Gaby
Tropical plants wrap around towering columns and cascade from lofty overhangs. Guests relax around a lagoon-like pool, seeking refuge from the scorching midday sun. The spacious terrace, adorned with a variety of greenery, resembles a highland plateau.
This is the stunning view that greets visitors at the 23-story Pan Pacific Orchard hotel in Singapore, a marvel of modern architecture. Recently, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) recognized it as the best new skyscraper in the world. The CTBUH panel called the tower a “hotel in nature,” showcasing an “innovative approach to high-density urbanism.”
Garden City
In recent years, Singapore, home to six million residents, has earned a reputation as a city-state unusually committed to biophilic (nature-inspired) architecture. The city has long been dubbed a garden city, where greenery often spills out from skyscrapers. That vegetation is increasingly integrated into public infrastructure, climbing the facades of buildings.
Singapore’s strict building regulations even require developers to incorporate significant green space into new construction. In densely populated areas, the area of these green patches—rooftop gardens, flower beds, and green walls—must be equivalent to the total floor area of the building. In the case of Pan Pacific Orchard, the areas featuring diverse flora exceed this requirement by three times, according to CNN.
What’s Inside the Hotel?
The hotel feels less like a massive building and more like a cozy neighborhood. That’s how lead architect Hong Wei Fu of WOHA, the Singapore firm that designed the skyscraper, describes it. It’s a true oasis, a stark contrast to the bustling Orchard, Singapore’s famous shopping district.
The hotel features restaurants, pools, a spa, an outdoor gym, and conference rooms. All 347 rooms come equipped with balconies that offer stunning views. But it’s not just the amenities that make the hotel eco-friendly. It also includes a bioreactor that treats waste, a rainwater collection system for irrigation, and, of course, solar panels.
The massive structure of Pan Pacific Orchard is adorned with lush gardens and pools. Its unique design incorporates a series of L-shaped spaces that divide the tower into four distinct levels, making room for greenery. Each of the four terraces has its own thematic color scheme inspired by Singapore’s tropical environment: forests, beaches, gardens, and clouds.
The key features of the “Forest Terrace” on the first floor, the only level accessible to pedestrians, include a cascading water feature and dozens of plant species, many of which are native. Instead of navigating a maze of rooms and corridors, visitors find themselves in a forested space, as the designers put it.
On the next level lies the “Beach Terrace,” complete with a pool surrounded by palm trees. Meanwhile, the “Garden Terrace” presents a picturesque rectangular lawn enveloped by walking paths. Finally, the “Cloud Terrace” is an elegant banquet hall with panoramic views of the entire city, suitable for public events.
According to the architects’ vision, each level is covered yet open, accommodating the warm, humid, and often stormy local climate. Thus, the terraces also serve as giant canopies, protecting those on the lower levels from rain.
