SINGAPORE POWER BUILDING | Brutalism in Blocks

SINGAPORE POWER BUILDING

Architecture and Sustainable Design 20.305 Conservation Theories and Approaches of Built Heritage Summer 2020

BRUTALISM IN BLOCKS

Teo Shao Tian | Lester Lim | Simon Rocknathan | Benjamin Chong | Janani

CONTENTS 5

TIMELINE

6

WHY SINGAPORE POWER BUILDING

9

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

10

BRIEF HISTORY

12

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERISTICS

17

MINECRAFT DESIGN

18

MINECRAFT CHALLENGES

19

REFERENCES

Competition perspective

TIMELINE 1971 Architectural competition 1977 Building opened as PUB Building

Oct 1995 Renamed Singapore Power Building

Jan 2007 PUB moved out of the building

2010 Reopened as TripleOne Somerset

5

2006 Addition of aluminium facade panels Feb 2008 Bought over by YTL PaciďŹ c Star and underwent renovation

WHY SINGAPORE POWER BUILDING?

6

In recent years, many debates regarding the safeguarding and conservation of Singapore’s brutalist buildings were brought up. Often seen as eyesores and ugly megastructures when compared to the post-modern architecture in the city, many of these gems like the Pearl Bank Apartments (1976) and Golden Mile Complex (1973) have been or will be potentially demolished.

Historical map of Singapore Power Building in 1977

Amongst these buildings, the Singapore Power Building (1977), now known as TripleOne Somerset, is one of the rare few which have not been removed from its context and has been conserved, refurbished and repurposed.

Building in 1978

Building in 2007

View of entrance lobby, 1978

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE After gaining independence in 1965, key brutalist landmarks were designed by up-and-coming local pioneer architects amidst Singapore establishing the first grounds of success as a nation.

These buildings were significant markers of a fledgling global city. In the case of the Singapore Power Building, it was designed by the now-defunct Singapore architectural firm, Group 2 Architects (1970-1978), formed by Ong Chin Bee and Tan Puay Huat.

Their proposal was not just inspired by Boston City Hall (1968), it also was heavily influenced by Le Corbisier’s five points of architecture. The Singapore Power Building was designed with the departments it hosted in mind, and also featured design decisions sensitive to Singapore’s tropical climate.

On top of this, Singapore Power Building’s transition to TripleOne Somerset also serves as an exceptional example of conservation and adaptive reuse of building for future generations.

9

BRIEF HISTORY

10

In July 1971, a contest to design PUB’s corporate headquarters was launched. Out of all the proposals, Group 2 Architects’ strong brutalist design stood out amongst the rest, which tended towards more corporate aesthetics. Upon completion in 1977, it was named Public Utilities Board Building (PUB Building) and was later renamed Singapore Power Building in 1995.

The Singapore Power Building was renovated in 2006, the original ceramic façade was

cladded over with aluminium panels. PUB moved out in 2007 and when the building was bought over by YTL Corporation Pacific Star in 2008, it underwent major renovations which included the glass cladding of the once naturally ventilated ground public spaces to hold retail and office spaces.

It was reopened as TripleOne Somerset, and has remained as such till today, and while its façade has changed, it still largely retains its original brutalist form.

Ground floor plan in 1977

Ground floor plan in 2010

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERISTICS Programmatic Adaptations

12

In reaction to the programmatic spaces required in the working hierarchies of the public service within the building, inverted ziggurat volumes are used.

This striated facade expresses the functional distinction of departmental subdivisions that lie within its different levels.

Tropical adaptations With the inverted ziggurat volumes come a deep overhang which acts as a self-standing device for the lower floors and public concourse. This staggered facade also opens up views to the exterior and creates voids which act as “breathing spaces” for the users of this massive building.

Apart from this the building offers several naturally ventilated spaces.

The two volumes sandwich a central service core in a huge H-block plan, forming open courtyards. This is also seen in the strong influence of Le Corbusier’s ideas in pilotis which raise the two large volumes, forming a naturallyventilated public lobby.

Finally, the brutalist building had deeply recessed windows, and the walls and columns were finished with square mosaic and rectangular ceramic tiles. These were later cladded with aluminium in response to its post-modern surroundings.

In summary, these distinct brutalist features of the Singapore Power Building were a reaction to our tropical climate and the programmatic functions it hosted.

Competition Section, 1971

Facade in 2005

Facade in 2019

Rhinoceros model

Minecraft model

MINECRAFT DESIGN Translating key features The key features we wanted to showcase in the model was its iconic facade, with the concrete fins and steep sloped geometries, the inverted ziggurat cantilever, large pilotis and the open lobby. Before starting on the Minecraft model, we used Rhinoceros to quickly model the Singapore Power Building in blocks to separate the design from the construction. Once building features were modelled in Rhinoceros, we were able to reference the model while constructing in Minecraft, allowing us to be more efficient and

reduce waiting time. This, along with using WorldEdit commands, which allowed us to copy/paste and array selections, allowed two persons to complete the brutalist megastructure in a relatively short period of time.

While designing in Minecraft largely involved using the cube blocks, we also made use of other in-game assets, such as stairs to create more detail in slopes, and walls to create thinner fins and the steep sloped geometry. The waffle concrete ceiling of the entrance lobbies also utilised the selfjoining feature of walls, which was a very convincing recreation.

17

MINECRAFT CHALLENGES Lack of information

18

Our Minecraft model aimed to recreate the original building as completed in 1977. Due to the lack of documentation of this building as compared to other more well-known brutalist buildings, the main challenge was to ďŹ nd information, drawings and images to support us in this exercise. While the limitations of the Covid-19 circuit breaker originally limited us to online research including newspaper articles, the gradual reopening of spaces allowed us to expand our resources to physical books.

Lack proficiency in Minecraft With no prior experience, learning Minecraft had a learning curve.

Before beginning the construction of the model, we tested dierent material textures in-game to see which best suited our project.

With enough practice, and help from the SUTD Minecraft team, we were able to complete the design on time.

Entrance lobby

Somerset Road Facade

REFERENCES • • • • • • • • • • •

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/111_Somerset https://mothership.sg/2019/07/somerset-changes/ https://www.pacificstargrp.com/docs/news/2008/ BusinessTimes_2008_01_17.pdf https://stateofbuildings.sg/places/singapore-power-building https://www.edgeprop.sg/property-news/new-landmarkmaking-tripleone-somerset http://www.perennialrealestate.com.sg/properties/singapore/ sg-tripleone-somerset.html https://mothership.sg/2018/02/pearl-bank-apartmentsbrutalist-design/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/auywy/18754987314 https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/ newnation19771017-1.2.23 https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/ newnation19770428-1.2.15 https://www.archify.com/ph/photo/detail/57900

21