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 expert panel described the tower as a “hotel in nature,” showcasing an “innovative approach to high-density urbanism.”
Garden City
In recent years, Singapore, with its six million residents, has earned a reputation as a city-state that is exceptionally committed to biophilic (nature-inspired) architecture. Singapore has long been dubbed a garden city, where greenery often spills out from skyscrapers. This lush vegetation is increasingly integrated into public infrastructure, climbing the facades of buildings.
Singapore’s strict building regulations even require developers to incorporate significant green spaces into new constructions. 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. This is how lead architect Hong Wei Fu from WOHA, the renowned Singaporean firm that designed the skyscraper, perceives it. It’s a true oasis, a stark contrast to the bustling and hectic Orchard, Singapore’s famous shopping district.
The hotel features restaurants, pools, a spa center, an outdoor gym, and conference rooms. All 347 rooms come equipped with balconies that offer stunning views. But it’s not just these amenities that make the hotel exceptionally eco-friendly. It also includes a bioreactor for waste processing, 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 related to 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 described.
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.
