Singapore heritage building restored as arbitration complex

The refurbishment works at Maxwell Chambers Suites in Singapore have been completed ahead of its opening in August 2019. The restored complex will boost Singapore’s position as an international dispute resolution hub and it is expected to house at least 11 international institutions as well as 20 disputes chambers and practices from 11 countries.

The restoration of the 90-year old building took two years, and emphasis was placed on conserving the heritage of the building, which was formally an old Traffic Police headquarters. The main design challenge was to modernise the building without losing the character of its humble origins as living quarters for Traffic Police officers and their families.

KTP Consultants is the structural engineer for the project. Working alongside Singapore President’s Design Award Winner Mok Wei Wei, the team took on the challenge of restoring and enhancing the existing structure of the building. The team performed various structural interventions on the building to widen internal spaces and designed a new overhead link bridge to connect Maxwell Chambers and Maxwell Chambers Suites. The new Maxwell Chambers Suites will add 120,000 square feet of floor space, allowing Maxwell Chambers to triple its current size.