News

T.Y. Lin International Wins 2015 Design Engineering Safety Excellence Award for Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall in Singapore

T.Y. Lin International Wins 2015 Design Engineering Safety Excellence Award for Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall in Singapore

Awards
T.Y. Lin International Wins 2015 Design Engineering Safety Excellence Award for Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall in Singapore

T.Y. Lin International Group (TYLI), a globally recognized full-service infrastructure consulting firm, announces that its Singapore office, T.Y. Lin International Pte. Ltd., has received the 2015 Design and Engineering Safety Excellence Award (Institutional and Industrial category) from the Building Construction Authority (BCA) for the restoration of the historic Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall. Dr. Tan Guan, Qualified Person (QP) and Project Manager, accepted the award from Quek See Tiat, BCA Chairman, at BCA’s 16th Anniversary Gala on May 14, 2015, at Resorts World Sentosa.

The annual BCA Design and Engineering Safety Excellence Awards competition is considered one of the most prestigious in Singapore’s engineering industry. The goal of the awards program is to foster a strong culture of safety among building professionals by recognizing the efforts of QPs in overcoming challenges to ensure safety and excellence for design and engineering projects.

“Safety is at the core of all the work that we do at T.Y. Lin International, so we are tremendously pleased to have our efforts on this special project recognized and rewarded. We are also hugely honored to have played a significant part in preserving Singapore’s built heritage,” said Teh Hee Seang, Chairman of TYLI’s Singapore operations. “With a constant focus on safety, our team actively sought to overcome numerous complex engineering challenges while minimizing impacts on the historic structures.”

TYLI’s Singapore office was responsible for all Civil & Structural (C&S) and Mechanical & Electrical (M&E) design on the project for the National Arts Council (NAC), the project owner. Dr. Tan Guan, TYLI Director of Building Structures, and Thomas Ting, TYLI Principal (M&E), were appointed as the QPs for C&S and M&E, respectively. They worked very closely with the project team and the NAC in the planning and execution of the work performed in order to ensure safe working methods and the preservation of the facility as a valued heritage structure.

TYLI’s Singapore office also received the BCA 2015 Construction Excellence Award for the National University Hospital Medical Centre project. TYLI was responsible for the civil and structural design for the project.

About The Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall

Recognized as a National Monument in 1992, the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall is located in the civic district of Singapore and spans over 150,965 square feet. TYLI, working in conjunction with NAC, developed a comprehensive preservation plan to upgrade the facilities to present-day standards. By focusing heavily on the highest standards of quality, TYLI successfully introduced modern technology and equipment, despite tight space constraints.

Restoration of the complex included the excavation and construction of two basement levels within the conserved theatre façade walls, which had been constructed on shallow brick pedestals. One of the key structural challenges included underpinning part of the theatre façade wall to enable the underground structures to extend under the neighboring Old Parliament Lane and Atrium area. The old foundations of the conserved structures were reinforced in order to transform both spaces into modern facilities that house world-class performances.

To provide a column-free foyer space, four pairs of columns within the Concert Hall, which had been added during a previous renovation, were removed and two pairs of steel columns were constructed and concealed in the conserved load-bearing walls. The additional loads of the new spiral staircase and platform located just above the foyer, as well as the circular seating structure, are suspended from steel trusses by the hangers. Bringing the heritage structure to code with present-day standards also required the introduction of modern fire protection, smoke extraction, and air-conditioning systems.

Related Projects

Related News