Urban Hotels

Client: Chaudhary Group
Status: Proposed 2018

Strategically located in the heart of Kathmandu City, the proposed Holiday Inn Hotel development stands at an elevation of approximately 1,400 m above sea level in the bowl-shaped Kathmandu Valley of central Nepal. The Himalayan Mountains form the idea behind the hotel concept. It is the vision of Chaudhary Group, a multinational conglomerate, to create a gem visible from afar, taking advantage of the low-rise surroundings. A modern design approach was adopted to create a visually striking and memorable building. Dressed in Corten steel and aluminium cladding with a curtain wall finish for the exterior glazing, a jewel-shaped structure is fashioned to accommodate both office and hotel components. Surrounded by Himalayan peaks, the hotel benefits from first class scenic views.

Taking full advantage of the site orientation and condition, the building is split into two: a 10-storey block with 194 hotel rooms and a smaller diamond-shape banquet hall which connects to the external garden. The vibrant garden links the spaces within creating a pleasant green environment and the car circulation is planned with high consideration as to not disturb the pedestrian movement.

The most extravagant and uncommon feature of the site is the location of a Buddhist temple situated in the middle of the land, near the main entrance. Used by the local community, the temple is required to be retained and upgraded. The project is designed to ensure the temple is integrated within the hospitality development, carefully considering its spiritual importance for the local community.

Client: Symphony Life Berhad

The critical mass of this high-density development in the heart of Kuala Lumpur provides an opportunity to reshape and create a new character to the urban fabric surrounding the development. The site planning seeks to enhance the street-life and pedestrian environment by placing retail activities on the street edge that open out to generous sidewalks. Pockets of landscapes urban courtyards which house commercial activities are inserted within the retail frontage to create urban nodes and landmarks and linkages to various components of the mixed development that comprises retail, service apartments and luxury condominiums. Located in Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, Kuala Lumpur.

Client : Tropicana Corporation Berhad
Making a commentary about the street wall of Jalan Ampang, The building is recessed from Jalan Ampang’s street wall, to create a plaza and a more generous drop-off area in front of W hotel. Due to the depth of the site, instead of conventionally arranging the buildings such that all public spaces face the front a deliberate decision was made to stack the programs atop one another.

This means that there will always be a buffer zone or separation between the intersection of the programs and that both hotel and drop-off area for the residential components (serviced apartments) are separated. This relationship between the different parts of the building is expressed via the different façade treatments for the car park. Façade treatments are also determined according to the needs of that particular program. For example, the hotel’s façade has more glass per surface area than the residential apartments.

Nonetheless, the drop-off areas are shared between the hotel and residential apartment. Therefore, the façade expresses the sequence of programs as one moves through the building. A pool deck on the 12th floor is orientated towards the rear of the building, away from the traffic noise of Jalan Ampang. This project was designed in collaboration with SOM, USA.

Client : Sek Thim
A 19th century Straits Chinese shop house in Penang is re-purposed into a hotel and arts space. While preserving the street façade, a new 3-storey pavilion of steel and glass is inserted into the rear without touching both party walls, creating a dramatic tapering light well that brings in daylight and ventilation. Every light-filled guestroom has a sun-drenched glass shower with views of the historical city or the time-worn party wall which becomes the 4th façade of the 16m2 room.

The corridor is akin to a 'floating jetty' of steel and timber, recalling the traditional clan villages on Penang's coast. Past and present merge, forming a contemporary spatial experience that engages with history. The lobby and courtyard transforms into a performance venue or studio, providing a space for the local arts community and an incubator for emerging artists. Sinkeh - meaning 'new comer' - traces the narrative of the early immigrants and commemorates the history of Penang

Clients : Oxley Holdings (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
A stone throw away from the renowned Petronas Twin Towers, the Oxley Towers is a vibrant and upcoming development made from an ensemble of three cascading skyscrapers interlinked with landscaped sky decks. This commercial scheme is set to become a future landmark on the Kuala Lumpur skyline. The highly dense mixed-use development of 280,000 sqm is created from a concoction of components: two hotels, serviced residences, offices and retail; which will soon become an opportunity to transform the civic realm and urban experience of the KLCC area.

