An iconic 1900s Colonial heritage building in one of Singapore’s busiest areas is ready for its next chapter thanks to a refurbishment that’s sensitive to its history and embraces its neighbourhood’s current incarnation.
The Club, designed by Singapore design studio Distillery, now part of HASSELL, is a boutique hotel owned by Harry’s International, which occupies three historic corner shophouses on Singapore’s Ann Siang Road.
Reimagined as a collection of five food and beverage venues and 20 guest rooms – each with
their own unique style – The Club is a venue that immediately fits into its setting within the vibrant Club Street dining and nightlife precinct.
Paul Semple, HASSELL Principal and global head of hospitality, says the philosophy behind the Club’s design was to ensure it was as welcoming as a members club, while providing the familiarity of home.
“It’s about creating a sense of belonging,” Paul said.
“With all bars and restaurants under the one roof, guests can while away a day or two without
having to leave. The bars and restaurants exceed standard hotel offerings, each featuring a distinct personality and targeted to different times of the day.”
Paul says in order to accommodate the expanded hospitality venues, the number of guest rooms were reconfigured, allowing The Club to offer more generously proportioned rooms in addition to suites.
“By reducing the number of rooms, we’ve introduced more natural light into the corridors.
There’s now a sense of discovery as guests make their way along passageways layered with
paintings, sculptures and mementos,” Paul said.
“Furthermore, no two guestrooms are the same, but the feeling that guests have been invited
into someone’s home is consistent across all the guestrooms. A layered design approach
combines especially curated and unique artworks, understated luxury and warm materials to
complement the building’s heritage.”
Paul says The Club’s heritage building setting makes an impact.
“Singapore conservation guidelines ensure we’ve retained and respected the original façade, and painting the original timber shutters a vibrant red connects it further to its Chinatown location.
And by drawing the public from Club Streets’ bars, restaurants and clubs into Ann Siang Road, The Club extends the precinct and increases the buzz into the street’s upper side,” he said.
“The Club has successfully breathed new life into an under-utilised establishment in the
neighborhood.”
The Club is just one example of how hotels in heritage buildings are gaining a second life through well-considered and sensitive design.
In Sydney, the recently opened Ovolo Woolloomooloo at Woolloomooloo Wharf, designed by
HASSELL, brings the best of modern design to the harbourside location.
The boutique hotel features 100 guest rooms, transformed to bring the very best of urban living
to the precinct. The historic ‘shell’ of the site has been retained, while a previously large vacant
space is now an inviting laneway, home to reception, a bar, library and private dining areas.
HASSELL was also behind the Ovolo Laneways in Melbourne, which opened in 2012.
ABOUT HASSELL
HASSELL is a leading international design practice with studios in Australia, China, South East Asia and the United Kingdom.
We judge the success of the buildings and places we design by the way people use and enjoy them – the clients who commission them, the people who inhabit them. Good design is about helping clients meet their needs and objectives. It is also about the way people feel when they experience it, a sense of meaning, connection and belonging.
For more information visit www.hassellstudio.com