That year, the post office moved to a larger building to accommodate the high volume of mail it was receiving. The building was completed in 1921 and served as a post office until 1966. For this reason, Foster’s design for the dome can be interpreted as a symbol for Singapore’s surveillance state.Benton Henry of Latta, 2015 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent The belief is that since the imprisoned can not determine if he is being watched, he will be cautious and assume that he is. The panopticon started as a rotunda concept for the design of a prison that centralizes in the role of surveillance by obfuscating the guard from the prisoners. The building personified the tenants at the core of the panopticon. It was not until I was literally at the front door of the building that I could glimpse a section of the interior. While the observation deck provides sound views, it is a difficult building to look into in a meaningful way, and especially into the top floor. PanopticonĪn unintentional interpretation of the building’s design is that of a building which looks outwards with ease, but betrays little about its interiors. “The courts of appeal the highest courts in the land occupy the highest part of the building, and are symbolically raised above the legal and civil courts in a dramatic metal disc” ( source). That dome is the first courtroom purpose-built for the nation’s court of appeals. This new building was commissioned just six years after Singapore shook that colonial vestige. This was because the court of appeals throughout the 19th century and up until 1994 was the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, a statutory committee established in 1833 by the British Empire to rule over their colonies.

The court of appeals is the highest court in Singapore’s legal system, but it was not actually in Singapore until 1994. Regarding the Court of Appeals, I hope to impress upon you just how intertwined the legacy of Singapore’s courts are with their colonial past with just one anecdote.

Supreme court building image