The buildings are set back forming a forecourt. The street-front plaza funnels pedestrians into an “urban corridor” that cuts a path through the city block, creating a human scale at street level, amidst towering skyscrapers. The retail corridor forms an “indoor street” sheltered from the tropical weather and links pedestrians from the bustling Jalan Ampang to the KLCC Park and Mosque located at the rear. Recognizing its noblesse oblige, roof-top restaurants with outdoor view decks enable public access through the often impervious urban islands of exclusive luxury developments.

The curtain-wall embodies a distinctive diagonal grain – a recurring leitmotif in indigenous textiles and weaving traditions of Malaysia. Window panels and sun-shading fins form a layered, textured façade reinforcing the diagonal pattern which distinguishes the interior experience. The asymmetrical composition of three tapering and interconnect towers creates ever-changing perspectives of the buildings from different viewpoints.

Client : Mayland Berhad
The site is a square-shaped lot on the immediate rear of a series of interrelated buildings, monumental set pieces facing the Putrajaya boulevard. These set a formal tone and any subsequent building that is constructed on the site needs to adhere to the tenor of formalism that characterizes the boulevard’s mood. The program of the building is divided equal proportion into office spaces, a hotel and retail zones, with the prediction that the retail component would service the growing recreational and food and beverage demand within this government precinct, permitting public recreational flows that would feed off the demand generated by the hotel and the resident office zone.

The orthogonal massing of the building optimizes the allowable floor area as determined by statuary building requirements, though the nearly 1:1 aspect ratio of the site eventually becomes a hindrance to creating a reasonably-sized drop off area, as the setback requirements would have resulted in a building more rectangular than square, thereby reducing the efficiency of the floor plate.

Effort was made to extend the glass balcony over the public thoroughfare, though with concessions in the road lay-by and drop-off zone, to maintain the public and pedestrian realm of the roadside. The deep plan that results from this square aspect ratio is further dealt with by designing the massing of the hotel as a double loaded corridor centered around a courtyard, ample natural light is brought into the interiors of the office podium via a glass skylight.

Client : Putrajaya Holdings Sdn Bhd 
This urban 3 star hotel is located in Putrajaya. The design was inspired by the the distinctive Malaysian motifs derived particularly from Malaysian handicraft which are textiles and weaving. The water front embraced by the hotel created a promenade that guides pedestrian along the circumference of the wetland. 

Client : Shangri-La 
Tower Wing is the main wing of the hotel and houses the deluxe rooms, executive rooms, Horizon Club rooms, and Horizon Premier Suite. Besides the rooms and suites, majority of the dining outlets in the hotel are located at the Tower Wing.

Client : Bonyan Emirates
Inspired by a good musical piece, Symphony tower was envisaged to be a beautiful composition of various spatial programs to create a unique user experience as well a visually pleasant architectural form. Located in the vicinity of iconic structures in the Business Bay area such as Burj Khalifa, the Opus by Zaha Hadid, Bareeq tower and many other buildings that have unique forms to be recognized, Symphony tower is oriented to respond to the immediate context, maximize the benefit of being close to the water front, protecting privacy of the interior spaces as well as capitalizing the premium views towards Burj Khalifa.

The planning of the scheme is composed around four major zones which are the public (commercial) zone, the semi private (residential facilities), private (residential units) as well as the shared service zones become a core in the centre. The public face is effortlessly integrated with the pedestrian walkway and cityscape thus enhances the subtle transition as one approach and enters the building. The podium is filled with commercial programs that become part and parcel of urban fabric such as retail and offices where as parking and building services are tucked behind masked by the commercial façade. With various components and functions planned within this project, it becomes small self sufficient development by itself – a miniature township nestled within bigger urban fabric.