UBS Monocle
Room to grow
Richard Hassell
Co-founding director, Woha Architects
The raison d’être for Woha Architects is building a better future. This is underpinned by the studio’s unerring ability to find connections between different systems, whether that’s creating habitats or reducing urban heat. “Our projects are interventions into the physical environment so we always try to see how we can create as much good out of them as possible,” says co-founding director Richard Hassell.
As global cities continue to grow, Hassell believes that integrating greenery into the built landscape is key. “We can be unaware of what’s going on beyond the city, the parts of the planet that are being degraded or destroyed,” he says. “Bringing nature into urban spaces helps foster people’s appreciation for it.”
Woha has achieved this to great effect at Pan Pacific Orchard in Singapore. Four open-air garden terraces with more than 10,000 sq m of foliage comprise three times the footprint of the 23-storey building. These green spaces play a role in elevating the guest experience. “Set in a city where most buildings are struggling to find enough room, these multi-purpose park spaces are a canvas for unique experiences to emerge, as they have not been tightly programmed,” says Hassell.
Woha has an established interior design practice too. Woha Being collaborates with best-in-class makers around the world, including The Rug Maker and Industry+.It feels like a natural extension of Hassell’s passion for craftsmanship, an affinity that was nurtured from young by his woodworker father. “There’s a real value in making things beautifully with care,” he says. “It’s part of what makes us human.”
Book into one of several
Woha-designed properties when you’re in Singapore: Pan Pacific Orchard, 21 Carpenter or Parkroyal Collection Pickering.
woha.net
