Starpoint bungalow, designed by pioneer architect Lim Chong Keat, proposed for conservation

SINGAPORE – A three-storey bungalow designed by pioneer architect Lim Chong Keat, who later lived in the building himself until 2006, has been put forth for conservation.

The Pasir Panjang bungalow is part of Starpoint, one of the earliest condominium developments in Singapore, built in the same era as other icons such as the demolished Pearl Bank Apartments.

Starpoint was completed in 1974, and also comprises an 11-storey residential tower and a swimming pool.

On June 19, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) published a proposed plan for the bungalow to be conserved, “to recognise its longstanding historical, architectural and social significance”.

Starpoint – which sits on a freehold residential plot that is about 3,500 sq m in size – was in November 2025 purchased for $55.3 million by Stalford International Education, a real estate company linked to education service provider Stalford Education Group.

ERA Singapore, which brokered the deal, had said then that the new owners wanted to redevelop the site into a hotel, student hostel or serviced apartment, subject to approval.

Retention of the residential tower – also subject to URA’s approval – was a possibility, said ERA Singapore.

On March 31, 2026, URA rejected an application by the developer that involved several changes. These included demolishing the residential tower, and building a five-storey hotel with a swimming pool and other facilities.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, a URA spokesperson said on June 19 that the proposed redevelopment of the site for hotel use was not supported as it is incompatible with the site’s residential zoning, adding that the site is within a predominantly residential area.

URA said on June 19 that the plan to conserve the bungalow had arisen as part of a development proposal it had received, and that the bungalow was mooted by the developer for voluntary conservation.

A spokeswoman for the agency said that the bungalow is “a notable example of modernist-style architecture, which represents an important chapter in Singapore’s architectural development post-independence”.

She said the developer submitted a proposal to conserve the main bungalow and redevelop the rest of the site for future residences that are up to five storeys tall.

Describing the bungalow as “the more significant building on the site”, the spokeswoman said URA supports the proposed conservation and adaptive reuse of the bungalow, “while providing flexibility for the rest of the site to be redeveloped”.

“This reflects Singapore’s consistent approach to conserving the most significant heritage buildings in view of land scarcity, while allowing sites to be redeveloped and adapted to meet current and future needs,” said the spokeswoman.

She added that the developer “may also explore opportunities to retain the tower, subject to the necessary approvals from the relevant authorities”, and that this could involve integrating it with future developments or adapting it for new uses.

Asked if the developer was offered planning incentives for voluntary conservation – which could take the form of bonus gross floor area or more flexibility in land use, for instance – the spokeswoman said that for voluntary conservation projects in general, such incentives “may be considered to support the viability of adaptive reuse, where applicable”.

“The type of incentives offered will vary depending on the unique context and requirements for each site, and are confidential to the parties involved,” she said.

ST has contacted Stalford Education Group for comment.

According to heritage non-profit Docomomo Singapore, Starpoint was designed by Lim and his firm Architects Team 3.

Born in Penang in 1930, Lim is regarded as one of the most important architects of Singapore and Malaysia.

Works produced by his firms in Singapore include the Singapore Conference Hall and Trade Union House – both are known today as the Singapore Conference Hall – as well as Jurong Town Hall, which are both national monuments.

He is also known for helping to establish Singapore’s first school of architecture at Singapore Polytechnic, which was founded in 1958.

In an article on its website, Docomomo Singapore notes that Starpoint’s tower and bungalow both feature a hexagonal plan – a geometry that Lim had also used for other projects such as the UOB Building, which was completed in 1974 and has since been retrofitted.

The article also mentions that Lim is known to have lived for many years in the bungalow at the site, until he sold it around the 2010s.

At the bungalow, Lim hosted numerous artists and luminaries associated with modern art, which he was an avid collector of.

Docomomo Singapore founding chair Ho Weng Hin said Starpoint captures the post-independence modernisation and intensification of land use in the Pasir Panjang area, which started being developed as a suburban residential enclave in the 1920s.

Ho said that compared with pre-war bungalows, which mainly have an Anglo-Malay influence, Starpoint’s bungalow and its hexagonal form demonstrated how houses were one of the key vehicles for architects to experiment with design ideas in the post-independence era.

He added that Starpoint – especially with its height – would have stood out amid other lower-rise homes when it was completed, instantly becoming a landmark in the area.

Noting that condominiums were not a widely recognised type of development until the 1970s, Ho said that Starpoint, alongside other developments such as Pandan Valley, heralded the arrival of condos in Singapore.

Ho – who cited other condominium towers from the same period that have been demolished such as Pearl Bank Apartments and Futura – added that should both the bungalow and the tower be retained, Starpoint would be a landmark case for heritage preservation in Singapore, as no other condominium complex from that era has been legally protected from redevelopment.