Jurong Town Hall

Completed in 1974, the Jurong Town Hall is one of Singapore’s best known Brutalist structures. It was the first in a line of Brutalist structures along Jurong Town Hall Road that included the Singapore Science Centre (1977), Unity House (1982–2008), German-Singapore Institute (1982) and French-Singapore Institute (1982). Conceived to serve as the headquarters of the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC), the design of Jurong Town Hall was a winning entry by Architects Team 3—led by Lim Chong Keat—as a response to an open competition. 

Architect Team 3’s design consisted of two parallel five-storey elongated blocks of unequal length, with the conference hall placed between them. The competition assessors appreciated how “its unique character combine[d] with dignity [would] serve as a monumental landmark to Jurong Town”.¹

The heavy massing emphasises its sculptural quality, and the building’s walls are angled both inwards and outwards. Externally, the top two storeys slope outwards, and the floor and roof slabs are cantilevered from the columns. The 5 top-heavy massing is counterbalanced by inward-sloping walls in the lower two storeys. Overall, the building is a striking piece of Brutalist architecture.

Location: 9 Jurong Town Hall Road, Singapore 609431

Architects: Architects Team 3

Year: 1973

Status: Conserved in 2005 / Gazetted a National Monument in 2015

 

by Darren Soh

External finishes of brilliant white Shanghai plaster, offset by grey recessed walls, contributed to the hilltop structure’s acclaim as a “modern acropolis”.

by Darren Soh

Originally, the concourse between the two main blocks was naturally ventilated and lit by a skylight above a pyramidal atrium. This elegant public space, paved in grey-veined white marble, links multiple building entrances with internal circulation paths across different levels.

by Darren Soh

The design of Jurong Town Hall (as well as its neighbouring Unity House) use splayed façades for sun-shading and to project a dynamic mechanistic aesthetic befitting of the industrial estate. It indicates the outward gaze of this modern panopticon. Broad stairs and hefty balustrades blow mirror the slope, while signalling accessibility via multiple entrances.

The 46-metre-high tower head has three sides, each sporting then novel digital clocks that faced major roads and chimed hourly. Under the main clock, a viewing platform overlooks Jurong Industrial Estate.

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¹ “Jurong Town Hall Architectural Design Competition” Singapore Institute of Architects’ Journal 39 (1970)

Written by Chang Jiat Hwee, edited by Justin Zhuang, last updated on 12 May 2021.