Project: Singapore State Courts
Award: Civic – Institutions and community spaces, Silver, 2022
Location: Singapore
Architect: Serie + Multiply with CPG Corporation
Client: Singapore State Courts
Unlike a typical, conservatively designed law court, the new Singapore State Courts towers are designed to be highly open and visible. Split into two slender towers connected by 39 footbridges, the front tower accommodates courtrooms and the back tower the judges' chambers and staff offices. The existing octagon courts building has also been refurbished and houses 35,000sqm of civil, family and juvenile courts. The two new 150m high towers have a combined area of 110,000sqm and accommodate 60 criminal courts, making it three times larger than the original. Lushly planted terraces surrounding the court rooms filter the tropical sun and allow views out over the city, reinforcing the civic role of the building. This outward looking design is intended as a metaphorical representation of the openness and impartiality of the judicial process.
Design highlights
The courtrooms are clad in in ribbed terracotta, inspired by the colours and textures of the adjacent historic Chinatown shophouses. The intention is to bring together two typical forms of architecture from the immediate area - the high-rise and the shophouse - into a single frame, so that the new building is at once familiar and yet excitingly new.
Photo credit: Finbarr Fallon
- LEAD ARCHITECT: Christopher Lee