Bugis+ Explained

Bugis+
Location:Bugis, Singapore
Address:201 Victoria Street
Coordinates:1.2996°N 103.8544°W
Opening Date:1 June 2009 (as Iluma)
Manager:CapitaMalls Asia
Owner:CapitaMall Trust
Architect:WOHA
Number Of Stores:More than 150
Number Of Anchors:5
Floor Area:194306square feet
Floors:10
Publictransit: Bugis

Bugis+ (pronounced as Bugis Plus), formerly Iluma, is a 10-storey[1] shopping mall located 5 minutes from Bugis MRT station. It is located within the Bugis district of Singapore and opened on 28 March 2009.

Building

Designed by WOHA, the facade of the mall plays with the theme of light and illumination, having high-tech features such as a light- and media facade designed by WOHA in conjunction with Berlin based media artists .[2]

The "crystal mesh" facade envelops the convex part of the building and brightly lit billboards will scatter across its flatter sides,[3] unlike those in the Times Square. Its theme was inspired by its proximity to arts venues and tertiary institutions.

History

The opening of Iluma in 2009, was greeted with much fanfare. However, after several months, tenants started complaining about the lack of patrons, even though it is located just beside the busy Bugis Street.

The management tried to draw in patrons by calling in international artistes such as David Archuleta and Trace Bundy. Despite their efforts, the mall still had low patronage and many tenants were forced to shut down their stores.

In 2011, CapitaMall Trust Management announced that they had acquired Iluma from Jack Investments for S$295 million.[4] As part of the transfer, the mall was revamped in late 2011 and was completed in mid-2012.[5] The mall was renamed as Bugis+. The bridge connecting Bugis Junction, which is also owned by CapitaMall Trust Management, that previously did not provide direct access to Bugis Junction, now provided seamless connection.[6]

In April 2012, CapitaMall announced that the mall will be renamed to Bugis+. On 8 June, Uniqlo, a Japanese casual wear retail chain, opened its biggest outlet in Singapore there.

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Jack Investment to open $160m mall in Bugis . . 21 November 2007 . 7 June 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080404155647/http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest+News/Money/STIStory_179076.html . 4 April 2008 . dead .
  2. Web site: Interactive Architecture: The Case Studies on Designing Media Façades .
  3. Web site: Bugis+ (formerly Iluma) . 2023-02-20 . Time Out Singapore . en-GB.
  4. Web site: 2011-03-07 . CapitaMall Trust: Integration with Bugis Junction, asset enhancement to support Iluma buy . 2022-06-19 . The Edge Markets.
  5. Web site: Uniqlo to open largest Singapore outlet at Iluma . 2022-06-19 . sg.news.yahoo.com . en-SG.
  6. Web site: Migration . 2015-02-17 . Golden Bridge coming down: Other retail-cum-pedestrian bridges left in Singapore The Straits Times . 2022-06-21 . www.straitstimes.com . en.