Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay (also known as the Esplanade Theatres or simply The Esplanade) is a performing arts centre located in Downtown Core near the mouth of the Singapore River. Named after the nearby Esplanade Park, it consists of a concert hall which seats about 1,600 and a theatre with a capacity of about 2,000 for the performing arts. Other than performing venues, the Esplanade also contains meeting venues, as well as other lifestyle and arts related services. The concert hall and theatre are connected to the main concourse via a foyer, while the Esplanade Mall is accessible through an entry point located between these 2 halls.
In 1989, the Advisory Council on Culture and the Arts, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Ong Teng Cheong, produced a report assessing the status of arts in Singapore. The report would form the blueprint for cultural policy in Singapore, and led to the establishment of the National Arts Council and National Heritage Board. The report noted a lack of suitable performance arts venues; for example, Victoria Theatre was deemed only suitable for small to medium-sized performances, while Victoria Concert Hall was similarly lacking in its seating capacity and stage size. It recommended that a new performing arts centre be built, and in 1992 the Singapore Arts Centre (now known as “Esplanade Co Ltd”) was established to build the Esplanade. The name for the centre was revealed in 1994. It was named after Esplanade due to its significant presence in the Esplanade Park. Planning began in 1992, headed by the Singapore Arts Centre Co. It was developed at the cost of about SGD 600 million. Construction officially started on 11 August 1996, with a groundbreaking ceremony officiated by then Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Tony Tan. The Esplanade occupies the site of the former “Satay Club“, a popular food haunt for Singaporeans which had been discontinued prior to the Esplanade’s construction. The “Satay Club” had been relocated next to Sembawang Shopping Centre before moving over to the Gardens by the Bay since 2012, before closing down. Completed in February 2001, the centre was officially opened on 12 October 2002, by the then President of Singapore S. R. Nathan. On 5 July 2005, the opening ceremony of the 117th IOC Session was staged in the Esplanade, featuring a 30-minute-long performance aimed at showcasing Singapore’s multi-cultural heritage to her international audience. Since 17 April 2010, Esplanade MRT station was opened, which provides a connection to the island’s train system and the station was named after the theatre.
The building was designed by two architectural firms working in conjunction: by DP Architects (DPA) of Singapore and the London-based Michael Wilford & Partners (MWP), although the latter left the project in May 1995. The design consists of two rounded space frames fitted with triangulated glass elements and sunshades, which balance outward views with solar shading. The original design, presented to the public in 1994, consisted of unadorned glass cases over the theatres, 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, but according to DPA director Vikas Gore some form of shading was always intended, and a cladding of aluminium 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. Hence, the building is colloquially known to locals as “the big durians”. More than 7,000 triangular aluminium sunshades that cover its two circular glass shell structures looked somewhat like spikes on two halves of the fruit. The structure wasn’t meant to be a durian; it ended up being like that because it seemed to the architects the most interesting way of doing sunshades. They wanted to use glass because the views from Esplanade are beautiful in all directions, but since Singapore is so close to the equator, the structure also had to be protected from the sunshine and heat radiation.
On 10 April 2017, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth announced that The Esplanade will build a new mid-size waterfront theatre at the now closed open-air car park. The venue will cater for arts groups which require a mid-size theatre as most productions nowadays are meant for an audience of 500 to 1,000 people, supported by flexible seating arrangements for future art showcases. Costing $30 million, 550-seat venue will be completed by the second half of 2021. Construction officially started on the theatre on 18 June 2019 with a ground-breaking ceremony officiated by Minister of Culture, Community and YouthGrace Fu. On the same day, the new theatre’s name was unveiled as the Singtel Waterfront Theatre in recognition of Singtel‘s S$10 million donation. The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth will contribute another S$10 million, with Esplanade raising the rest through donations.
