30RFP
30 Raffles Place, originally completed in 1993, is a 33-storey office tower with a retail podium located in the centre of Singapore’s CBD. The original design concept for the office, its spatial quality and aesthetic eventually fell out-of-date over the subsequent decades as workplace culture evolved and newer office spaces attracted the savvy crowds of the CBD.
We were commissioned in late 2018 to revamp the common areas of 30 Raffles Place - including its entrance into the office tower lobby from the historical Change Alley* on the ground floor. To us, this was a golden opportunity to be a contributor and a part of built history, which holds a powerful responsibility that is not often appreciated. Even though the commission involved largely interior design, we saw it first and foremost as an urban design exercise - to engage visitors and occupants with the historical context 30 Raffles Place is set in. To disregard the historical significance of Change Alley in our design, and to dismiss their interdependent relationship, would almost be negligent.
The original architecture of the existing 30 Raffles Place is set apart from the other skyscrapers arranged along the periphery of Raffles Green by its distinctive glass rotunda expressed on the front facade. Taking reference from the curved exterior, a large and sweeping curved void is introduced in our design as part of a grand arrival experience from Change Alley on the ground floor to the office lobby on the third. The language of curves and arcs continues through to the smallest detail. We envisioned it to be a journey with an almost fantastical experience - to be transported from Change Alley up the set of escalators, through a mirrored void before arriving at the office lobby where your eyes are then guided to the ‘skylight’.
30 Raffles Place opened its doors to the public at a challenging time - in the midst of a global pandemic, with much of the workers in the CBD working from home. Of late, 30 Raffles Place has seen a marked increase in footfall as Singapore cautiously reopens and we return to the workplace. More than just another office tower, we envision that our small contribution to Singapore’s CBD pays due tribute to Change Alley, and more widely, represents a contribution to the liveliness of our young city.
Project Year | Completed 2020
Location | Singapore
Photographer | Edward Hendricks
Expertise | Interior Architecture
30 Raffles Place, originally completed in 1993, is a 33-storey office tower with a retail podium located in the centre of Singapore’s CBD. The original design concept for the office, its spatial quality and aesthetic eventually fell out-of-date over the subsequent decades as workplace culture evolved and newer office spaces attracted the savvy crowds of the CBD.
We were commissioned in late 2018 to revamp the common areas of 30 Raffles Place - including its entrance into the office tower lobby from the historical Change Alley* on the ground floor. To us, this was a golden opportunity to be a contributor and a part of built history, which holds a powerful responsibility that is not often appreciated. Even though the commission involved largely interior design, we saw it first and foremost as an urban design exercise - to engage visitors and occupants with the historical context 30 Raffles Place is set in. To disregard the historical significance of Change Alley in our design, and to dismiss their interdependent relationship, would almost be negligent.
The original architecture of the existing 30 Raffles Place is set apart from the other skyscrapers arranged along the periphery of Raffles Green by its distinctive glass rotunda expressed on the front facade. Taking reference from the curved exterior, a large and sweeping curved void is introduced in our design as part of a grand arrival experience from Change Alley on the ground floor to the office lobby on the third. The language of curves and arcs continues through to the smallest detail. We envisioned it to be a journey with an almost fantastical experience - to be transported from Change Alley up the set of escalators, through a mirrored void before arriving at the office lobby where your eyes are then guided to the ‘skylight’.
30 Raffles Place opened its doors to the public at a challenging time - in the midst of a global pandemic, with much of the workers in the CBD working from home. Of late, 30 Raffles Place has seen a marked increase in footfall as Singapore cautiously reopens and we return to the workplace. More than just another office tower, we envision that our small contribution to Singapore’s CBD pays due tribute to Change Alley, and more widely, represents a contribution to the liveliness of our young city.