Raffles City
Encyclopedia
Raffles City is a large complex located in the Civic District
within the Downtown Core
of the city-state
of Singapore
. Occupying an entire city block bounded by Stamford Road
, Beach Road, Bras Basah Road
and North Bridge Road
, it houses two hotels and an office tower over a podium which contains a shopping mall and a convention centre. The mall is managed by CapitaCommercial Trust and CapitaMall Trust.
in one of his earliest works in the city state. Built on the former site of Raffles Institution
, the first school in Singapore
, and located beside the historic Raffles Hotel
, its aluminium-finish and simple geometric designs gave a stark, modernist contrast to Victorian architecture
and classical architecture
which used to characterise architecture in that district. The design includes the one-time world's tallest hotel and currently the world's sixth tallest hotel, the 73-storey Swissôtel The Stamford
, as well as a 26 storey high-end twin-tower hotel, the Fairmont Singapore. The three blocks are complemented by the rectangular 42-storey Raffles City Tower, an office block.
by escalators from the building entrance and to Esplanade Station
from Basement 2.
and Raffles The Plaza
(now Fairmont Singapore) when Raffles International
took over the hotels' management.
's Real Estate Investment Trust
s, CapitaCommercial Trust and CapitaMall Trust jointly acquired the development from Raffles Holdings
for S$
2.09 billion. The former will take up a 60 percent stake in the complex and the latter taking the remainder 40 percent. The trusts' shareholders approved of the purchase of the complex in July 2006. The deal has been completed in August 2006 and the complex is owned by the two trusts.
86 million on the expansion. An underground link linking Esplanade MRT Station
and City Hall MRT Station
opened on Jul 15 2010.
, together with Marks & Spencer
has opened since 2001, when Sogo
vacated the space and the supermarket (now occupied by Jason's) in 2000 after the company had financial problems. There is a Food Junction food court
on the third floor. The complex is home to Asia
's largest spa
, RafflesAmrita Spa on Level 6 in the hotel section.
in Singapore, was held from 2 to 9 July 2005 at the Raffles City Convention Centre on the fourth floor. Security at the complex was extremely tight during the event.
Civic District, Singapore
The Civic District is an area in the central area of Singapore designated for housing government offices, museums, memorials, and parks. It is home to the Esplanade, Fort Canning hill, Asian Civilisations Museum, Supreme Court Building, Raffles City, National Museum of Singapore and the City Hall...
within the Downtown Core
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 the city-state
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
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...
. Occupying an entire city block bounded by Stamford Road
Stamford Road
Stamford Road is a one-way road in Singapore within the planning areas of Downtown Core and Museum. The road continues after the traffic light junction of Nicoll Highway, Esplanade Drive and Raffles Avenue towards Orchard Road. It then ends at the junction of Fort Canning Road, Bencoolen Street...
, Beach Road, Bras Basah Road
Bras Basah Road
Bras Basah Road is a one-way road in Singapore in the planning areas of Museum and Downtown Core. The road starts at the junction of Orchard Road and Handy Road, at the ERP gantry towards the Central Business District, and ends at the junction of Nicoll Highway and Raffles Boulevard which then...
and North Bridge Road
North Bridge Road
North Bridge Road is a road in Singapore north of Singapore River, that starts at the junction of Crawford Street and ends before Elgin Bridge, which the road becomes South Bridge Road. The road is one of the oldest roads in Singapore and was outlined in Raffles' 1822 Town Plan...
, it houses two hotels and an office tower over a podium which contains a shopping mall and a convention centre. The mall is managed by CapitaCommercial Trust and CapitaMall Trust.
History
Groundbreaking on the site took place on 14 August 1980 and officially opened to the public on 3 October 1986. The complex was designed by I. M. PeiI. M. Pei
Ieoh Ming Pei , commonly known as I. M. Pei, is a Chinese American architect, often called a master of modern architecture. Born in Canton, China and raised in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Pei drew inspiration at an early age from the gardens at Suzhou...
in one of his earliest works in the city state. Built on the former site of Raffles Institution
Raffles Institution
Raffles Institution , founded in 1823, is the oldest centre for pre-tertiary learning in Singapore. It is an independent school in Singapore providing secondary and pre-university education. RI consists of a boys-only secondary section , and a coeducational pre-university section...
, the first school in 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...
, and located beside the historic Raffles Hotel
Raffles Hotel
Raffles Hotel is a colonial-style hotel in Singapore, and one of the world's most famous hotels. The hotel was established by the famous Armenian Sarkies Brothers. Opened in 1887, it was named after Singapore's founder Sir Stamford Raffles. Managed by Fairmont Raffles Hotels International, it is...
, its aluminium-finish and simple geometric designs gave a stark, modernist contrast to Victorian architecture
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
and classical architecture
Classical architecture
Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...
which used to characterise architecture in that district. The design includes the one-time world's tallest hotel and currently the world's sixth tallest hotel, the 73-storey Swissôtel The Stamford
Swissôtel The Stamford
Swissôtel The Stamford , is a luxury hotel in Singapore managed by Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts. Designed by architect I.M. Pei, Swissôtel The Stamford, at a height of is one of Southeast Asia’s tallest hotels...
, as well as a 26 storey high-end twin-tower hotel, the Fairmont Singapore. The three blocks are complemented by the rectangular 42-storey Raffles City Tower, an office block.
