architect who worked in the Public Works Department.

While largely inspired by the neoclassical style similar to that of the former City Hall and Supreme Court, the building also features Art Deco geometric motifs, such as circular and rectangular patterns on its columns and facade, according to the National Heritage Board's Preservation of Sites and Monuments division.

In 1999, the FJC (formerly the Family and Juvenile Court of Singapore) moved into the building.

This led to a $19.6 million restoration and adaptive reuse project, which took about two years to plan and another two years to carry out.

The longitudinal building, which sits on a 4,600 sq m site, retained its three-storey high colonnaded porticos at both ends.

Year the Family Justice Courts building was gazetted as a national monument.

While visitors previously entered from the main entrance facing Furama City Centre, this was moved to the central portion of the building to allow it to be closer to the State Courts.

Its other striking features include the Shanghai plaster finish of its exterior and its original decorative cast iron gates and grilles "harking back to a bygone era", said architect Peter How of CPG Consultants, which led the restoration project.

Inside the building, high ceiling spaces in the large courtrooms and registry areas showcase the original fluted columns and arches.

"The most challenging aspect is to have a relatively small building with a limited building footprint to accommodate the significantly larger footprint needed for the FJC," said Mr How.

To do so, the building's original spaces were reconfigured, with two floors added and the roof attic space utilised, he said.

An FJC spokesman said there are now 10 family courts located across the first four storeys, as well as mediation rooms and chambers, two main registries and a few counselling rooms. The building houses offices on each of its five floors.

A small basement was also added to handle back-of-house needs, including a subterranean link to the State Courts.

As the FJC caters to families and children, and deals with issues involving conflict resolution of a domestic nature, the building's ambience is designed to put users at ease. For example, to make the place "non-threatening to juveniles", soft lighting, warm colours and furnishings such as sofas are used to create "intimate human-scale spaces", said Mr How.

Separate waiting and seating areas were also created inside and outside the courtrooms.

Said Mr How: "The planning and refurbishment of the building has been considerably more difficult than if a new building was commissioned, but the outcome is a much more rewarding one."

Still, in just seven years or so, the building will begin a new chapter - the FJC is slated to move to the current State Courts complex in 2023. It is unclear yet what the plans are for this landmark building.

What is crucial is that it continues to be put to good use.

Said Dr Tan: "A building that is just standing there without a purpose will soon crumble away; not only in the minds of people but also physically. It is not just about keeping the facade, but we should always strive to make buildings, such as this one, relevant to us."