The Supreme Court Terrace and Roof Garden

On the way up you pass the Ng Teng Fong Roof Garden Gallery, an open-air space for commissioned installations by Southeast Asian and international artists that changes every year or two; past commissions have included a giant string net you could climb into, a rooftop garden of native plants and works by Danh Vo, Shilpa Gupta and Ho Tzu Nyen. Look also at the roof structure itself, the underside of the golden screen that covers both buildings, which from here reads as a light canopy floating above the old parapets.

The terrace was one of the last parts of the conversion to be completed and was designed as a public room rather than a private roof. The restaurants have their own entrances, and the terrace is a popular place for evening drinks, but the pools and the walkways along the parapet are open to visitors during museum hours. Come here at the end of the visit, when the galleries close and the lights come on around the bay, and look down at the Padang, where the national parade, the surrender parade of 1945 and the first National Day of 1965 were all held.

Did You Know? The reflecting pools were designed to mirror the copper dome of the old court so that it appears to float on water.