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Asia Insurance Building
The former Asia Insurance Building (Chinese: 亚洲保险大厦; pinyin: Yàzhōu Bǎoxiǎn dàshà), now named Ascott Raffles Place, lies in the heart of the Central Business District of Singapore, at the corner of Finlayson Green and Raffles Quay. Standing at 270 feet (82 metres), it surpassed the Cathay Building to be the tallest tower in Singapore until the completion of Meritus Mandarin Tower 1 in 1971. Designed by one of Singapore's pioneer architects, Ng Keng Siang, the office building was completed in 1955 and served as the headquarters for the Asia Insurance Company, one of the first local insurance companies. In 2006, the building was acquired by the Ascott Group and the office tower has since been refurbished into a serviced apartment residence. Renamed as Ascott Raffles Place, the building sits on a 999-year leasehold site with a building footprint of about 950 square meters.
The site was formerly occupied by the Union Insurance of Canton. In 1924, the company vacated and was resided by the South British Insurance Company. In 1947, the site was acquired by the Asia Insurance Company.
The concept of the Asia Insurance Building was crafted by Lee Leung Ki, the first General Manager of Asia Insurance Company. Lee wanted a building that would be a landmark and reflect the financial stability of the Asia Insurance Company. The intention was fulfilled by architect Ng Keng Siang, the first Singaporean to become a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
The building was originally designed to be of seven stories but was amended to comply with the request of the authorities for a 15-foot back lane to run behind the back of the building. The loss of this strip of land hence necessitated an increase in height of the building. The newly proposed height of 239 feet was, however, rejected by the Singapore Municipal Commissioners for it violated building by-laws of a maximum 4 to 6 stories. The Singapore Municipal Commissioners recommended the reduction of the building height to 135 feet on both frontages at Finlayson Green and Collyer Quay.
On 20 February 1948, a discussion was held between the Singapore Municipal Commissioners and representatives of the Asia Insurance Company. The Singapore Municipal Commissioners were eventually convinced by Asia Insurance's technical adviser Dato Ronald Braddell, allowing for the building to rise 18 stories, at a height of 241 feet. The committee agreed that the proposed building would, by it majesty, beautify Singapore's waterfront, gaining indirect benefit from its advertisement.
Owing to its height, a formal assurance was requested by the Municipal Commissioners to ensure that the soil would be able to bear the load. In February 1949, specimens of soil from the site were sent to Europe for laboratory analysis to determine its bearing capacity. Test results were proven to be satisfactory and construction commenced in early 1950.
However, in 1951, during the execution of the work, the sandstone at depth was found to be core boulders or seams of softer sandstone up to 2 or 3 feet in thickness instead of the previously analysed solid rock. The in rush of soil during the sinking of cylinders through the beach formations aggravated the situation. On the Finlayson Green side, the road showed a series of cracks in the asphalt parallel to the building line and extending a distance of 15 to 20 feet of the center of the road. At the building line, the pavement had sunk between 2 and 3 feet throughout the length of the frontage. The absence of firm rock stratum to support the cylinders as originally designed necessitated a reduction of their bearing pressure. A specialist had to be brought in from the United Kingdom to advise on the project requirements.
To avoid the further risk of loss of ground, the sinking of the cylinders were stopped. The cylinders were carried to their final level (45 to 55 feet below road level) by underpinning them with a precast concrete segmental lining. The bearing pressure was reduced to 3.5 tons per square foot by ‘belling out’ the bases. All cylinders were back-grouted, and also each ring of the lining as it was assembled. In certain cases, underpinning through the beach formations was carried out in compressed air.
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Asia Insurance Building
The former Asia Insurance Building (Chinese: 亚洲保险大厦; pinyin: Yàzhōu Bǎoxiǎn dàshà), now named Ascott Raffles Place, lies in the heart of the Central Business District of Singapore, at the corner of Finlayson Green and Raffles Quay. Standing at 270 feet (82 metres), it surpassed the Cathay Building to be the tallest tower in Singapore until the completion of Meritus Mandarin Tower 1 in 1971. Designed by one of Singapore's pioneer architects, Ng Keng Siang, the office building was completed in 1955 and served as the headquarters for the Asia Insurance Company, one of the first local insurance companies. In 2006, the building was acquired by the Ascott Group and the office tower has since been refurbished into a serviced apartment residence. Renamed as Ascott Raffles Place, the building sits on a 999-year leasehold site with a building footprint of about 950 square meters.
The site was formerly occupied by the Union Insurance of Canton. In 1924, the company vacated and was resided by the South British Insurance Company. In 1947, the site was acquired by the Asia Insurance Company.
The concept of the Asia Insurance Building was crafted by Lee Leung Ki, the first General Manager of Asia Insurance Company. Lee wanted a building that would be a landmark and reflect the financial stability of the Asia Insurance Company. The intention was fulfilled by architect Ng Keng Siang, the first Singaporean to become a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
The building was originally designed to be of seven stories but was amended to comply with the request of the authorities for a 15-foot back lane to run behind the back of the building. The loss of this strip of land hence necessitated an increase in height of the building. The newly proposed height of 239 feet was, however, rejected by the Singapore Municipal Commissioners for it violated building by-laws of a maximum 4 to 6 stories. The Singapore Municipal Commissioners recommended the reduction of the building height to 135 feet on both frontages at Finlayson Green and Collyer Quay.
On 20 February 1948, a discussion was held between the Singapore Municipal Commissioners and representatives of the Asia Insurance Company. The Singapore Municipal Commissioners were eventually convinced by Asia Insurance's technical adviser Dato Ronald Braddell, allowing for the building to rise 18 stories, at a height of 241 feet. The committee agreed that the proposed building would, by it majesty, beautify Singapore's waterfront, gaining indirect benefit from its advertisement.
Owing to its height, a formal assurance was requested by the Municipal Commissioners to ensure that the soil would be able to bear the load. In February 1949, specimens of soil from the site were sent to Europe for laboratory analysis to determine its bearing capacity. Test results were proven to be satisfactory and construction commenced in early 1950.
However, in 1951, during the execution of the work, the sandstone at depth was found to be core boulders or seams of softer sandstone up to 2 or 3 feet in thickness instead of the previously analysed solid rock. The in rush of soil during the sinking of cylinders through the beach formations aggravated the situation. On the Finlayson Green side, the road showed a series of cracks in the asphalt parallel to the building line and extending a distance of 15 to 20 feet of the center of the road. At the building line, the pavement had sunk between 2 and 3 feet throughout the length of the frontage. The absence of firm rock stratum to support the cylinders as originally designed necessitated a reduction of their bearing pressure. A specialist had to be brought in from the United Kingdom to advise on the project requirements.
To avoid the further risk of loss of ground, the sinking of the cylinders were stopped. The cylinders were carried to their final level (45 to 55 feet below road level) by underpinning them with a precast concrete segmental lining. The bearing pressure was reduced to 3.5 tons per square foot by ‘belling out’ the bases. All cylinders were back-grouted, and also each ring of the lining as it was assembled. In certain cases, underpinning through the beach formations was carried out in compressed air.