Designed by London-based James Stirling Michael

Wilford & Associates and DP Architects of Singapore

ESPLANADE THEATRE
INSPIRATION
INSPIRED BY DURIAN FRUIT

Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay is a performing arts

Centre located in Downtown Core near the mouth of
the Singapore River.
INSPIRATION: DURIAN FRUIT

Pyramidal spikes on the fruit’s skin fulfill a few diverse functions.

• Firstly, they’re strong enough to protect the flesh from mechanical impacts,
especially when fruits fall to the ground (some durians weigh up to 30 kilos).
• Secondly, spikes are sharp enough to deter animals and birds while durians
are maturing.
• And thirdly, pyramidal shape lets the fruit accumulate heat, at the same time
preserving the seeds from overheating.

UNIQUE ATTRIBUTE

• This very function provided the basis for Esplanade

design
• The outer skin act as a protective layer.
In direct sunlight the temperatures in July reach up to 45
degrees Celsius, and “durian” roof was a very good idea
for such a hot city.
• Singaporean architects came up with an idea to cover the
roof of Esplanade with thousands of metal pyramidal
plates, which look like faceted eyes of a fly from the space
and like the skin of durian fruit from the Earth.
• Now this building is nicknamed just “Durian”.

Inspired by the durian fruit with its formidable

thorn-covered husk to protect the seeds inside,
cladding system consisting of lightweight, curved
steel space frames with triangular aluminium sun
shields were designed The Esplanade building is designed to be open and visible to
the outside world during the day, while at night giving people
a stunning view over the city
 Singapore has a tropical rain-forest climate with
uniformly high temperatures and rainfall
throughout the year

• The local sun path was extensively studied which

showed that it is almost exactly east west, and this
in turn determined the shape and depth of the
sunshade louvers.
• The shields are set to be more open or closed,
depending on the angle the sun hits them, so the
glass facades are protected from direct sunlight
without limiting the views
• This dynamic solar shading strategy thus
provides an optimized trade-offs which help to
protect the interiors from overheating at any time
of the day, while allowing sunlight in and not
limiting the panoramic views