Celebrating six decades of nationhood this year, Singapore is a triumph of modern design—with some surprising ancient influences.

60years after independence, Singapore presents itself to the world as the archetypal exemplar of sleek modernity—a gleaming metropolis and global economic powerhouse whose architectural marvels pierce tropical skies. Yet beneath this hypermodern veneer lies something far more ancient and mysterious: feng shui. This Chinese system of positioning spaces to channel luck and prosperity quietly choreographs the city’s skyline, where countless curves, corners, and constructions tell stories of invisible forces shaping the urban landscape.

Strolling through Marina Bay or shopping along Orchard Road, most visitors unfamiliar with this Chinese tradition remain blissfully unaware that they’re navigating one of the world’s most feng shui–conscious urban landscapes. The irony is delicious: in a nation that prides itself on rational urban design and cutting-edge architecture, some of its most celebrated buildings owe their forms to 5,000-year-old Chinese geomantic principles.

“Feng shui is sometimes dismissed as outdated or unscientific, but in reality, it is a highly logical system—a form of energy design that harmonizes people with space,” explains Yoko Otaka, who has spent 17 years guiding feng shui tours through Singapore’s hidden energetic geography. “Singapore is a great example of how traditional wisdom can naturally coexist with and complement modern architectural planning.”

This coexistence isn’t accidental. In Singapore’s uniquely pragmatic approach to multiculturalism—where Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian, and European communities share the island—feng shui considerations have been quietly and unobtrusively woven into the urban fabric.

Singaporen dollar coin bagua — | The Singapore dollar coin is allegedly designed to include bagua – an eight-sided Chinese protective symbol.

Take the humble dollar coin, for instance—outwardly a nondescript piece of currency, but, in fact, an elegant solution to what could have been a cultural minefield. When the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) train system was being constructed in the 1980s, feng shui consultations raised concerns that the underground network would catastrophically disrupt the island’s energy flow. The seemingly impossible suggestion to place a protective bagua (an eight-sided Chinese protective symbol) in every household was ingeniously resolved by inscribing it into the octagonal border of the ubiquitous dollar coin. As a result, every Singaporean now carries this feng shui talisman in their pocket, regardless of race or religion.

Zheng Mahler in collaboration with Ian Hunt, The Green Crab: A Diagram of Auspicious Spatial Organization, digital print on vinyl, 80m x 5m. Courtesy of the artists and PHD Group. — | Artist Zheng Mahler’s collaboration with Ian Hunt, The Green Crab: A Diagram of Auspicious Spatial Organization (2022), digital print on vinyl, 80m x 5m. Courtesy of the artists and PHD Group.

Singapore’s very shape tells a feng shui story. From above, the island resembles a crab, with the eastern and western tips forming protective pincers that, according to traditional beliefs, shield the island from negative maritime energies. This natural formation has influenced everything from port placement to the orientation of major developments.

Indeed, Singapore’s colonial-era development reveals feng shui’s early influence. Chinese entrepreneurs, arriving in the 19th century, immediately recognized that the Singapore River’s meandering path resembled a carp—an auspicious symbol of prosperity in Chinese culture. Which explains why, long before modern designers consciously incorporated geomantic principles, these early businessmen were strategically establishing their trading houses and shopfronts along what is now Boat Quay. Here, at the center of the symbolic “belly of the carp,” wealth would naturally accumulate. Nor is it coincidental that, today, this same area remains ground zero for the headquarters of the island’s major banks.

Suntec City Fountain of Wealth is one of Southeast Asia’s most ambitious feng shui experiments.

Postmodern architectural details of the Conrad Marina Bay and Suntec Towers. — Postmodern architectural details of the Conrad Marina Bay and Suntec Towers (Credit: Greg Cornelius)

The sharp angles of I.M. Pei's Gateway Towers are deflected by the curves of Buro Ole Scheeren's Dup Towers. — The sharp angles of I.M. Pei’s Gateway Towers are deflected by the curves of Ole Scheeren’s Duo Towers (Credit: M. Haikal Yatim).

The sharp angles of I.M. Pei's Gateway Towers are deflected by the curves of Buro Ole Scheeren's Duo Towers — The sharp angles of I.M. Pei’s Gateway Towers are deflected by the curves of Ole Scheeren’s Duo Towers (Credit: Greg Cornelius).

This ancient-meets-modern synthesis finds its apotheosis in Suntec City, which masquerades as a conventional shopping mall and office complex while functioning as one of Southeast Asia’s most ambitious feng shui experiments. Developed in the 1990s under the guidance of feng shui masters, the entire site unfolds as the colossal avatar of a left hand—the “giving” hand in feng shui tradition. Five towers represent the fingers, the convention center forms the wrist, and the towering bronze Fountain of Wealth sits squarely in the palm.

