In the last years of last century MPs were increasing and Ancient House of Parliament was increasingly small and outdated. So after a debate of 1989, the then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong proposed the idea of building a new one.

After proposals and more proposals, the project was approved in May 1992. The following year a committee was established specifically for this construction, so politicians and architects shared their ideas and made trips to several countries in search of the proper balance between the modern and the traditional, contemporary and classic, the functional and the decorative. A year later, finally, the plan was approved and work began in 1995.

At a cost of 115 million Singapore dollars, the structure was finished in 1999. Thus, on 6 September of that year was the last day on the Singapore flag hoisted at the Ancient House of Parliament to be lifted on 4 October of that year just in the building you see now: the new Parliament House.

The design is the Department of Public Works and includes three new structures built on an old 1864 building that housed the Attorney General and had been declared a national monument in 1992. The new building is not only used for parliamentary debates, but for research, as a meeting place for members and as a place for students and the general public.

Before entering, we recommend you go to the corner of North Bridge Road with High Street.From this point you will get a very interesting picture with a sign bearing the coat of Singapore in the foreground, the parliament with a nice view and also the skyscrapers in the background.

As you can see Parliament House occupies a large area. More than 2 hectares of land and nearly 20,000 square meters of construction. Walk along the elegant palm tree lined promenade to reach the main entrance. Here, a pond around the building like an old medieval moat, but in a much more contemporary and decorative, of course.

The architectural style of the building fits in the area, which are also the Supreme Court, the House of Arts and the forthcoming National Gallery of Art, among others. Its gray, columns and sobriety give great solemnity and modernity at a time.

In the center of the structure, a distinguished pyramidal roof tile color raises the flag of Singapore to the sky. Once inside, do not forget to look at the ceiling to admire the spectacular interior of this pyramid. You'll be surprised.

At first, the rooms that tourists can visit are the Strangers' Gallery and the Press Gallery, that is, the Gallery of the Strange and the Press. That way you know details of the building as well as the procedures are completed here. Furthermore, on the top floor is the Educational Gallery, or Pedagogical Gallery, where you'll probably find groups of students along with multimedia information kiosk.

The truth is that Parliament House has a lot to show you. Not for nothing is a modern building that has all imaginable service, from cafeteria to gym, from underground parking to library, etc..

We recommend that after this visit go near the Old Parliament House, now converted into the House of the Arts, an exquisitely restored 1827 and completely refurbished with more humanistic purposes.