OUE Downtown or 6 Shenton Way, formerly DBS Building Towers is a high-rise

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ri ...

complex at 6

Shenton Way Shenton Way is a major trunk road serving Singapore's Central Area and is most commonly known for the commercial skyscrapers flanking both sides of the road. The road is a one-way street that starts at the junction of Boon Tat Street, Raffles Qua ...

in the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. Tower 1, at and 50

storeys A storey (British English) or story (American English) is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). Plurals for the word are ''storeys'' (UK) and ''stories'' (US). Th ...

, was completed in 1975 and is one of Singapore's oldest skyscrapers. Tower 2, at and 36 storeys, was completed twenty years later in 1994. The former headquarters of

DBS Bank DBS Bank Limited, often known as DBS, is a Singaporean multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at the Marina Bay Financial Centre in the Marina Bay district of Singapore. The bank was previously known as The Dev ...

was located in the complex. Overseas Union Enterprise (OUE) acquired the complex in 2010 and renamed it 'OUE Downtown'.

History

The DBS Tower One was finished in 1975, together with a wave of

brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...

-style buildings, that dominated the 1950s to 1970s period. It was designed by Architects Team 3. Firms involved in the development of the building included DBS Land Limited, Obayashi-Gumi, Ltd., Steen Consultants Private Limited, Liu Cheng Consulting Engineers, Davis Langdon & Seah Philippines Inc., and Mitsubishi Elevator and Escalator.

Acquisition by Overseas Union Enterprise

The towers were sold to Overseas Union Enterprise (OUE) for S$870.5 million in 2010. In July 2012, DBS moved out of the towers and into its new headquarters at

Marina Bay Financial Centre The Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) is a mixed-use development located along Marina Boulevard and Central Boulevard at the Downtown Core of Singapore. It consists of three office towers, two residential towers and retail space at Marina Bay ...

(MBFC) Tower 3. Various 'core support functions' were relocated to a nine-storey building at Changi Business Park, near the

Expo MRT station Expo MRT station is a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) interchange station on the East West line (EWL) and Downtown line (DTL) in the Tampines planning area, Singapore. The station lies between Changi City Point and the Singapore Expo, located along ...

, in 2010. The Changi site has a permissible gross floor area of some . OUE took the opportunity to upgrade the property saying the acquisition was in line with its strategic goal of maximizing investment opportunities from high-yield properties. The property was redeveloped for mixed commercial and residential development. This was in line with OUE's plan to reduce its exposure in the office portfolio and allow it to participate in the residential market, to help lower borrowings and enhance cash flow for the company. OUE Downtown now consists of the Downtown Gallery shopping mall running the full length of the podium, Tower One contains residential accommodation operated by Oakwood Apartments and Tower Two remains as offices. The Work Project provides co-working space in the Gallery.

Amenities and architecture

DBS Tower One was the first anchor in the financial district of

, and was the tallest building in Singapore when it was completed in 1975. It was designed to provide multiple facilities within a single building, and contains facilities like a conference hall, a small theatre and an exhibition centre within the podium. DBS Tower One is one of the first commercial buildings to incorporate a covered walkway around the whole city block. A series of roof gardens, viewing galleries and outdoor areas provide views and facilities for the enjoyment of its tenants. Together with DBS Building Tower Two, DBS occupies about of office space in the central business district. The bank used to own the towers until it sold them to a

Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, Ho ...

real estate fund in late 2005 and leased back the space it occupied for an initial eight-year term with options for renewal. The towers are an example of

brutalist architecture Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the ...

, and are constructed mainly out of concrete and granite. The architecture of DBS Tower One, together with that of buildings such as the Singapore Land Tower, Temasek Tower and

OCBC Centre OCBC Centre is a , 52-storey skyscraper in Singapore. Serving as the current headquarters of OCBC Bank, the building was completed in 1976 and was the tallest building in the country, and South East Asia, at that time. There are two extensions, ...

, dominates the

architecture of Singapore The architecture of Singapore displays a range of influences and styles from different places and periods. These range from the eclectic styles and hybrid forms of the colonial period to the tendency of more contemporary architecture to incorpo ...

. In 2017, Tower One's original aluminium-cladded façade was replaced with a new glass curtain wall façade. It has the world's largest rear projection smart glass display on 400 sqm of switchable glass.OUE Downtown – Gauzy
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References

External links

{{Singapore skyscrapers Office buildings completed in 1975 DBS Bank Downtown Core (Singapore) Skyscraper office buildings in Singapore Raffles Place Twin towers 1975 establishments in Singapore Brutalist architecture in Singapore

History

Acquisition by Overseas Union Enterprise

Amenities and architecture

See also

References

External links