Located in an Civic and Arts district of Singapore, 30 Bencoolen is an existing 30 plus year old 13 storey hotel that needed a revamp and a new look. Firstly the ground floor was completely reconfigured into one space incorporating the hotel reception, lobby and restaurant. A curved ceiling using anodised aluminium sections unifies this space and extends into the pedestrian sidewalk. This and the grid shopfront glass creates a classic café/hotel frontage to this busy street.

The existing rooftop pool was demolished and rebuilt into a lap pool close to the building edge. A portion of the cantilevered terrace has been retained and gives a dramatic edge and fine views to the neighbourhood. The curved ceiling reappears on the roof terrace as a slated pergola offering shade to the pool users.

The building façade has been completed remodelled. The podium houses the carpark and a fine anodised aluminium screen. There are two types of room windows, one horizontal and one vertical and this creates a playful composition to the façade. Both horizontal and vertical sun shading fins further adds to the dynamic rhythm of the street elevation.

A final and important element to the overall design is the use of materials. The palette is rich, textured, warm but deliberately muted. The idea is to create an ambience that is informal and inviting, comfortable but with character.

Name: 30 Bencoolen
Type: Proposed Additions & Alterations to the Existing 13-Storey Hotel
Location: 30 Bencoolen, Singapore
Status: Completed 2017
Architect: HYLA Architects
Principal Architect: Mr Han Loke Kwang
Assistant Architects: Tiffany Ow, Trang Tran, Eunike, Ann Pantipjatuporn, Navin Rungsmai
Structural Engineer: GCE Consulting Engineers
Facade Consultant: : Meinhardt Façade Technology (S) Pte Ltd
M&E Engineer: : EWC Engineers Pte Ltd
Quantity Surveyor: 1MH & Associates
Main Contractor: Shanghai Chongkee Furniture and Construction Pte Ltd
Furniture: Xtra Designs Pte Ltd
Landscape Contractor: Nyee Phoe Flower Garden Pte Ltd
Photographer: Derek Swalwell

Once a boarding school for the children of British soldiers, the former Kinloss House has been completely restored to its former classic beauty. This 2,400 square metre building set on 1.9 hectares of land is now the AXA University Asia Pacific Campus, a training centre for the AXA Group. It houses 10 training rooms, a large multi-purpose hall and numerous break out spaces.

Type: Additions & Alterations to Existing 2-Storey Conservation State Building (Kinloss House) to Training Centre
Location: 3 Lady Hill Road
Status: Completed April 2009
Project Manager: Jones Lang LaSalle Property Consultants Pte Ltd
Main Contractor: Shanghai Chong Kee Furniture & Construction Pte Ltd
M&E Engineer: J Roger Preston (S) Pte Ltd
Quantity Surveyor: 1mh & Associates
Structural Engineer: Connell Wagner (Pte) Ltd
Acoustic Consultant: Acviron Acoustics Consultants Pte Ltd

The curved ceiling of the new Honda Showroom evokes imageries of trends in car design – lines and shapes that assist air-flow across a car’s bodywork. Behind this ceiling is an existing steel structural frame of a 60-year-old industrial shed, inherited when Honda bought over the site. Two new aluminium facades along Leng Kee Road and Alexandra Road complete an ensemble that totally hides the existing structure, giving the building a new lease of life. These facades are punctuated by the new ceiling vault to form deep, curved canopies providing a parking and additional outdoor display area for cars.

Deep skylights sculpture the ceiling like radiator grille air-scoops, bathing the interior of Asia’s largest single level car showroom in natural light. A monochromatic material palette reflects Honda’s new corporate identity, and allows the showcase of cars to be the main attention. In the evening, a dynamic series of suspended pendant uplights wash the curved ceiling, replicating natural daylight without any glare.

Similarly curved in plan are a series of meeting rooms and administrative facilities which serve as a buffer to a new 2-storey workshop addition with rooftop parking added to the side of the new showroom.

This project was featured in d+a magazine.

Type: A&A to Existing Single Storey Car Showroom and Workshop comprising 2-Storey Extension
Location: 255 Alexandra Road
Status: Completed June 2007
Quantity Surveyor: RJ Consultants Pte Ltd
Main Contractor: Incorporated Builders Pte Ltd
M&E Engineer: Edward E. Woo Consultants Pte Ltd
Structural Engineer: Uni-Associated Consultants

Situated on the 19th-24th storey of One Marina Boulevard, the plan exploits views to the CBD, Marina Bay, and across the sea to the Indonesian islands. Enclosed offices and services are placed against the building core. The window zone has been converted into a series of informal meeting and drop-in cubicle spaces, and tropical Asian material were used to create an environmental filter for this area. Hardwood flooring, timber blinds and overhead pergolas provide diffused, indirect lighting through to the open-plan offices within. Low paneled workstations add to the transparency of the office, promoting interaction. The breakout and pantry areas were conceived as large cafes with the Esplanade and Marina Bay as their orientation. Meeting rooms on the 22nd storey were placed on the periphery to further exploit the marvelous view. A sensuous curved timber wall—the entrance to a 200-seater auditorium on the 21st storey—multifunctions as a backdrop for the breakout lounge and vendor gallery.