Otaka considers Suntec City essential viewing for any feng shui aficionado. “It’s not just a place to ‘look at,’” she says. “It’s an experiential feng shui destination. Visitors can physically touch the water of the fountain, make wishes, and feel the flow of energy with their bodies.” The ritual is precise: touch the smaller central fountain with your right hand (the receiving hand), walk clockwise three times while making a wish. The number three represents heaven, earth, and humanity in perfect harmony.

In fact, the entire complex embodies the five elements: the soaring towers stand for wood, the convention center channels fire, the shorter Tower Five represents earth, the bronze fountain symbolizes metal, and the flowing water completes the cycle to create what believers see as an optimal energy and wealth circulation system disguised as a commercial complex.

But perhaps the most intriguing feng shui drama unfolded around a troublesome plot of land facing I.M. Pei’s razor-sharp Gateway Towers. Whispered industry consensus held that no developer could solve the feng shui problem of those menacing steel blades slicing negative energy across the site—until German starchitect Ole Scheeren solved the seemingly intractable problem with élan with his design for the Duo towers. “The site was a fragmented urban void that was considered so highly problematic it remained undeveloped for many years,” Scheeren recalls. “The principles of feng shui consider the pointy, sharp plates of the Gateway Towers as harmful for those facing it.”

Scheeren’s solution was elegantly subversive: rather than confronting the sharp edges, he subtracted portions of his proposed volume, creating smooth, flowing forms that bring to mind a kind of architectural aikido. This act of subtraction, he explains, “led to smooth, curved forms that not only deflect negative energy but also collect and channel positive energy.”

The result transforms what could have been an urban battleground into a harmonious dialogue between architectural generations, with Scheeren’s honeycomb-clad towers gracefully answering Pei’s aggressive geometry.

“Singapore’s greatest achievement may be to quietly demonstrate that tradition and modernity, especially in the context of architecture and urban spaces, can dance together.”

This sophisticated dance between tradition and innovation plays out across Singapore, especially in its most prestigious addresses. Along Orchard Road, the city’s retail spine, buildings engage in their own feng shui conversation. The pagoda-like form of Tang’s department store activates wood energy, while the Shaw Centre across the road embodies metal elements, each structure positioned to either enhance or counteract its neighbors’ influences. Up the road, a pair of almost three-meter-high protective door gods flank the street entrance of the old Hilton hotel (now voco), gigantic spiritual bouncers tasked with ensuring only positive energy crosses the threshold.

Conrad Singapore Marina bay exterior — Conrad Singapore Marina Bay incorporates a gigantic 13 into its facade.

Across town, the Conrad Singapore Marina Bay incorporates a gigantic 13 into its facade—a reference not to the unlucky Western number, mind you, but to the Cantonese homonym for “longevity.” Another case in point is the nearby Singapore Flyer, the world’s third-tallest observation wheel. When the waterfront attraction debuted in 2008, it rotated counter-clockwise when viewed from its landward side. But this was soon reversed after feng shui masters declared that the original direction was symbolically throwing good fortune away into the sea. Meanwhile, when viewed from above, the Marina Barrage’s distinctive lawn forms the auspicious number nine—the Chinese symbol for eternity and long life.

And let’s not forget Changi Airport’s striking Jewel complex, which centers on a towering indoor cascade and garden that feng shui practitioners describe as a “waterfall of wealth.” Funnelled through the inverted oculus of a glass roof, the 40-meter torrent is engineered to draw beneficial energy into the building’s heart while harmoniously balancing the elements of water, greenery, steel, stone, and natural light.

Conclusion

Ultimately, what makes Singapore’s feng shui integration so remarkable is its discretion. In a multiethnic society where Chinese traditions could easily be perceived as cultural dominance, these ancient principles have been seamlessly absorbed into the urban planning DNA without fanfare or exclusivity.

And as Scheeren discovered with his Duo project—echoing Otaka’s assertion that feng shui harmonizes people with their surroundings—incorporating these considerations can create what he describes as harmonious, flowing environments whose “openness, connectivity and flow promote well-being and positive energy for all who interact with the space, both directly and indirectly.”

In the end, Singapore’s greatest achievement may be to quietly demonstrate that tradition and modernity, especially in the context of architecture and urban spaces, can dance together. In this city-state’s hands, ancient feng shui principles become simply another tool in the urban planner’s kit—one that just happens to create more thoughtful, human-centric spaces while respecting cultural heritage.

Leave it to Singapore to prove that the most avant-garde design move is sometimes the oldest one in the book.

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