Singapore Conference Hall

The Singapore Conference Hall is a multipurpose building located in Shenton Way of Singapore. It was gazetted as a national monument on 28 December 2010.

History
During the 1959 general election, the People’s Action Party proposed a headquarters for the trade unions as part of its five-year plan for Singapore. A site on Armenian Street, formerly Saint Andrew's School, was initially chosen in 1960, but a larger site along Shenton Way was chosen instead in 1961. In June 1961, the government requested architects in Singapore and Malaya to submit design proposals for the building, and two local architects, Ng Keng Siang and Tio Seng Chin, were to judge them. Malayan Architects Co-Partnership's design was subsequently selected by the government in March 1962, and the designers behind the top three submissions received cash prizes.

Construction of the Singapore Conference Hall began in August 1962, with the building's foundation stone laid by a low-ranking trade unionist on 9 August. The structural parts of the building were completed by July 1964, but completion of the building, initially scheduled for end-1964, was delayed, which was attributed by a top government official to the building's "complicated nature". The Conference Hall and Trade Union House was eventually opened in October 1965, in time for the National Trade Union Congress's annual conference, and cost sgd4000000

Opened on 15 October 1965 by Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, the Dewan Persidangan Singapura dan Rumah Kesatuan Sekerja (Malay for Singapore Conference Hall and Trade Union House) as it was formerly known was built to house the headquarters of the National Trades Union Congress and host various exhibitions and conferences. Closely linked to Singapore’s history, the building witnessed several significant events in the post-independence years.