From Westworld to Planet Earth II, Singapore’s eco-buildings have always been in the limelight.
But last Wednesday (2 October), the Pan Pacific Orchard Hotel raised the bar even further by being recognised as the “Best Tall Building Worldwide” at the 2024 Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) Awards.
The CTBUH is a non-profit organisation focused on skyscrapers and future cities. Each year, the council recognises buildings that push the boundaries in design, functionality, and sustainability.
According to CTBUH CEO Javier Quintana de Uña, “Pan Pacific Orchard represents the best in responsible vertical urbanism today.”
And it’s not just the “Best Tall Building Worldwide” title that the hotel grabbed. Pan Pacific Orchard also took home awards for “Best Tall Building” in Asia 2024 and Best Tall Building in the 100-199 metre category.
A ‘Hotel in Nature’
@epic.stays Discover nature’s bliss at 📍Pan Pacific Orchard in #Singapore ✨ With four unique spaces inspired by the elements—Forest, Beach, Garden, and Cloud—this urban oasis offers a retreat like no other 🎥 @깅듀 #singaporehotel #traveltiktok #singaporetravel ♬ Ladyfingers by Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass – Mieze Katz
Pan Pacific Orchard Hotel isn’t just a pretty face. It’s about eco-conscious design.
Located on Claymore Road, the 140-metre-tall building, which opened last year, offers 23 storeys and 350 rooms of green luxury in the middle of Orchard Road’s concrete landscape.
Designed by WOHA Architects, a firm known for its biophilic buildings, the hotel features four nature-themed terraces (Forest, Beach, Garden and Cloud) organised around a 6-storey guestroom block. This Tetris-like layout gives guests unique access to natural social spaces and lush gardens.
With an impressive green plot ratio of over 300%, the hotel acts as what WOHA’s founding director, Mun Summ Wong, describes as “green lungs within dense urban environments.”
In simple terms, the green plot ratio means that the 100 species of shrubs, plants, and trees found within the hotel cover an area that is more than three times the hotel’s land size.
Vertical Urbanism: A Growing Trend
Vertical Urbanism refers to the movement where cities build upwards into the sky. This allows cities to build more space for people within a smaller area of land.
Singaporeans are no strangers to the idea of limited land space. From our homes to our offices, most of the buildings that make up our Singapore skyline are skyscrapers.
The only addition we have made to Vertical Urbanism is to move it towards a more sustainable version, a trend Lay Bee Yap, Group Director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority, describes as “a strategy to transform buildings into extensions of the natural environment.”
This movement of integrating vertical greenery into high-rise buildings in creative ways is one reason why Singapore’s architecture has caught international attention.
Even Lisa Joy, the co-creator of Westworld, praised Singapore’s urban design during her visit, saying, “There’s a kind of beauty to a skyscraper” here.
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