Singapore’s aesthetic is often described as old meets new, where colonial-era buildings stand next to newly erected feats of engineering. But on the city’s famed shopping street Orchard Road, the look certainly skews toward the futuristic, with sprawling malls and design-forward boutiques dominating the scene. There’s a newcomer to the promenade that fits in just fine with its neighbors—Design Orchard, a mixed-use complex with a design store, a design incubator for creatives, a café, and public outdoor space in the form of a rooftop park. The brainchild of local architecture practice WOHA , Design Orchard is a place dedicated to contextualizing the luxury goods sold to pedestrians walking by, showcasing the design process from conception to showroom display, and encouraging collaboration by Singapore’s emerging homegrown talents.
The ground-floor retail space.
On the ground floor, Design Orchard houses a shop dedicated to local brands, designers, and artisans, while the second and third floors are co-working spaces for up-and-coming Singaporean creatives, giving them a place to work in a city known for expensive real estate. “We designed the building to be as flexible as possible, with services tucked to one side so that each level can largely consist of an adaptable open-plan space that can be reconfigured as required by the designers,” says WOHA associate Jonathan Choe. “To encourage design collaboration and creativity, we framed visual connectivities through a variety of openings ranging from an entire full-height glass façade to carefully placed glass openings and even playful 'porthole' windows.” Those portholes cover a two-story wall, certainly drawing in the Instagramming masses from the street level to the rooftop garden.
The rooftop garden.
The garden is really an oasis from the hustle and bustle of the shopping scene it overlooks. It’s a visual standout, with greenery cascading down its slope and merging with the amphitheater, where special performances and activations take place. “There are interesting interstitial spaces with all kinds of views,” says Choe. “It's quite fun to explore.”
The amphitheater.
But bringing these three somewhat disparate concepts together was a hurdle for Choe and his team. Originally, the client was interested in creating a ground-floor park, but they didn’t want to lose out on valuable retail real estate along the shopping strip. “A rooftop public space hadn't been considered by the client because they wanted a high-profile event space that engaged with the pedestrian promenade,” says Choe. “We overcame this in our competition-winning proposal by creating a wedge-shaped building with a sloped rooftop amphitheater and 'hilltop' park, which ended up even more prominent, yet still as inviting and accessible as if it had been on the ground. We managed to achieve all of this without compromising on retail frontage.” Since it opened earlier this year, this innovative space has proven to be the perfect way to bring together designers and the public.