But research indicated that financial traders wanted column-free space five times that size. But financial institutions still prefer to house their various risk-taking units in large dealing rooms. HKL recognized that the Raffles Link site could provide the answer. One Raffles Link combines office, financial trading, and retail functions. The second basement provides 132 parking stalls.
Most visitors approach the building underground through the shopping mall.
Walking from the City Hall MRT station, the visitor goes first down a level, then under the Stamford Canal that runs through the site, and up again. Along one wall of this walkway is a striking light sculpture a series of rectangular shapes lit with an ever-changing range of colors. Daylight is delivered to the space by glazed pavilions sited on the War Memorial gardens which cover two atria located at points where the mall changes direction. A giant bronze wheel pours water down into the semicircular pond below. On both sides of the drop-off area is a large reception hall finished with a rich mix of Italian stone.