Parliament House, Singapore Overview

The Parliament House of Singapore is an important and significant landmark of the city. Situated in the municipal district of Downtown Core, it is a public and cultural building that has been in function since 1999 and open to public proceedings. The Parliament building is designed in resemblance to a contemporary architectural manifestation of stateliness and authority. The highlight of Singapore's Parliament House is the grand entrance hall - featuring a curved marble wall and flanked by two swweeping staircases that lead to the main chamber. The proceedings of the Parliament House is open to the public.

Also called a New Parliament house, the building was officially opened on the 4th of October, 1999 at the cost of SGD 115.2 Million. The Public Works Department designed the Parliament House which consists of three additional, new blocks - Chamber Block, Front BLock, and Public Block. It is built in conformity with a prison shaped top designed by President Ong Teng Cheong, which is believed to be a modernist take on the original, conventional dome. The Parliament encourages educational tours and sessions for students. Apart from this, it has a tiny shop/store that sells different kinds of parliamentary souvenirs and publications that contribute to the work and development of the Parliament. There is another visitor centre called the Pearl Connect, that lets its visitors learn about the different facets of the Parliament.

Parliament House Visit

The Parliament proceedings at the Singapore Parliament House are open to the public.
The parliament sitting dates are called out through media or the Parliament's official website.
The sittings begin at 1:30 PM and go on till the Parliament adjourns the sitting.
The public is admitted on first-come-first-served criteria at the Public Entrance Lobby.
Visitors are to carry their identity cards or passports for admission and are expected to dress modestly and adhere to the rules and regulations.

Parliament House Tour

The Parliament House provides public tours with experienced guides, to organizations. Each group intending to tour must have a minimum of 25 members and a maximum of 40 members before heading on a tour of the Parliament House.

ParlConnect - Parliament House Visitor Centre

ParlConnect is a Parliament Visitor Centre for walk-in visitors who wish to learn about the different features and dimensions of the Singaporean Parliament. Aspects of its function, historical developments, members of Parliament, and other details are introduced to the visitors. It has interactive multimedia features that let the visitors touch, hear and see the exhibits and browse through the Parliament website, watch educational videos and listen to some of the monumental debates. Its technologically advanced interactive games are primarily aimed to instil interest in the younger generation and gain parliamentary exposure.

Architecture of Parliament House of Singapore

Coming from a richly historical background, the Parliment House's entire design has a sense of historical touch to it. The building's colour scheme is slate grey and boasts of liberal use of accentuated columns that reflect the colonnade designs that are found in classical architecture. Having three seperate blocks, the building which was built in 1864 once housed the Attorney-General's Chambers. Also gazetted as a national monument, the Parliament House's main entrance through the North Bridge Road falls before a magnificent drive-way, with palm trees erected on either side.

A timber atrium crowns the building's entrance hall, so it resembles a signature prism-shaped pinnacle when seen from outside. The Parliament House has a hundred seats that can accommodate 20 more members. The recently built chamber has modern features like the electronic voting system, an integrated congress system, IT terminals and much more. There is a recent addition of a sound-proof Educational Gallery on the top floor which allows the staff and teacher to communicate and explain to the students about the proceedings. Apart from this, it has a moot parliament, a multimedia information kiosk and a history corner that makes for a wholesome educational experience.

Tips

Appropriate dress code should be maintained while visiting the Parliament House.
Carry your passport along.
The Parliament Shop has many items to sell, the majority of them being Parliamentary souvenirs and publications that are related to the work and development of Parliament. It sells corporate items such as pens, letter openers and bookmarks, gift items such as stationery sets, stress balls and postcards, and Parliamentary items like debate books and glossaries.

How To Reach Parliament House Singapore

The Singapore Parliament House is well connected to all modes of transport. Bus stop B02181 is at a mere distance of 1 minute. Buses 961#, 961 and 195 stop here. To reach via MRT, Clark Quay MRT is just 5 minutes away when alighted from Exit F.