Renovations
In the 1990s the shopping mall went under a major renovation, with a different look. In June 2005, the management announced that the basement section of the mall will be expanded, with 30 to 50 more shops and was completed in July 2006 with MPH Bookstores, renowned food and beverage outlets and numerous fashion shops occupying the extension. Gloria Jean's Coffees has also made a return to the country after exiting the country a few years ago. The mall is directly connected to City Hall StationCity Hall MRT Station
City Hall MRT Station ' is an underground Mass Rapid Transit station in Singapore, that is part of the North South Line and the East West Line in Singapore, and serves as an interchange station between the two lines....
by escalators from the building entrance and to Esplanade Station
Esplanade MRT Station
Esplanade MRT Station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit station on the Circle Line in Singapore. The station was opened on 17 April 2010 along with the rest of Stage 1 & 2 of the Circle Line. It is operated by SMRT Corporation and is located next to the War Memorial Park, the Suntec City Mall...
from Basement 2.
Rebranding
On 1 January 2002, the two hotels were rebranded as the Swissôtel The StamfordSwissôtel The Stamford
Swissôtel The Stamford , is a luxury hotel in Singapore managed by Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts. Designed by architect I.M. Pei, Swissôtel The Stamford, at a height of is one of Southeast Asia’s tallest hotels...
and Raffles The Plaza
Raffles The Plaza
Fairmont Singapore , formerly Raffles The Plaza is the sister hotel of Swissôtel The Stamford located within the Raffles City complex in Singapore. It has a total of 769 rooms and suites housed within two 26-storey towers...
(now Fairmont Singapore) when Raffles International
Raffles International
Fairmont Raffles Hotels International is a Toronto, Canada based hotel chain owned by Voyager Partners, Kingdom Hotels and Los Angeles based Colony Capital, LLC.The group was formed in January 2006, when Kingdom and Colony entered into a join venture...
took over the hotels' management.
CapitaLand REITs takeover
On 19 March 2006, CapitaLandCapitaLand
CapitaLand Limited is the result of a merger in the year 2000 of then DBS Land and Pidemco Land. It is one of Asia's largest real estate companies. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, the company's core businesses are real estate development, hospitality and real estate financial services...
's Real Estate Investment Trust
Real estate investment trust
A real estate investment trust or REIT is a tax designation for a corporate entity investing in real estate. The purpose of this designation is to reduce or eliminate corporate tax. In return, REITs are required to distribute 90% of their taxable income into the hands of investors...
s, CapitaCommercial Trust and CapitaMall Trust jointly acquired the development from Raffles Holdings
Raffles Holdings
Raffles Holdings was the parent company of Raffles International. It is owned by Temasek Holdings which is the investment arm of the Singapore government....
for S$
Singapore dollar
The Singapore dollar or Dollar is the official currency of Singapore. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
2.09 billion. The former will take up a 60 percent stake in the complex and the latter taking the remainder 40 percent. The trusts' shareholders approved of the purchase of the complex in July 2006. The deal has been completed in August 2006 and the complex is owned by the two trusts.
Expansion
On 20 August 2006, the new owners announced their plans to expand the retail space between 150,000 to 200000 sq ft (18,580.6 m²) from its current 356000 sq ft (33,073.5 m²), by using the space on the carpark floors on basements two and three. The two CapitaLand property trusts will spend S$Singapore dollar
The Singapore dollar or Dollar is the official currency of Singapore. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
86 million on the expansion. An underground link linking Esplanade MRT Station
Esplanade MRT Station
Esplanade MRT Station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit station on the Circle Line in Singapore. The station was opened on 17 April 2010 along with the rest of Stage 1 & 2 of the Circle Line. It is operated by SMRT Corporation and is located next to the War Memorial Park, the Suntec City Mall...
and City Hall MRT Station
City Hall MRT Station
City Hall MRT Station ' is an underground Mass Rapid Transit station in Singapore, that is part of the North South Line and the East West Line in Singapore, and serves as an interchange station between the two lines....
opened on Jul 15 2010.
Tenants
The mall has several anchor tenants, with the Dairy Farm Group having a higher end supermarket, Jason's Market Place and a Guardian pharmacy, both located in the basement. A renowned local department store, RobinsonsRobinson & Co.
Robinson & Co. Limited is a retail company which has department stores in Singapore and Malaysia. The company owns the Robinsons department store, John Little in Singapore and has franchise outlets of Marks and Spencer in both countries. The company has grown into one of the country's most renowned...
, together with Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
has opened since 2001, when Sogo
Sogo
Sogo Co., Ltd. is a department store chain that operates an extensive network of branches in Japan. It once owned stores in locations as diverse as Beijing in China, Causeway Bay in Hong Kong, Taipei in Taiwan, Jakarta, Medan, Bandung & Surabaya in Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Singapore,...
vacated the space and the supermarket (now occupied by Jason's) in 2000 after the company had financial problems. There is a Food Junction food court
Food court
A food court is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dining. Food courts may be found in shopping malls and airports, and in various regions may be a standalone development...
on the third floor. The complex is home to Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
's largest spa
Spa
The term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as balneotherapy. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are...
, RafflesAmrita Spa on Level 6 in the hotel section.
117 IOC Session, Singapore
The 117th IOC Session117th IOC Session
The 117th International Olympic Committee Session was held for the first time in Singapore from 2 July to 9 July 2005. The meeting was particularly significant as two important decisions were made through voting during the session - namely the selection of the hosting city for the 2012 Summer...
in Singapore, was held from 2 to 9 July 2005 at the Raffles City Convention Centre on the fourth floor. Security at the complex was extremely tight during the event.