© Masano Kawana

• Architects: A D Lab
• Location: 401 MacPherson Rd, Singapore 368125
• Project Team: Warren Liu, Luke Lim, Najeeb Rahmat, Yenny Kusuma, U Yenlee, Tracy Tan, Wu Yanling, Emerson Gonzales, Lito Garcia, Anna May Manrique
• Area: 14204.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Masano Kawana

• Builder: Shanghai Chong Kee Furniture & Construction Pte Ltd
• Civil And Structural Engineer: CMP Consultants Pte Ltd

© Masano Kawana

From the architect. Ibis Styles Hotel Macpherson- Giving new life to a forgotten building.

Built in the 1970s, the former Windsor Hotel underwent its fair share of changes and renovations that did little to engage its surroundings and the community. Located at the prominent intersection of MacPherson and Aljunied Roads, the hotel anchors the MacPherson Industrial Estate and landed residential estate. The existing 3-storey introverted and opaque shopping podium was unfriendly to its neighbours. Above this podium was a 6 storey 200-key hotel, with an inefficient H-shaped plan on a 7.2m grid with 2 room bays per grid. We were presented with the extremely challenging task of making this property relevant, with a fresh lease on life. For the project to be economically viable for international operators, the hotel had to be reconfigured to increase the room count to 300 keys.

© Masano Kawana

Rebuilding was an obvious option, but an A&A to the existing building was an overall leaner solution with a shorter execution period. However, that meant that the increase in the hotel rooms had to be done within the same foot print with the constraints of the existing structure, since the 3-storey podium floor areas needed to be fully used for strata shops. This resulted in a very narrow room bay of 2.8m which was incompatible to the structural grid, creating many different small room layouts and situations where existing columns appear in the rooms. We overcame this challenge by making the hotel guest rooms open plan and with a system of multi-functional modular furniture adaptable to all 28 room configurations.

© Masano Kawana

Floor Plan

© Masano Kawana

The new ground level frontage is more welcoming and accessible to the pubic with a large entrance, F&B spaces and more porous pedestrian connections to the external walkways. The façade was designed as a porous veil stretched over the existing building. Openings were cut out for views and entrances as well as a large opening on the 4th level to frame the lush pool garden terrace. 

© Masano Kawana

http://ift.tt/2eHrNG7

© Christopher Frederick Jones

• Architects: Wilson Architects
• Location: Sunshine Coast QLD, Australia
• Architect In Charge: Hamilton Wilson, Shaun Purcell, Daniel Tsang, Luis Sidonio
• Area: 3280.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Christopher Frederick Jones

• Contractor: Badge Constructions
• Landscape: Wilson Landscape Architects
• Structural/Civil: Meinhardt
• Electrical/Hydraulic: Cushway Blackford
• Qs: Steele Wrobel
• Mechanical: NDY
• Esd: Sustainability House
• Acoustic: ASK Consulting
• Client: St Andrew’s Anglican College

© Christopher Frederick Jones

From the architect. Wilson Architects has designed a new Learning Hub for St Andrew’s Anglican College – a rapidly-growing school on the Sunshine Coast.

© Christopher Frederick Jones

The Learning Hub incorporates primary and secondary school libraries, multiple collaborative teaching spaces, staff offices, professional development care, several student lounges and an expansive outdoor learning area.

© Christopher Frederick Jones

St Andrew’s Anglican College Principal Chris Ivey says the Learning Hub has seamlessly integrated with the school, and students are taking full advantage of the learning opportunities it presents. “I have spent chunks of time each day in the Hub, observing the way our students are using the facility, and it is wonderful to see them using it as if it has always been there,” Chris says.

© Christopher Frederick Jones

Wilson Architects’ design intent was to give the school a learning heart, and provide a highly-flexible space that could be used for a full spectrum of activity.

© Christopher Frederick Jones

From concerts and large gatherings to small group meetings and quiet study sessions. Internally, contemporary materials such as glass and metal are balanced with wood to add warmth and richness to the learning space. Meanwhile, a covered outdoor gathering area supports large numbers of students in an open-air learning setting.

© Christopher Frederick Jones

Wilson Architects Managing Director Hamilton Wilson says the Hub brings the learning community together, giving the students a dynamic place to collaborate and share knowledge.

© Christopher Frederick Jones

“It’s shifted the focus towards student-centred learning, as opposed to concentrating on teachers and their classrooms. The Hub has given students a real sense of ownership of the space and their learning,” Hamilton says.

Ground Floor

1st Floor

He says it was amazing to see the school’s centre of gravity change so dramatically. “The school has transformed from being very disparate, to extremely cohesive, with a pulsing heart of activity at its centre,” he says.

© Christopher Frederick Jones

The university-like facility (as described by students) raises the profile of learning, which is now on display on major routes of the campus and no longer hidden away.

© Christopher Frederick Jones

Product Description. St Andrew’s displays a predominantly brick palette on campus buildings, with steel roof and cladding highlighting school colours. For the academic centre a more abstract and contemporary materiality was sought that would still acknowledge the existing campus aesthetic. A smooth-faced PGH white brick (Crevole) references the white brick banding in the original buildings, albeit with a crisply-contemporary edge. Plexiglas highlights in the building sunshading draw out the reds and blues of the school uniform, subtly reflecting the campus colourway without directly emulating it.

© Christopher Frederick Jones

http://ift.tt/2e7oUfN