The Concourse

Vorlage:Singapore building infobox The Concourse (Vorlage:Zh-sp) is a high-rise commercial and residential building on Beach Road in Kallang, Singapore.

History

The Concourse is located in Singapore's "Golden Mile", which refers to the strip of land between Nicoll Highway and Beach Road. It was planned by the Singapore Government as a high-rise spine fronting Kallang Basin. The area used to be occupied by squatters and small marine industries.

The Concourse's site was acquired in competition in the Urban Redevelopment Authority's 8th Sales of Sites programme in 1979. The project commenced in 1981 as the Hong Fok Centre but construction stopped when Singapore's economy was hit by a recession in the mid-1980s.

In 1987, the architectural firm Architects 61 and architect Paul Rudolph re-designed the complex. They retained what was already constructed, and revamped the remainder in order to accommodate new programmatic requirements.

Built at a cost of S$248.1 million and to a height of 175 metres (574 feet) for its office tower, The Concourse was completed on 5 February 1994.

Architecture

The Concourse is a mixed-use development, comprising a 42-storey office tower, a three-level retail podium and nine storeys of serviced apartments. The three distinct components, with their different usage, have separate entrances.

Paul Rudolph designed The Concourse as a "Tropical Skyscraper". His use of solar shading, wide overhangs, and communal gardens and external balconies has some similarities with the ideas advanced by Ken Yeang for the bioclimatic skyscraper. The correlation between form and function arises out of Paul Rudolph's grounding in modern architecture, for he was taught by Walter Gropius at Harvard University.

Approaching the city from Changi Airport, The Concourse's tower stands out as a landmark because of its distinctive silhouette when viewed from across the Kallang Basin. The tower is octagonal in plan and is supported by huge pilotii.

The Concourse's most prominent architectural feature is the aluminium curtain wall system incorprating inclined windows that form clusters of units. These interlocking clusters are stacked vertically, like dinner plates, one above the other, rotating around the building.

References

• Wong Yunn Chii (2005), Singapore 1:1 City: A Gallery of Architecture & Urban Design, Urban Redevelopment Authority, ISBN 981-05-4467-7
• Robert Powell (2000), Singapore: Architecture of a Global City, Archipelago Press, ISBN 981-4068-05-5

External links

• The Concourse