SGX Centre is a twin tower high-rise complex in the city of

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. The development consists of two

skyscrapers A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

, located in

Shenton Way Shenton Way is a major trunk road serving Singapore's Central Area and is most commonly known for the commercial skyscrapers flanking both sides of the road. The road is a one-way street that starts at the junction of Boon Tat Street, Raffles Qu ...

. The two towers are named SGX Centre One and SGX Centre Two, and are situated together on an elongated, rectangular site. The towers house the

Singapore Exchange Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX Group) is a Singapore-based exchange conglomerate, operating Equity (finance), equity, fixed income, currency and commodity markets. It provides a range of listing, trading, clearing, settlement, depository and ...

. A unique feature of the development is that it borders the existing

business district Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." A business entity is not necessar ...

, and serves as a gateway to the new downtown at

Marina South Marina South is a planning area located within the Central Area of the Central Region of Singapore. It is largely home to Gardens by the Bay as well as the Marina Barrage. The name has also been used to refer to the larger peninsula the plannin ...

History

SGX Centre One and Two was completed in 2000, and 2001 respectively. The buildings was designed by

Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) is an American architectural firm based in New York City that provides architecture, interior, programming and master planning services. They engineer different projects including civic and cultural spaces, co ...

and the local Architects 61 Pte Ltd. Other firms involved in the development of SGX Centre includes

United Overseas Bank United Overseas Bank Limited (), often known as UOB, is a Singaporean regional bank headquartered at Raffles Place, Singapore, with branches mostly found in Southeast Asia countries. It is one of the three "big local banks" in the country, t ...

(UOB), Kajima Overseas Asia Private Limited,

Oscar Faber Oscar Faber (5 July 1886 – 7 May 1956) was a British structural engineer. He was influential in the development of the use of reinforced concrete in the United Kingdom. Because many engineers were not certain of the material, Faber pioneered si ...

Consultants Pte Ltd, Parsons Brinckerhoff Consultants Private Limited, Peridian Asia Private Limited, Bachy Soletanche Singapore Private Limited,

Faber Maunsell Oscar Faber (5 July 1886 – 7 May 1956) was a British structural engineer. He was influential in the development of the use of reinforced concrete in the United Kingdom. Because many engineers were not certain of the material, Faber pioneered si ...

, KPK Quantity Surveyors (1995), Singapore Private Limited, Manntech Building Maintenance Systems,

Permasteelisa Permasteelisa S.p.A. is an Italian company in engineering, project management, manufacturing and installation of architectural envelopes and interior systems. The company is known for being one of handful producing continuous external cladding us ...

S.p.A., and Permasteelisa Pacific Holdings Ltd.

SGX Centre One

Constructed in 2000, SGX Centre One is the older of the twin buildings. It is located on 2 Shenton Way, adjacent to the historic

Lau Pa Sat Lau Pa Sat (), also known as Telok Ayer Market (; ), is a historic building located within the Downtown Core in the Central Area of Singapore. It was first built in 1824 as a fish market on the waterfront serving the people of early colonial ...

market. The second floor of the building has been housing CNBC Asia's studio facilities since 14 June 2010.

SGX Centre Two

SGX Centre Two is the younger of the twin buildings, and was completed in 2001, a year later than its older brother. Located on 4 Shenton Way, it is adjacent to DBS Building Tower Two, which is part of another development that consists of two high-rises.

Architecture style

The development marked the change of the architectural style in Singapore with the introduction of the millennium. Back then, the favourite architectural style used was

brutalist architecture Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...

. However, with the completion of SGX Centre came a new era of glass-and-concrete buildings. The two buildings arc slightly to provide most of its tenants with views of Marina Bay. There are vertical and horizontal fins on different sides of the seemingly simple facade, which according to the

Urban Redevelopment Authority The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a Statutory boards of the Singapore Government, statutory board under the Ministry of National Development (Singapore), Ministry of National De ...

, acknowledges subtly the varying rhythms of the city. SGX Centre has colonnaded

walkways In American English, walkway is a composite or umbrella term for all engineered surfaces or structures which support the use of trails. '' The New Oxford American Dictionary'' also defines a walkway as "a passage or path for walking along, esp. a ...

on the first storey, and a sleek glass curtained lobby, together with a 120-metre long urban

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

wall. This contrasts the colonial

sited opposite.

Awards and honors

* BCA, Construction Excellence Award (2003) * BCA Singapore, CONQUAS Award (2003) * Singapore Institute of Architects, Micro Design Award and Merit Award (2003) * Singapore Institute of Architects, Micro Design Award and Gold Medal (2003)

References

External links

Street Directory Map
- SGX Centre I
Street Directory Map
- SGX Centre II {{Singapore skyscrapers Downtown Core (Singapore) Office buildings completed in 2000 Office buildings completed in 2001 Skyscraper office buildings in Singapore Raffles Place Twin towers 20th-century architecture in Singapore