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Supreme Court Singapore

Foster + Partners, Singapore, 2005

 

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Landscaping around the building 

Nigel Young     Download Original

  • Landscaping around the building    
  • Building and its river context    
  • View at the building at night    
  • Light is brought down into the building through the central atrium    
  • Different law-courts are divided onto different floors    
  • The building is designed to be transparent    
  • Glazed facade allows people to view in and out    
  • View over atrium and circulation    
  • Circulation through the atrium is used as a design factor    
  • Glazed stonework allow light to filter into the building    
  • Detail of glazed stonework    
  • Shadow patterns break the internal walls    
  • Central atrium provides circulation    
  • Illuminated at night    
  • View across city at night    
  • Location plan    
  • Ground floor plan    
  • Second floor plan    
  • Sixth floor plan    
  • Ninth floor plan    
  • Section    
  • Long section    

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

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