Esplanade Theatres on the Bay
With Michael Wilford & Partners and DPA
Atelier Ten helped developed the iconic external shades that are now the emblem of this waterfront arts complex. The facade, inspired by the indigenous architecture of South East Asia, balances solar shading with transparency and
views out to Singapore’s city center.
DETAILS
LOCATION: SINGAPORE
AREA: 80,500 SQ MET
COST: £40M
DATE: COMPLETED 2002
SERVICES
DAYLIGHTING ANALYSIS
FAÇADE OPTIMISATION
ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
Strategy
Atelier Ten, in collaboration with structural engineers Atelier One, optimized the unique shading geometry for the theaters’ facades and integrated it with the structural gridshell of each building. The result are walls and roofs made up of a doubly-curved gridshell with glazing on the inner surface and folded diamond shaped shading panels on the outside. This innovative shading system allows daylight to penetrate the space, preserves views to the surrounding harbor, and blocks excessive solar heat gains. Reduced solar gains allow the Center to achieve its ambitious energy targets.