The former Supreme Court and Municipal Building underwent extensive redevelopment to remodel the complex into an art museum. An evaluation dig conducted in December 2009 revealed sufficient archaeological materials to warrant a month-long large-scale rescue excavation in November 2010. While the rescue excavation only covered a small part of the construction impact zone, 374 kg of materials were successfully recovered, and some significant artifacts were uncovered from this site, including a Bodhisattva figurine.

The old Supreme Court sits upon a site that is rich in colonial period history. Before construction for the courthouse began in 1937, the Grand Hotel de l’Europe, one of the finest hotels in the Far East boasting over one hundred guestrooms, stood on the site between 1905 and 1932. In the early 19th century, the same site was the official residence and house of Colonel William Farquhar, the first Resident and Military Commandant of Singapore from 1819 to 1823. While no traces of Farquhar’s house or the famous hotel were discovered during the rescue excavation, some artifacts from the period were recovered – flints for fire starting, ceramic toothpaste container, and Dutch gin bottles.