Kengo Kuma theatre and museum to open in Orchard Road in 2030

[SINGAPORE] Orchard Road is getting a major new cultural anchor: a 1,000-seat theatre and a three-storey contemporary art museum, both housed within the redevelopment of the former Tanglin Shopping Centre.

The 190 m tall, 30-storey mixed-use project is being designed by renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, whose firm is also designing the landmark Founders’ Memorial with Singapore’s K2LD Architects.

Due to open in 2030, the Tanglin development will bring together offices, retail, wellness and cultural spaces at 19 Tanglin Road, which is in the Orchard Road precinct between Orchard and Orchard Boulevard MRT stations. 

Pacific Eagle Real Estate (PERE), the real estate investment and development arm of the Tanoto family, bought the freehold site for S$868 million in 2022. It is contributing the theatre and museum as a “gift to Singapore”, says Richard Goh, PERE’s executive director.

PERE’s plans were revealed by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo on Thursday (Aug 27) evening, at the annual Patron of the Arts Awards (POAA) event.

The announcement comes as private support for the arts climbs to record levels: This year’s event honoured 585 individuals and organisations for S$89.5 million in contributions in 2025 – a whopping 95 per cent increase from the year before.  

Individual patronage also reached a new high, with 480 individual patrons accounting for 82 percent of all patrons this year. Honourees included Dr Leon Chew, the De Miguel Solaguren family, Charles & Keith Group Foundation, UOB, Singtel, Pek Sin Choon tea company, and Raffles Hotel.

According to PERE, the Tanglin theatre will occupy about 98,000 square feet (sq ft) over four levels, with 1,000 seats across three audience tiers. 

American consultancy Theatre Projects is designing the venue, and Nagata Acoustics is responsible for acoustics; both are leaders in the field.

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The stage will be comparable in size to the Esplanade Theatre’s, with an adjustable proscenium, orchestra pit and fly tower, together with full back-of-house facilities and a dedicated loading bay.

Its size is significant because it plugs a gap in Singapore’s theatre landscape. Victoria Theatre and the Drama Centre Theatre each seat just over 600; the Esplanade Theatre has close to 2,000 seats. 

Just as important is its business model: PERE will waive base rent for the theatre’s full 20-year tenancy, which is expected to help lower one of the biggest fixed costs faced by arts companies.

The National Arts Council (NAC) is set to launch an expression-of-interest exercise for local and foreign companies to operate the theatre; interested foreign parties, however, must tie up with locals.  

Alongside the theatre will be a 30,000 sq ft contemporary art museum spread across three floors and operated and curated by Tanoto Art Foundation (TAF).

TAF, a relatively young foundation, staged its first major group exhibition, the well-received Rituals of Perception, at New Bahru during Singapore Art Week in January.

“We believe that art, like education, should be for everyone,” says TAF trustee Belinda Tanoto. “As one of Singapore’s first private art foundations, we are dedicated to connecting people to the art of our time.”

Together, the theatre and museum could give the Tanglin end of Orchard Road a stronger cultural identity, while tapping the precinct’s ready-made audience.

The Orchard precinct contains more than 30 hotels with around 11,000 rooms, some 40 malls and about 50 flagship stores.

For the theatre, that combination of scale, prime location and rent-free tenure could reshape what is possible for Singapore’s performing arts scene.

The mid-size museum led by TAF, meanwhile, would no doubt add weight to Singapore’s contemporary art scene.