Marina Bay, Singapore’s crown jewel, is slowly but surely taking shape
In 1992, there were plans for a landmark twin tower – Singapore’s tallest office buildings – just at the water’s edge in Marina Bay, soaring to as high as 80 storeys.
A model of the towers was even on exhibition in 1996 when plans were unveiled for the area.
Those monumental structures never quite materialised on the fringe of the waterfront. And it was probably a good thing: Imagine how people in the other buildings behind the two mammoth structures would have felt.
The new plan by Singapore’s urban planners was much more equitable: Let everyone have a piece of the bay views.
It was a rethinking that meant throwing out the original blueprint of densely developed buildings along the waterfront, and creating districts rather than block after block of commercial buildings.
And so it was mandated that waterfront developments should not rise above 50m in height, while buildings will step up gradually, much like how seats are arranged in a theatre.
When the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) was tasked with the job of planning for Singapore’s future land needs, it was not just about dumping soil into the sea to create more land.
The bigger challenge was sculpting the skyline, making sure it looks picture perfect on every postcard and tourist snapshot.
Meticulous planning
Marina Bay is, undoubtedly, Singapore’s crown jewel – arguably the most ambitious and longest-in- planning development the Government has ever undertaken.
An enormous amount of contemplation, engineering and investments has been poured into this prime plot, which the public had a glimpse of when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shared a fly-by video of it at his National Day Rally speech this year. In his rally speech in 2005, he gave a preview of the new Marina Bay, which was still at the drawing stage. Continue reading
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