Studio architecture WOAH created a “garden hotel” in Singapore with planting and swimming pool terraces cut in the rectangular shape of the building.
WOAH describe the Pan Pacific Orchard as a “distinctive garden hotel and green icon”, which aims to celebrate nature and offer green views on all floors.
Each terrace has a different theme – beach, garden and cloud – and is wrapped on two sides by guest rooms in six-storey blocks.
“Instead of a monolithic tower, we have three stacks of boutique-scale hotels coming together in one building, separated by sky terraces,” WOHA director Hong Wei told Dezeen.
“This helps bring amenities into the sky and also frees up ground space as a garden, which creates a better sense of arrival for guests,” Wei added.
The columns covered in plantings support the open corners of the terraces, with the aim of adding nature and biodiversity to the city.
“Green columns anchor each terrace and visually connect the four layers,” said WOHA. “Together with the landscaping on the terraces, the building replaces 200 percent of its site area with green.”
The terraces were designed to provide passive cooling in the city’s humid climate, with sheltered outdoor spaces that ventilate the interior.
The mirror roofs above the terraces were designed to reflect the green green spaces to make them visible from the street while adding a cooling effect, according to WOHA.
“The open-air, cross-ventilated but sheltered spaces were designed specifically for Singapore’s equatorial climate, where hot and humid air, low wind speeds and frequent but unpredictable rains make the completely outdoor events are a challenge,” said the studio.
“The huge volumes function as giant parasols to the terrace and rooms, while the reflective ceilings act as thermal mirrors, providing radiant cooling by doubling the surface of the gardens and water.”
The piazza steps outside the hotel entrance lead to an outdoor public space decorated with water features and trees, intended to be a retreat from the hustle and bustle of the city above.
The first of the sky terraces is located on the fifth floor. Called Beach Terrace, it features a curved lagoon and a sandy beach.
Above Beach Terrace on the 11th floor is Garden Terrace, which has a bar, lounge, manicured gardens, a lawn and ‘reflection pools’.
The highest of the terraces is Cloud Terrace on the 18th floor, which is used as an event space. It is surrounded by a 400-seat ballroom and sheltered by a canopy above with photovoltaic panels.
“The Cloud Terrace is designed as an urban destination with a ballroom, function room and event space in the sky, set among silver plantings, reflecting pools and a perforated mirror ceiling,” said WOHA.
The hotel rooms have been given different interior finishes to reflect the theme of the terrace they overlook – for example, wooden panels with sand and pastel colors have been used for the rooms from the Beach Terrace.
The rooms overlooking the Garden Terrace have marble surfaces and green tones, while those on the Nuvola Terrace have a white-silver color palette.
Other buildings designed by WOHA include the plant-filled Singapore Pavilion on display at the 2020 Dubai Expo and a mixed-use building with a stepped terrace covered in plantings.
The photograph is of Darren Soh.
