The formal organisation for the development of Suntec City resembles an open palm: five office towers — four 45-storey and one 18-storey — establish the fingers; and an international convention centre, the wrist.

These six structures are connected programmatically at their bases by a four-storey retail podium and are set centripetally about a 16,000sqm circular fountain that operates as the site’s focal point. Here, the waters flow inward toward the centre of the site’s open palm, a symbol of good luck and prosperity that unifies the arrangement of the entire complex.

Standing at this centre point, one can read the numerous networks at play within the surrounding programmatic strata: underground eateries, a ground-level roadway, podium retail activity, and office spaces above. As a hub of activity, this accumulation of layers forms a unique instance of the urban city room.

Suntec City integrates the country’s largest convention hall, the structure of which is the project’s architectural showpiece: a 173x72m tubular pyramidal space frame sits 7.2m deep, an exoskeleton of specially designed load-bearing node assemblies that supports secondary clad roofing structures and spans a column-free, 24,000sqm interior space with the capacity to hold 12,000 visitors.

The plan also includes exhibition halls with the largest at 12,000sqm. The convention hall, like the remainder of the complex, is clad in a modular grid paneling system of granite, glass and aluminum.