text: sri temasek sri temasek is a two - storey detached house built in 1869 which is sited within the grounds of the istana in singapore . during the island 's colonial era , it served as the residence of the colonial secretary or chief secretary . since the establishment of the state of singapore in 1959 , it has been the official residence of the prime minister of singapore , though none of singapore 's prime ministers has ever lived there . together with the istana , it was gazetted a national monument on 14 february 1992 . name the name of the house , sri temasek , means " splendour of temasek " in the malay language . the malay word or sri means " charm ; quintessence ; splendour ; glory " or a " cynosure " ( something that attracts attention by its brilliancy or beauty ; a centre of attraction , interest , or admiration ) temasek , which means " sea town " in javanese , was the name of an early city on the site of modern singapore . today , it is used as an epithet for singapore . the house was originally merely known as the official residence of the chief secretary of singapore ( or the colonial secretary of singapore / the straits settlements ) and did not have its own name . the state of singapore was proclaimed and the first prime minister lee kuan yew assumed office in june 1959 , after which the house , which has become the official residence of the prime minister , has been officially named sri temasek , while the government house has been officially renamed as the istana , which means palace . design the construction of the istana singapore ( then called government house ) and sri temasek was ordered by the governor of the straits settlements , sir harry st. george ord , after the original governor 's residence had to be demolished in 1859 to make way for fort canning on the hill that bears its name . sri temasek was designed by john frederick adolphus mcnair ( 1829 – 1910 ) , a civil engineer who was appointed executive engineer and superintendent of convicts of the straits settlements , and built largely using indian convict labour from bencoolen . it was completed in 1869 . a 1 , 600 - square - metre ( 17 , 000 sq ft ) two - storey detached house – often called a bungalow in singapore – with european and asian features , sri temasek has a symmetrical layout consisting of deep verandahs surrounding central living spaces . notable architectural features include arches on its upper level , an intricate timber arcade with a mixture of eastern and western decorative motifs , and a chinese moon gate ( a circular gateway ) on the building 's second floor . although few records exist concerning the moon gate 's construction and usage , it is known to have made its appearance in the house in the 1960s and to have been designed and built by william , a pre - world war ii comptroller of government house and a professional furniture designer . it is constructed of , teak and meranti wood . in the middle of the driveway in front of the house , there is a brick pit that was originally used by horse - drawn carriages . the house was gazetted together with the istana as a national monument on 14 february 1992 . sri temasek was not used for a number of years and fell into disrepair . it then underwent restoration between 2006 and march 2008 by cpg consultants under the supervision of architect maureen soh . as the original hand - crafted timber arches and railings on the first - storey verandah had been damaged by termites , replacements moulded from the originals made with an aluminium - cast alloy were used . details on railings , doors and windows were restored , and several ( traditional wooden half - doors ) and wooden flooring reinstated . the former servants ' quarters at the rear of the building were turned into a heritage gallery . the restoration works on sri temasek won the urban redevelopment authority 's architectural heritage award in category a ( national monuments and fully conserved buildings ) in 2008 . use when first built in 1869 , sri temasek was the residence of the colonial secretary of the straits settlements ( later colonial secretary / chief secretary of singapore ) . all holders of the position had resided in sri temasek from 1869 to 1959 . it is currently designated as the official residence of the prime minister of singapore since 1959 , though none of the past and present holders of the post , lee kuan yew , goh chok tong and lee hsien loong , have lived in it as a family home . in the 1998 book lee kuan yew : the man and his ideas , lee kuan yew said that when he became prime minister in 1959 he and his wife kwa geok choo decided not to move into sri temasek with their three children , who were then aged seven , five and two , because the couple " did not want them to grow up in such grand surroundings with butlers and orderlies to fuss over their needs " . the family did stay there in 1965 for a short time for security reasons when singapore separated from malaysia . apart from that , according to a 2000 straits times interview with kwa , the lee children often played in the grounds of the house in the evening while their father played golf or made use of the practice tee and putting green . sri temasek has been used mostly for official functions , particularly in the 1960s and 1970s . prominent visitors included tunku abdul rahman , the founding prime minister of malaysia ; spiro agnew , the vice - president of the united states ; indian prime minister indira gandhi ; denis healey , british defence secretary ; and king hussein of jordan . sri temasek was the venue for a party hosted in 1962 by lee kuan yew to thank trade unionists and civil servants for their help with the referendum on singapore joining malaysia , and in 1983 the body of the late minister for finance hon sui sen lay in state there . on 8 august 2008 , prime minister lee hsien loong delivered his national day message from sri temasek for the first time . the wake for madam kwa geok choo , mother of prime minister lee hsien loong and the wife of singaporean statesman lee kuan yew , was held at sri temasek in october 2010 . in march 2015 , a private family wake for lee kuan yew was held there .