And wait, the outside is not even half of the story—"The Durian" (as the Singaporeans casually refer to the Esplanade) encloses world-class technology in order to lure best artists with perfect infrastructure and brilliant sound. From Esplanade's Wikipedia entry:

There are only five other halls in the world with such state-of-the-art acoustics.

The orchestral platform is able to hold up to 120 musicians. Above it is the movable acoustic canopy, which is comprised of three pieces, each weighing 17 tons. This canopy serves the purpose of a sound reflector, both to get the right acoustics to suit the ongoing event, and also to enable musicians to hear themselves on stage. As such, the hall can cater to a diverse range of musical performances.

The hall's reverberation chamber, used to vary the acoustic characteristics of the Hall, is an open void that spans three levels and has a volume of 9,500 cubic metres, or about the volume of four Olympic-sized swimming pools. It boasts 84 computer controlled doors and flaps. Each door weighs between 3 to 11 tons, with the largest door being 10.5 meters in height and the smallest door being 2.2 meters tall. This chamber is hidden behind mahogany timbre ribs that frame the front walls of the Concert Hall.

The concert hall's Pipe Organ comprises 4470 pipes and 61 stops. It was custom designed and built by Johannes Klais Orgelbau, one of the world’s renowned organ-builders.

Curious how this happened?

Because the Advisory Council on Culture and the Arts recommended that an arts center be built in order for Singapore to fulfill its vision of becoming the cultural hub of South-East Asia.

A vision—hear that?—a vision! Amazing country.