Wisma Atria

The Genesis of Orchard

"And Singapore said, 'Let there be a Mall,' and there was Wisma Atria."

Today we take a look at one of the first malls in Singapore. The ‘underrated and cool’ grandpa of Orchard malls, Wisma Atria. Stretching over 230,000 square feet, this humble home to 9 floors of stores is truly a place that demands a spot in our history books.

Let us give you a breakdown of the highlights and milestones of the place.

Click on the blueprint below to begin navigating around Wisma Atria!

-Anonymous

While mapping up the area, we begin to question the current position of Wisma Atria.

Is it considered successful as one of Singapore's iconic places? Or simply negligible?

Some may argue that Wisma is simply a linkway due to its lack of retail management. Some may even consider Wisma as a mall with multiple personalities due to its numerous mismatched themes - Japanese theme, 80s Theme, Garden theme, etc.

From the lack of coherence and patrons, it is apparent that the mall is not doing well as a whole, despite its best efforts to stay relevant.

Do we then conclude from all this, that Wisma Atria has failed as an Iconic Mall?

Or do we argue that regardless of its future, it will forever be etched in the memories of Singaporeans as the Genesis of Orchard?

Leave your thoughts down in the comments below!

"I feel that Wisma is no longer as actively visited as it used to be. Last time, I come here every weekend but now, I only use it to walk to Takashimaya"

-Rebekah, 48, Customer

"I will forever remember my parents taking me to the fish tank as a kid. There wasn't any toy shops in Wisma so the fishes were every kid's entertainment."

-Ryan Wong, 24, Customer

"The sales was really quite poor. And there wasn't a steady crowd flow."

-Elvan Koh, 22, Former Retail Salesperson at Wisma

"Wisma isn't exactly very relevant to teenagers now so I would not go there unless I have a specific reason to."

-Wei Loon, 18, Customer

"It will be sad to see if Wisma gets torn down. Feels like Orchard Road will be missing something."

-Melissa, 35, Wisma Salesperson