Pan Pacific Orchard
Singapore's 23-storey tower is yet another green addition to the city-state's ever-growing architectural wonders. The Green Vision of Singapore forecasts an additional one million trees to be planted by 2030 to live up to its "garden city" nickname even more. While most plants will go on ground level, there are exceptions.
The local architectural firm, WOHA, was responsible for the Pan Pacific Orchard project. Their signature style is eco-futurism, characterized by futuristic architecture integrated with greenery.
Two notable examples of their work are the Alila Villas Uluwatu in Indonesia and The Park Royal on Pickering in Singapore.
In all their projects, you can see elements of biophilic design, which aims to bring nature closer to the urban environment of our cities.
Pan Pacific Orchard's 461-foot (140-meter) structure rises above Claymore Road in central Singapore. From the ground level, four gigantic post-modern Doric columns can be seen. Each rounded column is thickly planted with greenery, hiding the concrete-metal frame below.
Pan Pacific Orchard is one of those rare examples where the original renderings of the building turn out even better in real life. This is especially true when a tower is designed with lots of greenery, which looks fantastic in digitally imagined previews but not so much when the work is done.
Take a moment to look up Pan Pacific Orchard in Google Street View to see how the plants have taken over the facade of the building in places where they weren't even planned.
Only a year after its opening in June 2023, plants have started to hang from all sides, creating this romantic vision of a post-apocalyptic world where nature is left alone to thrive.
With all this, the Pan Pacific Orchard building has three times the greenery surface legally required in Singapore for new builds. That's another green lung for a city with six million inhabitants.
Solar panels cover the rooftop, and below, there are three massive cutouts where the green-filled sky terraces are; the first one also includes pools.
The Mosella restaurant is on the level of the Forest Terrace and has an impressive super-high ceiling. It serves Mediterranean/Peruvian dishes prepared in its open kitchen, including vegan and gluten-free options.
You can choose to dine outside overlooking the Forest Terrace's lush greenery.
Pan Pacific Orchard's decadent bar is all about champagne, caviar, and oysters. If you want to spoil yourself, the mixologists behind the bar will craft you a cocktail that will blow your mind.
If you book one of the following rooms: Pacific Club Balcony King, Pacific Club Balcony Loft, Beach Club Pool Access Loft, or the Terrace Suite, then you'll get exclusive access to the Pacific Club Lounge, with perks like afternoon tea or super-late check out (4 PM).
The 347 sleek rooms have high ceilings, private balconies, and views of the sky gardens or Singapore's skyline.
The hotel's 22m-long (72-foot) pool is big enough for proper swimming. So, if you like to start your day with some sport, you can do a few laps before heading out to the city.
You can also decide to take it easy, swim up to the Aqua Bar, and get a cocktail - starting at 10 AM.
