The building was designed by Kenzo Tange, who was commissioned to undertake several large-scale projects in Singapore in the 1980s, including the adjacent OUB Centre.

The building was opened by then Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew on 6 August 1995 which was 60 years after the founding of UOB.

[11] Subsequently, in June 1970, The Straits Times reported that the plans for the new headquarters comprised a 30-storey, 430 ft (130 m) tall building, to be completed by 1973 at an estimated cost of S$20 million.

[15] In UOB's 1981 annual report, then-UOB chairman Wee Cho Yaw disclosed plans for the construction of a new headquarters building.

[17] UOB then commissioned Kenzo Tange and Archiplan Team, a local architectural firm, to submit revised plans for the building.

[18] The UOB Plaza project was restarted in 1988, with the Business Times reporting in February 1988 that construction of the building was to commence in the middle of the year.

[21] Work on UOB Plaza commenced in July 1988, and construction of the building's foundations and basements, which had been contracted out for S$31 million to a 50-50 joint venture between Japanese contractor Nishimatsu and Lum Chang Holdings, started in November 1988.

[23] In January 1990, The Business Times reported that the superstructure contract had been awarded to the Lum Chang-Nishimatsu joint venture,[25] which UOB subsequently denied.

Comprising six more floors and a new exterior, UOB estimated it to cost S$82 million[32] Carried out by a joint venture between George Wimpey and Woh Hup, the renovation commenced in April 1993,[31] concluding in May 1995.