Plaza Singapura

Coordinates: 1°18′02.61″N 103°50′41.61″E / 1.3007250°N 103.8448917°E

Plaza Singapura

New facade of Plaza Singapura in 2013
Location Orchard Road, Singapore
Address 68 Orchard Road, Singapore 238839
Opening date 1974
Developer DBS Land
Management CapitaMalls Asia
Owner CapitaMall Trust
Architect BEP Akitek Pte Ltd
No. of stores and services 320
No. of anchor tenants 5
Total retail floor area 629,000 square feet (58,400 m2)
No. of floors 9
Website Plaza Singapura

Plaza Singapura is a contemporary shopping mall located along Orchard Road, Singapore. The mall is managed by CapitaLand and owned by CapitaMall Trust. There are retail outlets over seven floors and two basements. The mall has a 752 lot seven storey carpark at the rear of the building, and a two basement goods bay beneath it. The mall is popular with families, teenagers and young adults.[1]

The mall was first opened in 1974 and in 2012, it underwent an extensive re-vamp which included the construction of a new wing increasing retail space by 25 percent. It is one of the oldest malls located along Orchard Road.[2]

History

Plaza Singapura was completed in 1974 and was designed by BEP Akitek Pte Ltd. At the time of completion, it was one of the largest malls in the island. The mall included a Yaohan department store and supermarket, which was opened on 14 September 1974, a Yamaha store and a Yaohan Best (now Best Denki) as its major tenants.

The mall was then managed by DBS Land which is the predecessor of CapitaLand. There were three internal courtyards and an external forecourt provided psychological relief from the noise of traffic and commercial activity outside. Plaza Singapura was officially opened by then Minister for Finance, the late Mr Hon Sui Sen, on 16 August 1975.

Architecture

Old facade of Plaza Singapura in 2005

It was then described by students that the building appears "lumpy" in the context and the glass fibre decorated mural at the front and two sides is quite insensitive, like some great Nonya belt. It used to house two sculptures in the building which was designed by the late renowned sculptor Ng Eng Teng, which has now been removed.

The mall did not go under any major renovations until mid 1997 during the Asian Financial Crisis, when it went under major retrofitting with a totally new look and the mall totally changed when it reopened in late 1998. As Yaohan went bankrupt in 1997, it saw the departure of the main store. The mall's tenants changed drastically with Liberty Market took over Yaohan in Basement 2.

This was to change when between 2002 and 2003, when the mall once again when under a revamp with a new tenant mix. The mall had renovations in the basements, and a direct link to Dhoby Ghaut MRT station was constructed. Travelators were also installed in the building for the convenience of shoppers.

In 2008, further changes were made to Plaza Singapura. Level 7 of the mall was given a face lift and tenants selling toys, gifts and hobby related items such as swords and cosplay costumes were introduced.

Major renovation

Plaza Singapura after the renovation in 2013.

In 2012, it underwent major renovation work which costs about S$ 150 million. The first phase signifies that the first three levels of Atrium@Orchard, which housed several offices, were converted to shop spaces. The second phase involves the former 81,000 sq ft (7,500 m2) Carrefour (after the exit in 30 September 2012, it became a "missing" shop) converted to supermarket Cold Storage in basement 2 and department store John Little in level 1, which were completed in June 2013.

The mall has also been given a new facade with a 170-metre long wave frontage and features multi-coloured sculptures called the Jelly Baby Family by Italian artist Mauro Peruchetti. The renovation and construction of a new wing has increased the retail floor area of the mall from 497,575 square feet (46,226.2 m2) to 629,000 square feet (58,400 m2), which added 80 new retail and F&B shops to the directory of the mall.[3][2]

Tenants

Anchor tenants

Since the opening of the mall, the number of anchor tenants has been decreasing over time. With the departure of anchor tenants like Yaohan, John Little and Carrefour, there are currently 6 anchor tenants, namely, Golden Village Multiplex, Marks & Spencer, Best Denki, Cold Storage, Spotlight and Yamaha.[4]

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ "About Plaza Singapura". Plaza Singapura.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Plaza Singapura Now With A New Look and New Experiences". CapitalLand. Jan 2013. Retrieved 3 Dec 2014.
  3. ↑ "The revival of Orchard Road". AsiaOne. 12 Jan 2012. Retrieved 3 Dec 2014.
  4. ↑ "A brand-new experience at familiar favourite Plaza Singapura". CapitaMall. 6 Dec 2012. Retrieved 4 Dec 2014.

External links