The CPF Building is a high-rise skyscraper

Skyscraper

A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...

 located in the central business district

Downtown Core

The Downtown Core is a 266-hectare urban planning area in the south of the city-state of Singapore. The Downtown Core surrounds the mouth of the Singapore River and southeastern portion of its watershed, and is part of the Central Area, Singapore's central business district...

 of Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

. It is located on 79 Robinson Road, in the Shenton Way

Shenton Way

Shenton Way is a major trunk road in Singapore's central business district, most known for the commercial skyscrapers flanking both sides of the road. The Road is a one way street which starts at the junction of Cross Street, Central Boulevard and Raffles Quay and ends at Keppel Road...

 and Tanjong Pagar

Tanjong Pagar

Tanjong Pagar is a historic district located within the Central Business District in Singapore, straddling the Outram Planning Area and the Downtown Core under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's urban planning zones....

 zone. The building is near several other skyscrapers such as DBS Building Tower One

DBS Building Tower One

DBS Building Tower One, often called DBS Tower One, is a high-rise skyscraper located in the central business district of Singapore. It was built in 1975, and is one of Singapore's oldest high-rise skyscraper. The skyscraper is the headquarters of DBS Bank, and has a height of and 50 floors...

, SIA Building and Capital Tower, which are all about 100 metres away. It houses the headquarters of the Central Provident Fund Board (CPF).

History

The CPF Building was designed by the Public Works Department

CPG Corporation

The CPG Corporation is a leading infrastructure and building development company in Singapore which constructs and maintain public infrastructure in Singapore such as government buildings, and many more.-History:...

, and was completed in 1976. Other firms involved in the development includes Lalesse Gevelliften BV (KONE Lalesse Gevelliftinstallaties), and the CPF. The building was reclad

Cladding (construction)

Cladding is the application of one material over another to provide a skin or layer intended to control the infiltration of weather elements, or for aesthetic purposes....

 in 2001.

Protests

On 12 August 2005, a rare demonstration by four people demanding greater transparency and accountability in Singapore's state-managed pension fund and other government-linked agencies. The two men and two women assembled at lunchtime outside the CPF building in the central business district, Raffles Place

Raffles Place

Raffles Place is a geographical location in Singapore, south of the mouth of the Singapore River. Located in the Downtown Core and the Central Area, it features some of the tallest buildings and landmarks of the country.-History:...

. They claimed they did not need a permit and staged their protest for about an hour. However, soon a dozen anti-riot police wearing helmets and knee-high protective gear and carrying shields and batons forced them to disperse.

Architecture

The CPF Building exhibits the International

International style (architecture)

The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...

 architectural style. Similar in design to DBS Building Tower One

DBS Building Tower One

DBS Building Tower One, often called DBS Tower One, is a high-rise skyscraper located in the central business district of Singapore. It was built in 1975, and is one of Singapore's oldest high-rise skyscraper. The skyscraper is the headquarters of DBS Bank, and has a height of and 50 floors...

, the main materials used in its construction are aluminium

Aluminium

Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....

 reinforced concrete

Reinforced concrete

Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...

, glass

Glass

Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...

 and granite

Granite

Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...

. The structural types applied in its development are cantilever

Cantilever

A cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end. The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and shear stress. Cantilever construction allows for overhanging structures without external bracing. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs.This is in...

, with a concrete core.