Singapore Power Building
Encyclopedia
The TripleOne Somerset is a high-rise commercial
building
and shopping mall
on Somerset Road in Orchard
, Singapore
. The building was first known as Public Utilities Board Building (PUB Building) until 1995, and was later known as Singapore Power Building until 2008 when acquired by YTL Corporation Pacific Star. It currently houses the corporate headquarters of Singapore Power
.
belt of Orchard Road
, was built to accommodate several departments of the Public Utilities Board
which had outgrown its office space in City Hall
.
The building was the result of an architectural design competition
. In July 1971, a contest to design PUB's corporate headquarters was launched. Of 23 submissions, four were picked by a jury
headed by then PUB chairman Lim Kim San
. The proposal by the now-defunct Singapore architectural firm
Group 2 Architects (1970-1978), formed by Ong Chin Bee and Tan Puay Huat, won.
Built at a cost of S$32 million and to a height
of 100 metres (328 ft), the PUB Building was completed in 1977. It was renamed to Singapore Power Building, after PUB's electricity
and gas operations were corporatise
d to Singapore Power on 1 October 1995. The building was renovated in 2006. On 29 January 2007, PUB moved out of the building to join its parent ministry, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, at the Environment Building on Scotts Road
.
s. However, Group 2 Architect's winning design, in the jury's words, allowed "natural form and function
to achieve character
and dignity
" for the building. The 17-storey high PUB building borrows ideas from Gerhard M. Kallmann's 1962 Boston City Hall
, also a competition winner, which was, in turn, influenced by an architecturally very important modern building, Sainte Marie de La Tourette
(1957-1960) by Le Corbusier
. Whereas in La Tourette and less so in the City Hall, there is an intrinsic logic in the handling of form, the approach for the PUB Building was mannerist.
Situated between Somerset Road and Devonshire Road, Group 2 Architects designed the PUB Building based on the concept of H-shaped block with a central service
core and a naturally-ventilated
lift
lobby
. The two parallel wings, facing north and south and of unequal height, are linked on the ground and first two floors by a wider transverse area and further up by the lift shaft and the access to each floor. Between the two wings is a landscape
d courtyard
.
supplier of gas and electricity. The horizontal emphasis of the building's façade
is achieved with distinctive rows of vertical fin
s, arranged in a staggered manner that emphasises horizontal movement. These fins also serve as solar
shading
devices, which reportedly limit exposure to the sun
by 60%. A secondary horizontal rhythm is established by grouping two or more rows of these fins in blocks.
The Singapore Power Building's defining architectural motif is its "inverted ziggurat
" façade. The overall building is shaped to taper from cantilever
ed upper floors to deeply recessed lower floors, creating overhangs that help to shade the finless floors below, a logical solution to the tropical climate
. Further attention to design in the tropics
was provided with a generous shaded ground floor open-to-sky concourse
. The shape, coupled with the step-down façade, makes the building congruent with the various departmental sub-divisions unlike in conventional office building floor plan
s, while simultaneously creating a unique structural
profile. It reflected the actual distribution of office spaces required by PUB's departments at the time, with more space needed on the upper floors. Externally, the two long façades graduate irregularly in width and length by chamfer
ed steps. These chamfered parapet
s at the ends soften the corners of the building. At the ends the length is emphasised and the various design elements of the façades are toed together visually by vertical projecions housing the staircase. The staggered façade provides views to the exterior, while offering voids in between that afford "breathing space".
One of the hallmarks of corporate buildings of the 1970s was the dedication of the ground floor to public access and use. The Singapore Power Building is entered via wide step
s under column
s that are three- or four-storeys high. By raising the building on pilotis, these columns provide a lofty feel for the naturally ventilated public lobby areas. From the concourse, which is decorated with wall-relief
sculpture
s, steps lead to upper and lower public service areas, a cafeteria
and carparks.
The original design of the Singapore Power Building was executed virtually without later alteration although it would later be surrounded by hotels, the Somerset MRT Station
and shopping complexes. Its mechanistic expression complements the scale of development in this locality.
beam
s and slab
s, and was originally clad in square mosaic
and rectangular ceramic tile
s on its walls and columns. The building's foundation comprises large diameter bored piles installed in decomposed sandstone
. Beam
s span an average 7.6 metres except at the main entrance where post-tensioned concrete beams span 15 metres. The auditorium is roofed over by 24-metre long steel
truss
es with a composite reinforced concrete covering.
the building in silvery metal. When YTL Pacific Star acquired the building in February 2008, it was renamed to its present name. The new owner undertook a S$
50 million renovation and added more retail space to the building by converting offices, a cafeteria
, empty spaces in the lobby areas as well as the carpark and the auditorium. It now has 500000 square feet (46,451.5 m²) of offices, 60000 square feet (5,574.2 m²) of retail space and a 5000 square feet (464.5 m²) outdoor refreshment area. The complex now houses a FairPrice Finest
supermarket and the first Applebee's
restaurant in Singapore when the retail area opened in January 2010.
