| United Overseas Bank Plaza | |
|---|---|
| 大华银行大厦 | |
| Alternative names | United Overseas Bank Plaza |
| General information | |
| Type | Commercial offices |
| Location | Raffles Place Downtown Core, Singapore |
| Coordinates | |
| Construction started | Plaza One: 1992 Plaza Two: 1974 |
| Completed | Plaza One: 1995 |
| Height | |
| Roof | Plaza One: 280 m (920 ft) Plaza Two: 162 m (531 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | Plaza One: 66 Plaza Two: 38 |
| Floor area | Plaza One: 42,230 m2 (454,600 sq ft) |
| Design and construction | |
| Owner | United Overseas Bank |
| Management | United Overseas Bank Property Management |
| Main contractor | Nishimatsu Construction Lum Chang JV |
| Architect | Kenzo Tange Associates Architects 61 Architects Team 3 |
| Developer | United Overseas Bank |
| Structural engineer | Arup |
| References | |
| [1][2][3][4] | |
United Overseas Bank Plaza (UOB Plaza) (Chinese: 大华银行大厦) is a complex with twin tower late-modernist skyscrapers in the city of Singapore. UOB Plaza One is one of the three tallest in the city, sharing the title with the OUB Centre and Republic Plaza. UOB Plaza Two is the shorter and older building with construction completed in 1973 and later renovated in 1995 with a similar facade as UOB Plaza One. Both buildings are connected by a 45 m (148 ft) podium supported by four columns. The podium houses the banking hall of the United Overseas Bank's main branch. The building was opened by then Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew in 1995 which is 60 years after United Overseas Bank's founding.
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UOB Plaza One is a 280 m (920 ft) building with 67 floors, and was completed in 1992. It is the headquarters of the United Overseas Bank and major financial corporations such as UBS. On the 60th floor, there is a restaurant, Si Chuan Dou Hua. Its architecture is inspired by the U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles.
The basement of the building houses a mosque known as Masjid Moulana Mohd Ali, which is run by Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS). This mosque is the first in the Raffles Place district and is unique due to the mosque being located underground. This peculiarity has stirred controversy because to some Muslims, it is not good because it is located "in the bowels" of the earth.[5]
UOB Plaza Two is a 162 m (531 ft) building with 38 floors and was completed in 1973 with the building reconstructed again in 1995. The building was formerly the Bonham Building which housed the United Chinese Bank (now the United Overseas Bank) which changed its name to its current name in 1965 and the three storey building was demolished to construct the 30-story building.[6]
The towers have an octagonal base and consists of rotated cubic volumes, which is a distinctive stylistic expression of Kenzo Tange's works in the 1990s. The cubic volumes on the octagonal base, they rotate on a 45 degree plane of reference and diminish in volume towards the top of UOB Plaza One. A six storey podium links the two buildings together and skillfully accommodates the reconstructed UOB Building (now UOB Plaza 2). This place is a large airy atrium linking Raffles Place to Singapore River without entering the building. The banking hall has full height glass walls to see through the Singapore River from the financial district. The change in lighting brings out the geometric qualities of the building's architecture, highlighting the buildings with shafts of light and shadow. The external curtain wall system of the building represents a significant and innovative contribution of the evolution of building facades over time. The "performance wall" envelope of the towers is a composite of white and grey granite and insulated grey glass units. The atrium is also known as a "city room" and above it has a large office space and a large skylight, which gives the place natural lighting. A double storey sky lobby could be found on the 37th and 38th floors, which provide panoramic views of the city. It is also used for workers to transfer lifts from the lower floors to the higher floors. However, the sky lobby has been closed to the public due to security reasons after the September 11, 2001 attacks. There are two sculptures on the ground floor; [Homage To Newton by Salvador Dalí in the city room, and the another designed by Fernando Botero.
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