| SGX Centre, formerly known as the Singapore Exchange Centre, offered an opportunity to make a strong compositional statement about the importance of its occupants.1 The centre comprises two mirror-image 29-storey office towers, a 2-storey podium with a banking hall on the first level and the Singapore Exchange (SGX) trading floor on the second, and a 2-level basement carpark (Figure 1). The setting of SGX Centre, which faces both Marina Bay and the southern seafront, is a full block development on Shenton Way. The east-west oriented development measures 192 m by 30 m (635 feet by 100 feet).
Industrial & Commercial Property (S) and Shing Kwang Realty are the joint developers for this project. SGX bought over the majority of Tower 1 and the podium footprint of the building. PB is the mechanical and electrical (M&E) consultant for the full M&E building services of the entire development. Our responsibilities included:
- Electrical services
-
Extra low voltage systems
- Air-conditioning and mechanical services
- Fire protection systems
- Vertical transportation
- Building management system.
Figure 1: Singapore's SGX
Centre, which features two
twin towers and a connecting
2 story podium.
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Figure 2: Trading floor illustrates
SGX's need for good power quality
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Figure 3: Chillers located at the 5th floor of each tower for air conditioning.
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Figure 4: Floor mounted brackets showing spring isolators support all piping works from the floor. |
Unique Project Features
Our M&E designers took into consideration the stringent requirements of SGX for the trading floor at the 2nd storey (Figure 2). Good power quality and an air-conditioning system were provided in the form of K13 transformers, double-sized neutrals and back up of air-conditioning plants between the two towers. A center walkway to be constructed later gave rise to the need of ensuring that all M&E services were circulated along the perimeter of this floor.
With SGX moving in, we could not compromise on the electrical back up supply required and, hence, provided six standby weatherproof generators. Great effort was taken to ensure that these “giants” blended in with the beautiful podium roof. PB worked closely with the architect to ensure that the cables and fuel pipes were well routed within the trenches that had been built.
Electrical Installation. Harmonic current components have been known to cause overheating and destruction of the electrical system components, such as transformers and neutral conductors, and to cause nuisance tripping, etc. To overcome these overheating problems, K factor transformers were installed for this project. The K factor is an index of the transformer’s ability to supply harmonic content in its load current while remaining within its operating temperature limits. In the case of this project, the transformers were able to accommodate 13 times the eddy current losses of a K-1 transformer. In addition, a double size neutral was designed to match the use of K13 transformers and help to carry excessive harmonic current and prevent overheating.
Air Conditioning System. The heart of the chilled water system comprises mainly two chiller plant rooms, with one in each tower (Figure 3 on page 16). Although each plant room is independent, they were interconnected with a 250-mm (10-inch) diameter pipe and isolation valves. This arrangement has each room serving as back up for the other, and it links the two towers for after office hours air-conditioning, helping to save energy and provide efficient use of the chillers.
The project used packaged, modular-type air-handling units, which helped to reduce the foot print of the air handling unit room and, therefore, saved valuable space. Pre-fabricated duct work and pre-insulated chilled water pipes also helped to save installation time and provide better quality control.
Due to the need to have a large open space for the trading floor, air handling units were suspended in the high space of the trading floor. They were designed carefully to fit into the grids of the structural truss, thereby saving substantial gross floor area.
Construction Stage Dilemma. During construction, it was determined that the original design by others did not include the suspension loads of the huge chilled water pipes and accessories. The 5th storey of each tower had been designated for the chiller plantrooms, so floor loading was not an issue. As a solution, PB proposed to support all the piping works from the floor. This innovation eliminated any cost that would have been incurred otherwise to
reinforce the ceiling slab in order to support the pipes (Figure 4).
This project was awarded the “Construction Excellence Awards 2003” by the Building Authority.
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