WOHA architects designed the Park Royal on Pickering in Singapore, completed in 2013.
As the end point of the Hong Lim Park in the city’s business district, this project carefully considers the relationship of human-built greenery and the city condition. In this project and the Gardens by the Bay, Singapore has smartly decided not to try to recreate natural beauty but rather to mimic it. The man-made garden should admit that it is man-made after all. The Parkroyal emphasizes the verticality of the 12 story skyscraper with vast negative spaces and gaps between horizontal elements. Personal decks take on a curvacious topography and stack on each other with a subtle terracing, pushing the occupant out into the green garden. This man-made greenery shamelessy smashes into cold office building glazing.
Larger than life lanterns turn out to be more like hanging bird cages, asking the question who is animalistic and who is domesticated, animals or humans? Carefully considered details render an architecture that is clearly synthetic yet clearly based on nature. A balance of warm and cool materials, vast mirrors, and water features make it a comfortable experience.
The lost art of taking direction from cosmic scale is what makes this successful. Yet it isn’t the cosmos that is being references, it is earth’s nature. From the striated geometry of the Grand Canyon to the lofty heights of the rain forest, the achievements of mother nature are celebrated and brought down to a human scale. It is tamed and fitted into a city context and finally conformed to individual hotel rooms.
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Video: Architect’s Lecture
(erwinsoo– flickr/creative commons license on wikipedia / cc license)
(erwinsoo– flickr/creative commons license)
(erwinsoo– flickr/creative commons license)
(erwinsoo– flickr/creative commons license)
(erwinsoo– flickr/creative commons license)
(erwinsoo– flickr/creative commons license)
(erwinsoo– flickr/creative commons license)
(erwinsoo– flickr/creative commons license)
(erwinsoo– flickr/creative commons license)
