Knowledge has become the cornerstone of success in today's competitive environment. Our brief for the new Singapore National Library is to advance the development and well-being of Singapore and its people in the knowledge economy through convenient access to information.

The library will be a place where Singaporeans from all generations and all walks of life will find support in the pursuit of their personal and professional aspirations.

The design philosophy that has evolved is centred around the idea of connections. Connection of the user to the library and knowledge. Connection of the library to the community as a whole. Connection of the various elements of the building to each other and ultimately, connection of the National Library and Singapore to the world.

Encompassing all these ideas is 'nexus', which we use to describe our concept design philosophy for the project. This is encapsulated in the seven storey book wall that runs through the core of the building. The book wall is constructed from aluminium and glass and acts as a division between front of house and back of house.

Other elements of the interior design include multicoloured LED lighting linking plaza wall with main entrance, fibre-optic lighting up the stair cores, and a rare book library encased by glowing glass wall that meets requirements of keeping the area dark and cold with low humidity.