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
building
Building
In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...
and shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
on Somerset Road in Orchard
Orchard Road
Orchard Road is a road in Singapore that is the retail and entertainment hub of the city-state. It is regularly frequented by the local population as well as being a major tourist attraction...
, 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...
. The building was first known as Public Utilities Board Building (PUB Building) until 1995, and was later known as Singapore Power Building until 2008 when acquired by YTL Corporation Pacific Star. It currently houses the corporate headquarters of Singapore Power
Singapore Power
Singapore Power is a company which provides electricity and gas transmission, distribution services, and market support services to more than a million customers in Singapore. It is the only electricity company in Singapore, and is also one of the largest corporations in Singapore...
.
History
The PUB Building, located near Singapore's main shoppingShopping
Shopping is the examining of goods or services from retailers with the intent to purchase at that time. Shopping is an activity of selection and/or purchase. In some contexts it is considered a leisure activity as well as an economic one....
belt of Orchard Road
Orchard Road
Orchard Road is a road in Singapore that is the retail and entertainment hub of the city-state. It is regularly frequented by the local population as well as being a major tourist attraction...
, was built to accommodate several departments of the Public Utilities Board
Public Utilities Board
The Public Utilities Board is a statutory board of the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources under the Government of Singapore....
which had outgrown its office space in City Hall
City Hall, Singapore
The City Hall in Singapore is a national monument gazetted on 14 February 1992. Located in front of the historical Padang and next door to the Supreme Court of Singapore, it was designed and built by the architects of the municipal government, A. Gordans and F. D. Meadows from 1926 to 1929...
.
The building was the result of an architectural design competition
Architectural design competition
An architectural design competition is a special type of competition in which an organization or government body that plans to build a new building asks for architects to submit a proposed design for a building. The winning design is usually chosen by an independent panel of design professionals...
. In July 1971, a contest to design PUB's corporate headquarters was launched. Of 23 submissions, four were picked by a jury
Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
headed by then PUB chairman Lim Kim San
Lim Kim San
Lim Kim San ; was a Singaporean politician. He was credited for leading the successful public housing program in the Southeast Asian city-state during the early 1960s, which eased the acute housing shortage problem at that time....
. The proposal by the now-defunct Singapore architectural firm
Architectural firm
An architectural firm is a company which employs one or more licensed architects and practices the profession of architecture.- History :Architects have existed since early in recorded history. The earliest recorded architects include Imhotep and Senemut . No writings exist to describe how these...
Group 2 Architects (1970-1978), formed by Ong Chin Bee and Tan Puay Huat, won.
Built at a cost of S$32 million and to a height
Height
Height is the measurement of vertical distance, but has two meanings in common use. It can either indicate how "tall" something is, or how "high up" it is. For example "The height of the building is 50 m" or "The height of the airplane is 10,000 m"...
of 100 metres (328 ft), the PUB Building was completed in 1977. It was renamed to Singapore Power Building, after PUB's electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
and gas operations were corporatise
Corporatization
Corporatization refers to the transformation of state assets or agencies into state-owned corporations in order to introduce corporate management techniques to their administration...
d to Singapore Power on 1 October 1995. The building was renovated in 2006. On 29 January 2007, PUB moved out of the building to join its parent ministry, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, at the Environment Building on Scotts Road
Scotts Road
Scotts Road is a road in Singapore. The Goodwood Park Hotel lies on the road.It is located in the Orchard Planning Area, within the Central Area in Singapore's central business district....
.
Architecture
Design concept
In the 1971 design competition for the PUB Building, the other three finalists sought to project a corporate presence with imposing towerTower
A tower is a tall structure, usually taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires....
s. However, Group 2 Architect's winning design, in the jury's words, allowed "natural form and function
Function (engineering)
In engineering, a function is interpreted as a specific process, action or task that a system is able to perform .-In engineering design:In the lifecycle of engineering projects, there are usually distinguished subsequently: Requirements and Functional specification documents. The Requirements...
to achieve character
Moral character
Moral character or character is an evaluation of a particular individual's durable moral qualities. The concept of character can imply a variety of attributes including the existence or lack of virtues such as integrity, courage, fortitude, honesty, and loyalty, or of good behaviors or habits...
and dignity
Dignity
Dignity is a term used in moral, ethical, and political discussions to signify that a being has an innate right to respect and ethical treatment. It is an extension of the Enlightenment-era concepts of inherent, inalienable rights...
