Singapore Conference Hall

Singapore Conference Hall
Exterior of the Singapore Conference Hall
Map
Former namesDewan Persidangan Singapura dan Rumah Kesatuan Sekerja (Malay)
General information
StatusCompleted
Architectural styleModernist architecture
LocationShenton Way, Downtown Core, Singapore
Address7 Shenton Way, Singapore 068810
Coordinates1°16′34″N 103°50′56″E / 1.276208°N 103.848943°E / 1.276208; 103.848943
GroundbreakingAugust 8, 1962; 62 years ago (1962-08-08)
CompletedSeptember 1965; 59 years ago (1965-09)
OpeningOctober 15, 1965; 59 years ago (1965-10-15)
Technical details
Floor count5
DesignationsNational monument
Designated27 December 2010[1][2]
Reference no.62

The Singapore Conference Hall (abbreviation: SCH), formerly the Singapore Conference Hall and Trade Union House, is a multipurpose building in Shenton Way, Singapore. Designed in modernist style, the SCH is five stories tall and capped with a cantilevered V-shaped roof. The SCH houses the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO); the concert hall has a capacity of 831 people. It was the first post-colonial building to be gazetted as a national monument in Singapore.

The SCH was initially constructed to house the various trade unions in Singapore as part of a 1959 election promise by the People's Action Party. The building design by the Malayan Architects Co-Partnership was selected through a competition held by the government in 1962. Completed in October 1965, the SCH hosted various conferences and exhibitions in addition to being the headquarters of the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC).

After the NTUC expanded and moved out of the SCH, the building was renovated and repurposed to be the SCO's permanent home, and the SCH reopened in 2001. The SCH continues to host other events, including the state funeral for former deputy prime minister Goh Keng Swee in 2010. Another renovation took place in 2017, restoring two staircases demolished in the 2001 renovation, and the SCH reopened on 26 January 2018.

  1. ^ Yen, Feng (28 December 2010). "Singapore Conference Hall a national monument". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 25 July 2024. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  2. ^ National Heritage Board 2010, p. 1.