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New office tower by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects lights up Singapore

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New office tower by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects lights up Singapore

David McFadden | architecture | August 31, 2011

Ocean Financial Centre, rated LEED Platinum, opens on prime waterfront site

Ocean Financial Centre, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects’ newest completed office tower, opened Wednesday with a dramatic light show while crowds watched near Marina Bay.

As 120,000 LEDs built into its curving glass-and-metal exterior wall sparkled, the 43-story tower lit up the sky. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance and Manpower; officials fromKeppelLand, the building’s developer; and guests from the business world and government attended a ceremony preceding the show.

Ocean Financial Centre, which contains 82,200 square meters of grade-A office space, is one of the largest office developments in the historic financialdistrict of Raffles Place. The building is also adjacent to the newer financial district atMarinaBay. Occupying a premier waterfront site, the tower can be seen unobstructed from the bay.

Recalling the maritime heritage ofSingapore, the tower is reminiscent of a ship’s sail, its bowed form curving along the street. A 25-meter-tall sky garden sits atop the building. Planted with trees, vines and flowering plants, this space will be an amenity for office workers and a green urban landmark.

Ocean Financial Centre is the first office building in Southeast Asia to achieve a LEED Platinum rating for its core and shell as well as the first to receive the Platinum Green Mark Award from the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore.The building has 400 square meters of photovoltaic panels, the largest installation of any office tower in Singapore, to help light common areas.

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After working at various design practices on a full-time and freelance basis and starting his design firm, David McFadden saw a gap in the industry. In 1984, he created an expansive hub for architects and hiring firms to sync up, complete projects, and mutually benefit. That hub was Consulting For Architects Inc., which enabled architects to find meaningful design work while freeing hiring firms from tedious hiring-firing cycles. This departure from the traditional, more rigid style of employer-employee relations was just what the industry needed – flexibility and adaption to current work circumstances. David has successfully advised his clients and staff through the trials and tribulations of four recessions – the early ’80s, early ’90s, early 2000s, the Great Recession, and the pandemic.