Plaza Singapura

Location: Plaza Singapura (68 Orchard Road, Singapore 238839)

Brief introduction:

Plaza Singapura is a contemporary and modern shopping mall located along Orchard Road, Singapore. It is managed by CapitaLand which is one of Asia's largest real estate companies and owned by CapitaMall Trust. There are many retail outlets over the seventh floor and two basements. In the mall, there is a seven storey carpark just at the rear of the building, and a two basement beneath it. There are mainly 7 Anchor tenants in the mall that includes Carrefour, Golden Village, John Little, Marks & Spencer, Best Denki, Spotlight and Yamaha. It is popular with families, teenagers and young adults. And also, very popular among tourists too.

History:

Plaza Singapura was completed in 1974 and was designed by BEP Akitek Pte Ltd, which basically is the reason why it is so attractive. At the period when Plaza Singapura was completed, it was one of the largest malls in Singapore.

The mall was then managed by DBS Land -- the predecessor of CapitaLand, instead of CapitaLand itself . There were three internal courtyards as well as an external forecourt that provided psychological relief from the noise of traffic and commercial activity just outside the mall. Finally, Plaza Singapura had its official opening by then Minister for Finance, Mr Hon Sui Sen, on 16 August 1975.

Land use:

Plaza Singapura has many shops in it such as cloth outlets and food outlets. People can now come here for different reasons such as shopping and eating. Due to having many facilities in one building, Plaza Singapura is a mixed land use building.

Changes through years:

1974- Construction of Plaza Singapura was completed. It was one of the largest mall in the island that time.

1997- The mall did not go under any major renovations until 1997 during the Asian Financial Crisis, when it went under major retrofitting with a totally new look and the mall totally changed when it reopened in 1998

2002-2003- This was to change when between 2002 and 2003, when the mall once again when under a revamp with a new tenant mix. The mall had renovations in the basements, and a direct link to Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station was constructed. Travellators were also installed in the building for the convenience of shoppers. The mall has repositioned itself into a one stop family mall and a popular place for many Singaporeans.

2008- In 2008, further changes were made to Plaza Singapura. Level 7 of the mall was given a face lift and tenants selling toys, gifts and hobby related items such as swords and cosplay costumes were introduced.

Compare and Contrast:

Plaza Singapura is similar regarding the land use. In the past, people go to Plaza Singapura to shop and eat. Currrenyly, Plaza Singapura is also used for the same purpose.

However, Plaza Singapura is quite different in the past and present regarding its building size. Although Plaza Singapura was once the largest mall in the small island, as years past, bigger more attractive shopping malls have established. Therefore, Plaza Singapura have also expanded in terms of building size and is now 7 levels although it is not the biggest shopping mall in Singapore.