" for the building. The 17-storey high PUB building borrows ideas from Gerhard M. Kallmann's 1962 Boston City Hall
Boston City Hall
Boston City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of Boston, Massachusetts. Architecturally, it is an example of the brutalist style. It was designed by Kallmann McKinnell & Knowles...
, also a competition winner, which was, in turn, influenced by an architecturally very important modern building, Sainte Marie de La Tourette
Sainte Marie de La Tourette
Sainte Marie de La Tourette is a Dominican Order priory in a valley near Lyon, France designed by architects Le Corbusier and Iannis Xenakis and constructed between 1956 and 1960. Le Corbusier's design of the building began in May, 1953 with sketches drawn at Arbresle, France outlining the basic...
(1957-1960) by Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
. Whereas in La Tourette and less so in the City Hall, there is an intrinsic logic in the handling of form, the approach for the PUB Building was mannerist.
Situated between Somerset Road and Devonshire Road, Group 2 Architects designed the PUB Building based on the concept of H-shaped block with a central service
Penetrant
Penetrants, or penetrating items, are the mechanical, electrical or structural items that pass through an opening in a wall or floor, such as pipes, electrical conduits, ducting, cables and cable trays, or structural steel beams and columns...
core and a naturally-ventilated
Natural ventilation
Natural ventilation is the process of supplying and removing air through an indoor space without using mechanical systems. It refers to the flow of external air to an indoor space as a result of pressure or temperatures differences. There are two types of natural ventilation occurring in...
lift
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
lobby
Lobby (room)
A lobby is a room in a building which is used for entry from the outside. Sometimes referred to as a foyer or an entrance hall.Many office buildings, hotels and skyscrapers go to great lengths to decorate their lobbies to create the right impression....
. The two parallel wings, facing north and south and of unequal height, are linked on the ground and first two floors by a wider transverse area and further up by the lift shaft and the access to each floor. Between the two wings is a landscape
Landscape
Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...
d courtyard
Courtyard
A court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. These areas in inns and public buildings were often the primary meeting places for some purposes, leading to the other meanings of court....
.
Horizontal emphasis
The building's design proved that "corporate" need not mean "tall". Instead, the horizontal was emphasised in the design, rendering the building approachable and accessible, befitting PUB's role as a publicPublic utility
A public utility is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service . Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to state-wide government monopolies...
supplier of gas and electricity. The horizontal emphasis of the building's façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
is achieved with distinctive rows of vertical fin
Fin
A fin is a surface used for stability and/or to produce lift and thrust or to steer while traveling in water, air, or other fluid media, . The first use of the word was for the limbs of fish, but has been extended to include other animal limbs and man-made devices...
s, arranged in a staggered manner that emphasises horizontal movement. These fins also serve as solar
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
shading
Shading
Shading refers to depicting depth perception in 3D models or illustrations by varying levels of darkness.-Drawing:Shading is a process used in drawing for depicting levels of darkness on paper by applying media more densely or with a darker shade for darker areas, and less densely or with a lighter...
devices, which reportedly limit exposure to the sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
by 60%. A secondary horizontal rhythm is established by grouping two or more rows of these fins in blocks.
The Singapore Power Building's defining architectural motif is its "inverted ziggurat
Ziggurat
Ziggurats were massive structures built in the ancient Mesopotamian valley and western Iranian plateau, having the form of a terraced step pyramid of successively receding stories or levels.Notable ziggurats include the Great Ziggurat of Ur near Nasiriyah, Iraq; the Ziggurat of Aqar Quf near...
" façade. The overall building is shaped to taper from 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...
ed upper floors to deeply recessed lower floors, creating overhangs that help to shade the finless floors below, a logical solution to the tropical climate
Tropical climate
A tropical climate is a climate of the tropics. In the Köppen climate classification it is a non-arid climate in which all twelve months have mean temperatures above...
. Further attention to design in the tropics
Tropics
The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
was provided with a generous shaded ground floor open-to-sky concourse
Concourse
A concourse is a place where pathways or roads meet, such as in a hotel, a convention center, a railway station, an airport terminal, a hall, or other space.-Examples:Examples of concourses include:* Meeting halls* Universities* Railway stations...
