[5][6] Constructed at a cost of S$38.9 million by developer and owner Robertson Quay Investments, the Gallery Hotel was completed in 2000 and opened on 11 September that year.

[14][15] The Gallery Hotel has been listed in The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary Architecture[17] along with works by architects like Herzog & de Meuron, Frank Gehry and Tadao Ando.

[4][18] Conceptualised with the HIP objective in mind, the collaboration between the two architectural firms resulted in a postmodern pluralistic collage of experimental building forms.

These forms are each disparately expressed and connected by a circulation system of internal streets, gangways and stairways, aiming to give a sense of urban complexity to the scheme.

With a narrow end fronting the Singapore River, the architects worked to create a microcosm of the city in the restricted site, rather than a monolithic block.

Secondary facilities, such as restaurants and a health club, are located in several building forms not contained within the main complex, but surrounding and attached to the parent hotel block.

The smallness of the lobby and the translucency between inside and outside indicate the nature of expected guests, congruent with the concept of HIP hotels not catering to large tour groups.

Other distinct items of decor include hubcaps to support bar stools and sections of aluminium scaffolding for table legs.

The sleeping arrangements of guests were taken into account during the architectural design: Single-bedded rooms, for individuals and couples, have translucent glass panes instead of solid walls separating bathroom and bedroom.