The Interior of the Supreme Court building

        Now that we are through with the outside, let's go inside. The building consists of four wings surrounding a central courtyard capped by a dome that allows light into the space. The front wing is the most impressive. The main storey rests on a plinth that recalls the basement storey of the old Court House (Parliament House), with arcade and porte-cochere finished in faux stonework to suggest ashlar masonry. Wow! Talking about the cold-face of the Law!

        Colossal Corinthian columns echo City Hall, looking like soldiers guarding the area. The large dome of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, possibly a deliberate decision to offer the British population a comforting visual connection with home in a period of growing international tensions. Well, you know World War Two was drawing near. The dome is, however, all exterior, as its interior is a framework of steel trusses. Incredible isn't it? It was lucky it did not collapse!

        In my opinion,the most striking feature of the building's cacade is the sculpture of Justice, the work of Cav Rodolpho Nolli, the Milan-born sculptor whose faux stonework adorned most of the important buildings constructed in Singapore during the twenties and thirties. He is a great artist you know! His statues really are the essence of the whole solemnity of the whole building. Nolli, I salute to you!

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[ Architectural Aspects | The Supreme Court Building |
Interior of the Building | Nolli the Sculptor ]