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Suntec City

Coordinates: 01°17′41″N 103°51′32″E / 1.29472°N 103.85889°E / 1.29472; 103.85889
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Suntec City
Suntec City in 2007
View of Suntec City
Map
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeIntegrated Development
Architectural styleIntegrated office and retail
LocationTemasek Boulevard, Marina Centre, Singapore
Coordinates01°17′41″N 103°51′32″E / 1.29472°N 103.85889°E / 1.29472; 103.85889
ManagementSuntec Real Estate Investment Trust
Technical details
Floor count45
Design and construction
Architect(s)Tsao & McKuan Architects
Other information
Public transit access CC4  DT15  Promenade
Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre, with the towers in the background

Suntec City is a major mixed-use development located in Marina Centre, a subzone of the Downtown Core in Singapore, which combines a shopping mall, office buildings, and a convention centre. Construction began on 18 January 1992 and was completed on 22 July 1997.

Design

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Suntec City Fountain of Wealth.

Suntec City was designed by Tsao & McKown Architects[1] with emphasis on Chinese feng shui. The five buildings and the convention center are arranged so that they look like a left hand when viewed aerially.[1] The Fountain of Wealth appears like a golden ring in the palm of the hand. As the fountain is made of bronze, it is believed that the balance of metal and water paves the way for success. Further, the specially selected Chinese name, 新达, means "new achievement".[2]

History

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On 17 December 1987, the Singapore government announced the building of an exhibition and convention centre in Marina Centre.[3] The tender was put up by Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and closed on 16 August 1988.[4] Three companies submitted bids for the tender: Suntec City Development Pte Ltd, a joint bid by Kuok Ltd, Shangri-La Hotel, and UOL Investment Holdings, and Sino International Real Estate Agency Ltd.[5] Suntec City Development was headed by Suntec Investment, a Singapore based investment company formed in 1986, consisting of Hong Kong tycoons such as Run Run Shaw, Li Ka-shing and Frank Tsao.[6] Kuok Ltd was headed by Robert Kuok, a Malaysian billionaire and businessman.[5] Sino International Real Estate Agency was headed by Ng Teng Fong, a Singaporean real estate tycoon.[5]

In December 1988, it was announced that Suntec City Development won the bid and it had to finish constructing the Convention and Exhibition Centre within four and a half years while the remaining office blocks in ten years.[7]

In mid July 2024, the sedan car crashed downwards & turned upside down into the Fountain of Wealth along Temasek Boulevard. The person who was seated nearby heard a “loud bang” when the incident occurred around 12:15am. The water fountain barricade appeared to be broken, and debris could be seen scattered on the fountain ground. The male car driver was conscious when he was taken to hospital and is being investigated for dangerous driving while a passenger suffered deep cuts & bone injuries. Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to a road traffic accident at 3 Temasek Boulevard around 12:20am.

Areas

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Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre

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Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre Drop off area

The Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre was officially opened on 30 August 1995.[8] In 2004, the convention centre was renamed as Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre as part of a rebranding exercise. The convention centre has a total of 100,000 square metres (1,100,000 sq ft) of space, over multiple levels.

During the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, the convention centre hosted the boxing, fencing, handball, judo, taekwondo, and wrestling competitions.[9]

The building was renovated from October 2012 to June 2013.[10] The 18th edition of Wikimania, Wikimedia Movement's largest annual event, was held here from 15-19 August 2023.[11][12]

Suntec City Mall

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Tropics Atrium of Suntec City Mall (2009)
Interior of Suntec City Mall (2014)

The Suntec City Mall is a shopping centre located within Suntec City. Opened in 1994 together with initial phases of the Suntec City development, it was the largest shopping centre in Singapore with 82,500 square metres (888,000 sq ft) of retail space until the opening of VivoCity in 2006. It also offers a club house called the Suntec City Guild House located on the fifth storey.[citation needed]

The large mall boasts some 360 outlets spread over 4 floors in an L-shaped configuration. To help shoppers to navigate around the mall, it was divided into four zones, namely:

  • The West Wing, located on the lower floors of the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre, offering high-end international labels targeted specifically at convention delegates and tourists. It reopened in June 2013.
  • The North Wing includes high end tenants, and alfresco dining outlets.
  • The Fountain Terrace is located around the Fountain of Wealth, and specialises in food and beverage outlets.
  • The East Wing at the north-eastern end of the mall is dedicated to entertainment, technology and lifestyle related tenants.

Office towers

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The five office towers of Suntec City

The office towers comprise five buildings named Towers One through Five with four containing 45 stories and one 18 stories. The latter has 2,600 square metres (28,000 sq ft) of net lettable floor area on each floor while the 45-storey towers consist of floor plates ranging from 930 to 1,300 square metres (10,000 to 14,000 sq ft). In total, there are about 210 thousand m2 (2.3 million sq ft) of office space. Tower One to Four is 45-storey representing the 4 fingers and Tower 5 is 18-storey representing the thumb.[citation needed]

Suntec City Office Towers houses a number of foreign diplomatic/non-diplomatic missions that are resident in Singapore. the Embassy of Spain on the 39th floor of Tower 1, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office on the 34th floor of Tower 2, the Embassy of Rwanda on the 14th floor of Tower 3, the Embassy of Chile on the 24th floor of Tower 3, the Embassy of Qatar on the 41st floor of Tower 3, and the Taiwan Trade Center on the 9th floor of Tower 4.[citation needed]

Accolades

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Suntec City was awarded two FIABCI Prix d' Excellence awards for excellence in all aspects of real estate development (Overall winner and Commercial / Retail winner) in 1999.[13] Suntec has claimed other prizes,[14] including the 1998 Tourism Award from the Singapore Tourism Board.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Lam, Jenny (23 October 1991). "A City in a hand". The Straits Times. pp. L1 – L2.
  2. ^ Goh, Toh Hooi Daniel. "Suntec City". www.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  3. ^ Cua, Genevieve (21 December 1987). "Thumbs-up for world-class exhibition centre". The Business Times. p. 1. Retrieved 11 January 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  4. ^ Lee, Han Shih (2 June 1988). "HK tycoon may invest $320 million here". The Business Times. p. 15. Retrieved 11 January 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  5. ^ a b c Lee, Han Shih; Lee, Lisa (17 August 1988). "Suntec submits highest bid for convention project". The Business Times. p. 20. Retrieved 11 January 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  6. ^ Lee, Han Shih (7 January 1986). "Eight prominent Hongkong businessmen set up investment company". The Business Times. p. 1. Retrieved 11 January 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  7. ^ Lee, Han Shih (2 December 1988). "HK group wins billion-dollar deal". The Business Times. p. 1. Retrieved 11 January 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  8. ^ "SPEECH BY MR. LEE KUAN YEW, SENIOR MINISTER AT GRAND OPENING OF THE SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION CENTRE ON 30 AUGUST 1995" (PDF). National Archives of Singapore. 30 August 1995. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  9. ^ [1] Archived 4 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "Asia's MICE industry thrives in 2014 - Singapore Business Review". Singapore Business Review. 4 August 2014. Archived from the original on 20 February 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  11. ^ "Wikimania 2023 venue announced". diff.wikimedia.org. 30 April 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Temporary designation of Suntec toilets as 'gender-neutral' sparks hostile online reaction; others see move as positive". TODAY. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Welcome To - The International Real Estate Federation". Fiabci.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2006. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  14. ^ "Awards". Archived from the original on 13 April 2009.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Suntec City.
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