Public Art & Real Estate

It’s a building I come back to often.

Recently, for a different reason.

Many years ago I interned with Keppel (Real Estate Division)'s construction management team during the construction of Ocean Financial Centre, at Raffles Place in Singapore's CBD. It sits directly on the square, which thousands of people cross every day.

At a tech conference in Bengaluru two weeks ago, one segment was about public art, and why urban areas can and should provide space for it. And it made me think about OFC.

Jaume Plensa’s “SOUL”, “Complex Simplicity” by Jane Cowie, Anish Kapoor’s “Tall Tree”, and a green wall to replicate Singapore’s map and a world map (fun fact: we used regional plants that filter the air of the car park they covered).

I still remember the technical discussions around the installations, the different plants to use for the green wall, irrigation systems etc. But when visiting it today, I zoom out and enjoy the value it created.

People stop to look. They walk around the pieces to see them from another angle. They spend time with the art over a coffee. It is lively, and it is open to everyone.

It created an identity, and a reason to stay.

#realestate #publicart #development #sg