Hotel Fort Canning

Lighting and glass have been implemented to juxtapose original architectural elements with new visual and functional details in a process of layering, highlighting the old against the new and developing a narrative for the structure, its spaces, and its history. Lighting works in an exhibitionist manner to commemorate elements of the building’s original structure: lit coffers open up the ceiling to frame underlying beams; lights embedded in the floors transform each column into a feature on display; the asymmetry of the 1920s central hall is retained and emphasised by an illuminated cove designed along one edge of the ceiling. On the exterior, lights produce a nightlong display of the façade’s original horizontal and vertical components.

Glass details establish striking moments of transition between new and old. Frameless, electric glass doors sit inside of heavy timber portals at the lobby. Four glass-enclosed archaeological pits are embedded into the floor of the reception space to showcase 14th- and 19th-century pottery and earthenware excavated from the hill. In the guestrooms, verandahs are enclosed to become bathrooms and sitting areas in an effort to counter the narrow transverse dimensions of the building. Here, grand doorways float in a frame of glass to highlight the once-existent transition from inside to outside — this becomes the room’s focal point in a unique reciprocal relationship of ‘framing the frame’ to expose the space’s change of function; a similar technique is employed to hold a heavy portal within a plane of glass at the ground floor passageway leading into new reception and lounge spaces.

The refurbished hotel offers 86 guestrooms and access to an extensive outdoor terraced landscape with pool situated above a car park. A bar and restaurant are planned on the ground level adjacent to the main lobby.