(Picture: Darren Soh/Studio Periphery)
A skyscraper boasting its own lush jungle and waterfall has been named the best new tall building in the world.
The Pan Pacific Orchard hotel in Singapore – which received the accolade from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) – certainly stands out from amongst its high-rise neighbours.
Divided into four sections, the 461-foot high structure features four green, open-air terraces that cut into the impressive high-rise.
These are supported by four large, striking columns covered in tropical plants.
Each terrace is based on a different theme that relates to Singapore’s environment: forests, beaches, gardens and clouds.
Guests can relax in a lagoon-like swimming pool surrounded by palm trees or sip a cocktail while enjoying the sound of a waterfall in the background.
CTBUH praised the hotel for its innovative approach to blending nature with urban architecture, describing the design as ‘groundbreaking’.
The ground-level ‘forest terrace’ is open to passersby and features the waterfall as well as dozens of plant species, many of which are native to Singapore.
Architect Hong Wei Phua of WOHA, the Singaporean firm behind the building’s design told CNN the forest offered an ‘oasis away from the hustle and bustle’ of Orchard, Singapore’s famously busy shopping district.
Moving up the building, the next open-air space is the beach terrace, which features the pool, then its the garden terrace offering walking paths around a lawn, and finally the cloud terrace with impressive views over the city.
Phua says the unique design means ‘you experience the hotel not as a very big building, but at more of a neighborhood scale’.
Many of the hotel’s 347 rooms have balconies that overlook the terraces, which are all covered and offer shade from the scorching Singapore sun.
The building also features a 400-seat ballroom, two restaurants and a solar panel roof.
Singapore has an impressive reputation when it comes nature-inspired architecture.
Greenery is often integrated into buildings and in some areas strict building codes even require property developers to include it in new developments.
WOHA has designed a number of biophillic (green) buildings in Singapore, including a housing complex for retirees named World Building of the Year in 2018.
The firm’s founding director Mun Summ Wong said he believed ‘skyscrapers can serve as green lungs within dense urban environments’.
Founded in 2002, the CTBUH Awards recognise the best high-rise buildings and their architects.
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