With the opening of the new Zhongshan Park, Balestier district is quickly establishing itself as a hub for tourists. We take a tour.
September 17th, 2013
With its location on the edge of the Central Business District, it’s perhaps hardly surprising that Balestier is becoming an alternative destination for tourist looking for lodging. A series of affordable hotels can be found in this area such as Quality Hotel, Value Hotel and Ibis Hotel.
Arguably the most significant to open its doors is a new mixed-use development called Zhongshan Park. Sitting on a site spanning 17,650sqm, it houses two hotels – Days Hotel Singapore and Ramada Singapore – an office tower, and a 2-level mall.
Zhongshan Park development
The architects are DP Architects, while the hotel interiors have been designed by DPD+.
Zhongshan Park
The project adopts modern interpretations of Chinese architecture and garden landscape designs, in consideration of the surrounding Balestier context.
Zhongshan Park
As part of the overall master plan to integrate the adjacent Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall within the project, an area covering 4,624sqm has been dedicated as a public park, called “Zhongshan park”, in honour of Dr Sun Yat Sen (the founding father of the Republic of China).
The focus within the Park is drawn to highlighting two existing Banyan trees on site that have been slated for conservation. Courtyards are carefully planned around these trees, and to further soften the building edge, a continuous covered timber-decked walkway is designed along the periphery of the podium. This walkway eventually leads one to prominently framed views of the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall.
Ramada Singapore
The low-rise commercial building also sits harmoniously alongside the array of conserved shop houses characteristic of the Balestier area. The high-rise hotel and office towers, on the other hand, take on clean simple forms, and are cladded mainly in glass.
Ramada Singapore
Days Hotel Singapore
Inside, the 17-storey, 4-star Ramada Singapore hotel features warm, contemporary interiors, with subtle cultural references inspired by its locale, while the 14-storey, 3-star Days Hotel Singapore offers brighter interiors and playfully incorporates whimsical elements such as hovering birdcages in the all-day restaurant – a nod to the lush landscaped garden a stone’s throw away.
Days Hotel Singapore
Days Hotel Singapore
DP Architects
dpa.com.sg
DPD+
dpdplus.com
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
Suitable for applications ranging from schools and retail outlets to computer rooms and X-ray suites, Palettone comes in two varieties and a choice of more than fifty colours.
Marylou Cafaro’s first trendjournal sparked a powerful, decades-long movement in joinery designs and finishes which eventually saw Australian design develop its independence and characteristic style. Now, polytec offers all-new insights into the future of Australian design.
Savage Design’s approach to understanding the relationship between design concepts and user experience, particularly with metalwork, transcends traditional boundaries, blending timeless craftsmanship with digital innovation to create enduring elegance in objects, furnishings, and door furniture.
Babylon by Rothelowman presents a vision for multi residential design in the wake of COVID-19.
In the latest edition of Indesign: the ‘Design Appetite’ issue, we tackle the design industry’s most biting issues around hospitality. Here’s a taste of what’s inside.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Set to undergo a $60-million revitalisation, the National Gallery of Australia has announced the launch of a landscape design competition for its Sculpture Garden.
Focusing on facade and green design, this pair of office blocks is designed to meet the most contemporary demands of workplace design.