01
FLOORPLAN
Level 1 is where most patrons would first enter the mall. It is where the bulk of the crowd is on weekends. With ATM machines in the concourse, the first floor is, in fact, the more "modern" one of the five floors. Each floor was also designed to face the concourse, with the aim for maximum visibility of the event space.
By Level 2, the crowd begins to fade a bit. At a cosy corner sits Arnold's, which has become somewhat of a selling point of the mall. Families can be seen chatting heartily in the restaurant, a far cry from the noiseless worlds of the upper floors.
In a turn of events, however, Level 5 of the mall finds itself with a sizeable crowd on both weekdays and weekends. This is mostly due to the food court on this floor, which draws people from all places for its Ban Mian stall. Poon Nah City Home Made Noodle, which has been in business for many years, sits alongside Arnold's as one of the present "attractions" of the mall.
Level 1 is where most patrons would first enter the mall. It is where the bulk of the crowd is on weekends. With ATM machines in the concourse, the first floor is, in fact, the more "modern" one of the five floors. Each floor was also designed to face the concourse, with the aim for maximum visibility of the event space.
02
THE POSTMODERN
PLAZA
Although City Plaza opened in 1981, it was built ten years prior. Judging by the internal design and choice of materials – tiles and polished steel surfaces – it reflects the postmodernist architecture of the period. Postmodernist architecture was, in a nutshell, a rejection of austerity and the “less is more” ethos of the 1960s. City Plaza’s attempt at the architectural style is evident in its exterior as well as the interior. The style called for ornamental and decorative elements that use of dangling lighting fixtures, stained glass ceilings, and other decorative elements that “accommodate existing needs for variety and communication” (Venturi, 1966). City Plaza’s floors were made with cera paver tiles, a popular ceramic material used in several contemporary buildings at the time. Buildings such as Changi Airport Terminal Building, Victoria Memorial Hall and Keppel House used the material. One wonders now, however, if this postmodern approach to architecture has inhibited City Plaza's relevance in today's world.
03
A CITY SET APART
The unique selling points of City Plaza at its opening was that it was air-conditioned, and had a multi-storey carpark that could accommodate 340 cars. According to the City Plaza Official Opening Souvenir Magazine, the distinctive mood that architects wanted to convey in the mall was "vitality". To do so, the mall was built as an enclosed shopping area. Two large concourses in the main entrances were designed as spaces for exhibitions and other events. This was a key design consideration, as all the floors were made to face the concourse in order to achieve maximum visibility of the event space.