. The shape, coupled with the step-down façade, makes the building congruent with the various departmental sub-divisions unlike in conventional office building floor plan
Floor plan
In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan, or floorplan, is a diagram, usually to scale, showing a view from above of the relationships between rooms, spaces and other physical features at one level of a structure....
s, while simultaneously creating a unique structural
Architectural structure
An architectural structure is a free-standing, immobile outdoor constructed element. The structure may be temporary or permanent.Structures include buildings and nonbuilding structures . Examples of building structures include houses, town halls, libraries, and skyscrapers...
profile. It reflected the actual distribution of office spaces required by PUB's departments at the time, with more space needed on the upper floors. Externally, the two long façades graduate irregularly in width and length by chamfer
Chamfer
A chamfer is a beveled edge connecting two surfaces. If the surfaces are at right angles, the chamfer will typically be symmetrical at 45 degrees. A fillet is the rounding off of an interior corner. A rounding of an exterior corner is called a "round" or a "radius"."Chamfer" is a term commonly...
ed steps. These chamfered parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
s at the ends soften the corners of the building. At the ends the length is emphasised and the various design elements of the façades are toed together visually by vertical projecions housing the staircase. The staggered façade provides views to the exterior, while offering voids in between that afford "breathing space".
One of the hallmarks of corporate buildings of the 1970s was the dedication of the ground floor to public access and use. The Singapore Power Building is entered via wide step
Stairway
Stairway, staircase, stairwell, flight of stairs, or simply stairs are names for a construction designed to bridge a large vertical distance by dividing it into smaller vertical distances, called steps...
s under column
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
s that are three- or four-storeys high. By raising the building on pilotis, these columns provide a lofty feel for the naturally ventilated public lobby areas. From the concourse, which is decorated with wall-relief
Relief
Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
s, steps lead to upper and lower public service areas, a cafeteria
Cafeteria
A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...
and carparks.
The original design of the Singapore Power Building was executed virtually without later alteration although it would later be surrounded by hotels, the Somerset MRT Station
Somerset MRT Station
Somerset MRT Station ' is an underground station on the North South Line of the Mass Rapid Transit in Singapore, located under 313@Somerset Shopping Centre between Orchard Road and Somerset Road. It was upgraded in 2002, the first phase of station upgrading works on the system...
and shopping complexes. Its mechanistic expression complements the scale of development in this locality.
Structural framework
The structural framework of the building utilises a simple system of reinforced concreteReinforced 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...
beam
Beam (structure)
A beam is a horizontal structural element that is capable of withstanding load primarily by resisting bending. The bending force induced into the material of the beam as a result of the external loads, own weight, span and external reactions to these loads is called a bending moment.- Overview...
s and slab
Concrete slab
A concrete slab is a common structural element of modern buildings. Horizontal slabs of steel reinforced concrete, typically between 10 and 50 centimeters thick, are most often used to construct floors and ceilings, while thinner slabs are also used for exterior paving.In many domestic and...
s, and was originally clad in square mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
and rectangular ceramic tile
Tile
A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops...
s on its walls and columns. The building's foundation comprises large diameter bored piles installed in decomposed sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
. Beam
Beam (structure)
A beam is a horizontal structural element that is capable of withstanding load primarily by resisting bending. The bending force induced into the material of the beam as a result of the external loads, own weight, span and external reactions to these loads is called a bending moment.- Overview...
s span an average 7.6 metres except at the main entrance where post-tensioned concrete beams span 15 metres. The auditorium is roofed over by 24-metre long steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
truss
Truss
In architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure comprising one or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. External forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in...
es with a composite reinforced concrete covering.
Renovation
The Singapore Power Building was renovated in 2006, when Singapore Power chose not to redevelop its corporate headquarters. Instead, it opted to refurbish and recladCladding (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....
the building in silvery metal. When YTL Pacific Star acquired the building in February 2008, it was renamed to its present name. The new owner undertook a 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...
50 million renovation and added more retail space to the building by converting offices, a cafeteria
Cafeteria
A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...
, empty spaces in the lobby areas as well as the carpark and the auditorium. It now has 500000 square feet (46,451.5 m²) of offices, 60000 square feet (5,574.2 m²) of retail space and a 5000 square feet (464.5 m²) outdoor refreshment area. The complex now houses a FairPrice Finest
NTUC FairPrice
NTUC FairPrice Co-Operative is a supermarket chain based in Singapore and the largest in the country. The company is a co-operative of the National Trades Union Congress or NTUC. The group has 100 supermarkets across the island, with over 50 outlets of Cheers convenience stores island-wide...
supermarket and the first Applebee's
Applebee's
Applebee’s International, Inc., is an American company which develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar restaurant chain. As of September 2011, there were 2,010 restaurants operating system-wide in the United States, one U.S. territory and 14 other countries...
restaurant in Singapore when the retail area opened in January 2010.