History

It was in 1834 that convicted Indian Laborers were hired to lay the first corner foundation stone for the first church of St. Andrew. The first church designed by George D. Coleman, the Palladian styled cathedral spanned a construction of three years, it opened its doors for the first time in 1837. Soon not long after in 1842, the second church of St. Andrew was designed by John T. Thompson, this time with an additional tower and spire, increasing structural height. However, the glory was short lived as things weren't so lucky as it seems; due to its architecturally unsatisfactory tall spires, it was twice struck by lighting and was completely labeled unsafe by the authorities. Due to this unfortunate event, it was finally condemned to closed its doors in 1852, after 15 years of service. Subsequently, the tower and spire designed by John T. Thompson had to be demolished.

Finally when most thought all hope was lost after its closure, Colonel Ronald MacPherson, a successful Executive Engineer stepped up to re-design the third church of St. Andrew for the last time. Till this present day, his design was considered prominent; much ado as a blending landmark to the Padang with its Neo-Gothic Architectural style. So much for its 150 year history lesson being summarized.

As Of Now...

Years later, the adventurous Architectural story of St. Andrew's Cathedral has not ended as yet; in 2003, the owners wanted a new extension to their Cathedral. Soon enough a simple single storey block with two basements were proposed by the architects. (To all readers: If you happen to know the company who designed the extension please inform Stefan) It was successfully completed in November 2005. This new extension houses a visitor's room and a chapel on the first floor. On the basement level - an 850 seating capacity worship hall, a prayer hall with ministry rooms.

Welcome to the Cathedral... A Walk Through

I somehow had great difficulty walking into the church, (It was after a rain, so the ground was obviously muddy) and the walkway that leads towards the extension was rather small, I had to squeeze my way through even though the crowd was at the extension. Overall, what startled my eyes is the designers did not continually lay the entire extension onto the first ground level but instead created a "valley" like extension that seeps into the ground. In that way, it optimizes the use of land space, which is decorated with ponds, shrubs and certain greenery.

The facade was rather modern, the walls seemed to be plastered with a white coating, but it somehow resembled minimalism, but it was still quite pleasant looking to view at. As I walked through the sanctuary, the offices were fitted with emerald tinted glass panels. Oh, when I was passing by there were some foreigners (They looked like they're from Thailand) asking me to take photos for them with their camera. You know, the impression I got was that the entire St. Andrew's Cathedral is a tourist attraction, especially the extension itself, which is a remarkably good achievement. I walked down to the basement level and when I peeped through the glass panel, they were having services in the rooms, so I thought to myself, I'd better just stay where I am and not disturb any prayer services, I think that's very rude of anyone to simply walk in and enter such private sacred moments.

What's The Word? (Conclusion)

Perhaps for me, the most prominent feature was the curvatured valley, it is eye catching to any visitor who walks pass the extension. In fact in my design thought, I would suspect that this "valley" is actually an outdoor amphitheatre. I'm not sure if I am right for this moment... But hey, I mean if you study it closely and carefully you'll notice that the curvature is designed arranged in such a way that it's specifically catered for the audience to face the center stage, which is the wooden platform.

You know, I really liked the idea of how form and function really meet to form architecture. In this case, this baby does.

So to answer the question; Yes, it is the Apple of my Eye.

Previous Article

Next Article