Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, Singapore

The Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay is a waterside building located on six hectares of waterfront land alongside Marina Bay near the mouth of the Singapore River, purpose-built to be the centre for performing arts for the island nation of Singapore. Taking its name from the nearby Esplanade, it contains a 1,600 seat concert hall and a 2,000 seat theatre for the performing arts.

The original design, presented to the public in 1994, consisted of unadorned glass cases over the theaters, and initially elicited criticisms from the public, including calling it "two copulating aardvarks". Critics also accused that the design is insensitive to Singapore's location and climate as it would have created a greenhouse in the tropical climate of Singapore,nd a cladding of aluminum sunshades was added to the final design. The unique architectural design has been said to have an appearance similar to either a durian (a tropical fruit) or the eyes of a fly. Many Singaporeans casually refer to the Esplanade as "The Durian".

It's a venue for concerts, recitals, and other performances. There are only five other halls in the world with such state-of-the-art acoustics. The library@esplanade, located on the third floor, is Singapore's first public library devoted to the arts scene. Officially opened on October 12, 2002, Esplanade was developed at a cost of SGD 600 million.

Architect : DP Architects