09 September 2011

Grand Park Orchard Hotel

The glittering façade of this Singapore hotel transforms an entire junction, writes Yelena Smetannikov.

Located along one of the foremost shopping districts in Singapore, the Grand Park Orchard Hotel captures the attention of human and vehicular traffic.

After the hotel changed its branding, it needed to clearly communicate its mission to visitors and passers-by and cater to the diverse needs of increasingly sophisticated and discerning clients.

"A hotel has to be more than a shelter in a foreign land," said DP Architects' Charmaine Wong, the project's head designer.

"It has to be a comfortable haven, a resort, a status statement, a lifestyle centre – all rolled into one."

Wong came up with the idea of reinforcing the hotel's existing geometric form.

"The design concept was to create a dark cubical prism that exudes an air of mystery and beauty," she said.

2 sides of the prism facing the famed Orchard Road were clad in LED lights.

A herringbone pattern was embossed onto 2 layers of glass to allow for transparency while reducing thermal transfer. Colour-changing LED lights embedded into the motif create a soft glow around the aluminium arrangement.

The lights add buzz and excitement to the area, enlivening the façade.

A grandiose media wall also forms part of the façade, with a screen advertising runway shows and enticing passers-by to enter the 4 storey shopping podium just below it.

DP Architects
dpa.com/sg