Mondrian Singapore Duxton, Singapore

Posted in Projects on 17 October, 2023

Team taps Singapore’s rich past, trade routes and green lungs to create a unique design statement.

A ‘deconstructed shophouse’ was the overarching design inspiration for the Mondrian Singapore Duxton, which saw Los Angeles-based Studio Carter team up with local firm DP Architects to break bold new ground. Found in Southeast Asia, a shophouse is a building that has a shop opening on to the pavement and is also used as the owner’s residence.

The Mondrian, which opened in June, is rooted in Singaporean culture as it rises above Chinatown’s colourful historical shophouses and looks to the future with its sweeping views of the central business district skyline. The hotel has 302 guestrooms and shophouse suites, cinematic rooftop pool and four stylish restaurants and bars.

Studio Carter founder Robbyn Carter, who spent six years in Singapore living in a shophouse before returning to her native Los Angeles three years ago, has captured the soul of the Duxton Hill experience and transformed it into a new statement in design.

“Duxton Hill is like nowhere else, it’s Singapore’s most happening district, it feels like a village with its preserved shophouses and eclectic mix of cocktail bars, restaurants and nightlife,” she said.

Suneeth Changaroth of DPA explained: “As a nod to the rich history of Duxton, the façade design echoes the datum of scale and proportion of the adjacent shophouses, while common decorative elements are abstracted as architectural features. Mondrian Singapore Duxton’s overall façade is an attempt to imbue a minimalist and modern design adaptation that is true to its time, yet still responding and reflecting the traditional shophouse typology.”

The seamless connectivity, built into the design of the development, extends the vibrancy of this precinct during the day and into the night. The Mondrian public linkway running through the property for the first time connects the Duxton Hill neighbourhood with the surrounding bar and restaurant-filled streets of Keong Saik, Craig and Neil Roads. Some of Singapore’s hottest operators are set to open new food and beverage concepts over the coming months, creating a culinary epicentre the region.

Carter’s approach to design began with a stint as apprentice to sculptor Albert Guibara in San Francisco. A degree in environmental design followed at the Arts Centre College of Design in Pasadena, where she honed her ideas on bringing art into space. Further engagements with furniture luminaries Bernhardt and Dutch design guru Marcel Wanders followed, before Carter launched out on her own.

“For me, it’s always about form, it’s always about space,” she said. “It’s not just about putting a beautiful object there, there and there, sometimes it’s about the negative space. A lot of my design is very sculptural and takes more of a compositional approach.”

At Mondrian Singapore Duxton, this manifests throughout the hotel. Carter was taken with the big idea of the deconstructed shophouse.

“Rather than a direct translation, we took its parts and deconstructed it into contemporary forms. We wanted to recognise it but also reinvent it – that Singapore silhouette. To rediscover old details in contemporary and unexpected touches.”

This approach comes to life in the distinctive Shophouse Suites, where traditional features have a modern twist with vaulted ceilings and arched wooden shutters. With Murphy-style beds, the suites have been designed to transform from bedroom to meeting or entertaining space.

“We love the idea of a slick glass box of the shower protruding through the rough plaster walls. The minibar we call the cloud bar, I was inspired by flying in and out of Singapore. We brought in some warm timber accents, some beautiful lighting options, arches coated in copper or steel, and contemporary custom furniture which is very iconic to Mondrian.”

She also mined Singapore’s rich melting pot of cultures and trade route neighbours for inspiration for art, furniture and materials. “We engaged an artist to create a beautiful graphic artwork on Bottega di Carna’s ceiling and that also carries through into the rooms, inspired by the things we love about the country. This graphic incorporates things that are distinctly Singaporean, the flora and fauna, the architecture, the new with the historical and the melting pot of cultures.”

Inspired by the neighbourhood’s sense of community, Carter eschewed a stuffy conventional hotel lobby for a living, breathing restaurant and bar vibe.

“We didn’t want the lifts and reception to be the main thing when you walk in, it’s more like walking into a vibrant, happening hotspot. All of this looks out onto the lush and beautiful greenery of the garden. The furniture is all custom made, very Mondrian. We play with reflections in large wavy metal mirrors, to echo the fact that there is a lot of water around Singapore, which distort and challenge perceptions.”

At Bottega di Carna, the show kitchen is filled with bustling chefs, flames from the Josper grill and cuts of meat displayed in a jewel box showcase. Overlooking the Mondrian garden, this is the heart of the hotel, and the space guests first experience on arrival.

Jungle Ballroom enhances the feeling of stepping into a hidden sanctuary. The ‘secret tunnel’ arched entrance is covered in greenery that lights up at night, evoking the feeling of discovering a hidden gem within the hotel. Psychedelic, kaleidoscopic artworks, visual cocktails composed of photos of exotic blooms, help provide sparkle to the space are.

With a 360-degree backdrop of the glittering Singapore skyline and the terracotta rooftops of the surrounding Chinatown shophouses, the jewel in Mondrian’s crown is the 1970s Hollywood-inspired Canyon Club Rooftop Bar and Poolside Cabanas. Retro-vibed low velvet pink-hued seating sets the scene at the bar, leading to vibrant striped cabanas by the water.

General manager Robert Hauck said: “Mondrian Singapore Duxton’s design has a considered simplicity and an inspired approach to celebrating our unique location and culture. Mondrian is not exclusive, it’s very inclusive, it’s all about inviting the community in and providing a space where possibilities are endless.

“I see Mondrian becoming the beating heart of this extraordinary city, a catalyst to forge connections with like-minded people, innovators and the wild at heart.”

The hotel aims to be a food and fashion forward culinary destination designed to be enjoyed by both locals and international travellers. A restaurant, cocktail bar, café and rooftop restaurant and bar combine historic architecture from shophouses with a new build of modern, contemporary influences.Butcher Dario Cecchini presides over the flagship dining experience, Bottegadi Carna, a modern Italian eatery with a rebellious spin and a touch of Tuscany. Chefs add theatre in the open kitchen and prime cuts of the finest meats hang like jewels in display cases.

Celebrating the ultra-vibrancy and wild nature of Southeast Asia, Jungle Ballroom is a tropical cocktail bar rooted in the region’s rich bounty that pulses with lucid glamour. Cocktails are served from a sunken lava stone bar amid glimpses of the lush jungle outside.

Christina’s offers a refuge from the hustle and bustle of the city by day, serving coffee from award-winning baristas. By night the space transforms into a devoted wine, cocktail and sharing plates haven, made in partnerships with some of Singapore’s best local artisans. It is just the place to plot your business revolution or creative coup.

The rooftop bar and poolside cabanas transport guests to the glitz and glamour of 1970s Hollywood at Canyon Club, surrounded by the sweeping cinematic views of the glittering skyline.