About OCBC Centre

OCBC Centre is a 52-storey office tower at 65 Chulia Street in Singapore's Downtown Core, postal District 1. It was built as the headquarters of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC Bank) and opened on 1 October 1976. The design is by the American architect I. M. Pei, working with local firm BEP Akitek. The tower stands about 198 metres tall.

The building still serves as OCBC Bank's head office. It is one of Singapore's best-known Brutalist buildings. Two later extensions, OCBC Centre South and OCBC Centre East, adjoin the tower, and OCBC Centre East has food and beverage outlets. The tower is not a conserved building.

Interesting facts

It was Singapore's tallest building when completed in 1976. Docomomo Singapore describes it as the tallest building in Asia outside Japan at that time.
It was I. M. Pei's first built work in Singapore.
The site was previously occupied by China Building, OCBC's headquarters from the bank's founding in 1932.
Two semi-circular concrete cores carry the structure, with large transfer girders at the 4th, 20th and 35th floors. This allowed the tower to be built in three sections at the same time.
Its flat slab shape and button-like windows earned it the nickname 'the calculator'.

Nearby

Raffles Place MRT (East-West and North-South Lines) is about 4 minutes' walk. Telok Ayer MRT (Downtown Line) is about 5 minutes away. Neighbours include UOB Plaza, Republic Plaza, One Raffles Place and CapitaSpring, which houses Market Street Hawker Centre. Lau Pa Sat is around 7 minutes' walk. Boat Quay and the Singapore River are just to the north, and the temples and shophouses of Telok Ayer Street are close by.

Key facts

Address: 65 Chulia Street, Singapore 049513
District: 1 (Downtown Core)
Property type: Office
Completed: 1976
Developer: OCBC Bank
Architect: I. M. Pei with BEP Akitek
Storeys: 52 (about 198 m)
Nearest MRT: Raffles Place (EW14/NS26), Telok Ayer (DT18)