Her last resident left on April 30, and the iconic Pearl Bank Apartments was finally empty. While an era is now a memory, a new one will soon begin.
What will next stand on this site which has hosted one of Singapore’s most recognisable residential buildings for 43 years?
Pearlbank Apartment
New project with a clear and simple form at the summit of Pearl’s Hill
Taking the place of Pearl Bank Apartments at the summit of Pearl’s Hill in Outram will be a new condominium which will bear a clear and simple design that pays tribute to the soon-to-be-demolished landmark.
The new design will not mimic the horse-shoe design in totality but will instead capture the spirit of innovation which the forward-thinking structure embodied in its time. Pearl Bank Apartments was completed in 1976 and its unique C-shape was meant to represent the community.
One Pearl Bank. Picture: CapitaLand
The new 39-storey One Pearl Bank project will consist of 2 curved towers linked by sky bridges at the roof. The 99-year leasehold development will be ready by 2023 and will hold 774 residential apartments, almost triple the 228 units from the original Pearl Bank Apartments.
One Pearl Bank has a plot ratio of 8:1 and will offer a variety of apartments such as studio units and penthouses. Apartment sizes are set to range between 430 sq ft to 2,800 sq ft. The 178-metre condominium will replace [email protected] as the tallest residential building in the Outram-Chinatown district.
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The tallest building in high-density Outram-Chinatown district
The Pearl Bank Apartments site was acquired by CapitaLand in February 2018 for $728 million and they have spent 3 months capturing detailed images and videos of the iconic building.
This has allowed them to create 3D models of the building using photogrammetry technology with drones. These models, together with digital drawings of the building plans will be submitted to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) for archival purposes.
The new One Pearl Bank condominium will be jointly designed by Serie Architects, which is based in London, and Singapore-based Multiply Architects. They hope the light and airy design of the new structure will provide space for residents to breathe and will better showcase the under-utilised Pearl’s Hill City Park.
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