Type: Office Tenancy Fitout (A&A) to 19th – 24th Storey
Location: 1 Marina Boulevard
Contract Sum: S$4.69 million
Status: Completed September 2005
Project Manager: Jones Lang LaSalle Property Consultants Pte Ltd
Interior Designer: HYLA Architects
Main Contractor: Ngai Chin Construction Pte Ltd
M&E Engineer: Parsons Brinckerhoff Consultants Pte Ltd
Structural Engineer: Uni-Associated Consultants

A grand, lushly landscaped 4-storey high courtyard greets visitors and residents of this 265-bed nursing home. Wards are arranged in two wings on either side, with the resident day spaces and service cores located in the centre and rear. This courtyard forms the central feature and focus of all the living spaces. Residential wards as well as a physiotherapy room and dining hall on the 1st storey open into this central courtyard. The two gable ends of the wards face the front of the building. One is clad in alternating polished, honed and sandblasted granite slabs; the other in horizontal aluminum louvered fins. The contrast between these two distinctive facades on either side of the landscaped courtyard helps to establish the home’s inviting presence along Senja Road.

This project was featured in d+a magazine.

Type: New Erection of 5-Storey Nursing Home with Roof Terrace and Basement Carpark
Location: Senja Road, Bukit Panjang
Status: Completed February 2005
Project Manager: Ascendas Services Pte. Ltd.
Structural Engineer: Ronnie & Koh Partnership
M&E Engineer: Rankine & Hill (S) Pte Ltd
Quantity Surveyors: KPK Quantity Surveyors Pte. Ltd.
Main Contractor: AHC Enterprises Pte Ltd

Emphasizing interaction, this multi-use complex creates a large variety of public spaces to cater to the increasing need for people to come together to exchange ideas and information. The building houses the offices, warehousing, research and development, assembly and testing, and the training and showroom facilities of the Invensys group; as well as the companies under them and their associated activities—all under one roof. An L-shaped form of blue glass greets the visitor in the 3-storey high atrium lobby and this corporate colour and theme is extended throughout the building. On the 5th storey, a large cafeteria and lounge forms the focus around which the multimedia showroom, training and meeting rooms are located. The cafe fronts an outdoor terrace with a fabric canopy and a reflecting pool made of blue tiles. In the general office areas, storage walls are used to demarcate the large open-plan offices into smaller intimate areas.

This project has been featured in d+a magazine.

Type: Interior Fitout for Invensys Corporate Offices
Location: 15 Changi Business Park Central 1
Contract Sum: S$10.5 million
Status: Completed November 2002
Main Contractor: Kingsmen International Ltd
M&E Engineer: Parsons Brinckerhoff Consultants Pte Ltd

This training centre for Sun Microsystems at Ngee Ann City office tower provides a 4.5m by 42m long public ‘street’ from which the 6 training rooms are entered. Along this space lies the reception counter, a glazed server room which acts as a showcase for the company’s products, a breakout refreshment area, an Internet cafe, and a casual and lounge seating area for visitors and trainees. The refreshing color scheme uses the corporate blue as a starting point from which other complementary colours and materials are added to accentuate and contrast.

Type: Interior Fitout for Training Centre & Offices
Location: Unit #11-01 to 08 inclusive, Tower B, Ngee Ann City
Status: Completed April 2001
Main Contractor: Jim & Halls Construction Pte Ltd
M&E Engineer: PCR-Perdana

This flagship store was completed in 1999 when StarHub was first launched. The store was conceived as an extension of the “high-tech, high-touch” experience developed in their corporate offices. A curved, rusted Cor-ten steel display wall brings customers in from the entrance, across an illuminated glass bridge, to three freestanding pod modules where each pod is an environment demonstrating an aspect of StarHub’s mobile business. Metal mesh fabric screens contrast against the warm timber materiality of the space.

Type: Internal Tenancy Fitout (A&A) to Starhub Flagship Store
Location: #01-01/03 Starhub Centre
Status: Completed December 1999
Main Contractor: Kingsmen Projects Pte Ltd
Structural Engineer: Uni-Associated Consultants

This award winning corporate headquarters and operational centre for the then newly established telecommunications company takes on the challenge of creating a “high-tech, high-touch” ambiance for staff and visitors alike. With the innovative use and combination of materials and details, it won the 6th Singapore Institute of Architects Interior Architecture Award for commercial interiors.

The large floor plate at StarHub Centre (35,000 square feet) revolves around a circulation spine which doubles as an exhibition gallery for corporate advertising. All workstations are in clusters of 2, 4, 5 & 6, encouraging teamwork & group dynamics. Centred in each department is a semi-enclosed meeting “pod”, each of which has a different shape in order to create individual identities for the departments. The board rooms are designed as a series of warm timber horizontal planes with perforated beech paneling. A delicately framed steel and tempered glass balustrade staircase connects the 2 floors.

This project has been featured in d. Magazine.

Type: Interior Fitout to Offices, Operations Centre and Shops
Location: Various
Status: Completed March 1999
Interior Designer:  (in collaboration with HYLA Architects) HB Design Pte. Ltd.
Main Contractor: Thynoe Pte Ltd
Structural Engineer: Uni-Associated Consultants
M&E Engineer: Donelley Simpson Cleary & Oehlers