One Marina Boulevard is conceived as a gateway to Singapore’s new downtown, serving as headquarters to the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and as an office space for multi-national corporations and local companies. The sheer verticality of its massing invokes an imposing presence that is tamed by an elegant break in the façade, creating a window to a mass of greenery near the base of the tower.

To symbolically represent the enduring economic benefits of the tripartite compact between the NTUC, the employers and the government, the architects sought to attain a high degree of transparency and connectivity with the public spaces of the surrounding downtown, an expression of the programme’s civic nature. Complementing the open circulation at ground level, the granite-and-green glass façade above is given a high level of transparency to provide views of activities within.

Internally, the verticality of the tower is not squandered in a conventionally mundane linear arrangement. Rather, it is organized into layers of two stacked zones, with the lower zone consisting of NTUC offices, an auditorium, retail space, meeting rooms and other public-oriented amenities. The upper zone houses the office spaces, joined by a central services core.

One Marina Boulevard’s impressive stature, standing tall amidst its counterparts, invokes imageries of resilience and reliability, echoing NTUC’s fortitude and critical role in society.