Supreme Court Singapore
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Landscaping around the building
Nigel Young Download Original
Re-interpretation of the colonial vernacular housing civil, criminal and appeal courts alongside the Singapore Academy of Law with an image of dignity, transparency and openness
Organised to reflect the hierarchies of the judicial system, the design is articulated as a series of blocks, cut through with arcades, designed to knit the building into the city fabric.
The civil courts are located on the lower floors, the criminal courts above, with the court of appeal placed in a disk-like form at the top of the building. A viewing platform is incorporated, offering panoramic views across the city.
The blocks containing the courts are punctuated by a central atrium, which forms the circulation through the building, and brings daylight down into public spaces.
The building is designed for long-term flexibility, future changes in size and configuration of the courtrooms and advances in information technology. A range of passive climate-control devices, are used including solar shading to the offices, and the roofs are planted with trees.
Data
- Begun: 2000
- Completed: 2005
- Floor area: 72,000m2
- Sector: Civic
- Address: 1 Supreme Court Lane, Singapore, Singapore
Professional Team 
- Architect: Foster + Partners
- Client: The Supreme Court, Singapore
- Architectural Consultant: PWD Consultants PTE Ltd
- Lighting consultant: Lighting Planners Associates Inc
- Smoke control: Colt International Ltd
- Structural engineer: CPG Consultants Pte Ltd
- Quantity surveyor: CPG Consultants Pte Ltd
- Main contractor: IRE-sato Kogyo Joint Venture
- Facade consultant: Arup Facades
- Landscape consultant: Tierra Design Pte Ltd
- M&E engineer: CPG Consultants Pte Ltd