Inserting actual phrases from letters the design team found in the National Archives Singapore—there are a total of 22 of them in the hotel—not only makes the hotel stay interesting as one partakes in a spotting game, but also gives a human touch to the architecture.

“When we looked into the history of remittance letters, we found it quite moving. We thought that was something quite nice [to share] because modern travellers [can relate]. I mean, I travel for business quite a lot, and it’s a bit sad and lonely when you go for a meeting and go back to the hotel. Sometimes, I just want to go home,” laughs Richard Hassell, co-founder of Woha.

Hassell was inspired by the work of Korean artist Chun Kwang Young, whose signature technique was inspired by childhood memories of seeing medicinal herbs wrapped in mulberry paper.

“The idea here was to wrap the new volume in a kind of ‘script’, with vertical lines like Chinese script and horizontal running lines like English script. We integrated fragments from these letters into the façade, so it’s really like an ‘art façade’ [embodying] this yearning for home, using the phrases that were written in the letters.”

The building’s Shanghai plaster façade, dating back to the 1930s, was painstakingly restored, and the original 1930s Chengal wood was reused as flooring. The hotel’s 48 rooms embody Asian motifs and brands, such as guest-room robes by In Good Company, cups made by Un Studio, and bed throws designed by artist Liu Liling. 

On the first floor, a neo-bistro and bar headed by Michelin-starred Chef Andrew Walsh called Kee’s [inspired by the building’s original incarnation as Chye Hua Seng Wee Kee] will open in early 2024. The rooftop function space features a stainless steel pool—Singapore’s first—and skyline views. 

Here, Hassell shares more insight.  

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What was your response to the client’s brief?
When they approached us, they had already bought the property and done a feasibility study. They were keen to add a stronger design element to it while also seeing how they could improve the feasibility. The study [showed] a lot of densely packed rooms, many without windows.

Those would be quite hard to sell at a higher price. We had done quite a few projects in this area, and our office is also here on Hong Kong Street, so we knew that there were some possibilities to play with height, for example, that hadn’t been considered in the study. 

We worked with the authorities to push [the volumes] as high as we could because we knew there were fantastic views from the top. We inserted a garden [in between the old and new volumes] facing the rear of the neighbouring block, [creating views for rooms that originally did not have windows]. 

What kind of identity did the client want for 21 Carpenter, and how did you respond to that? 
8M Real Estate has developed quite a few hotels like Kesa House and Wanderlust, but many of them have been bought over. So, this was the first hotel designed from scratch. Immediately after we completed the initial design, the Covid-19 pandemic hit, so we developed quite a few versions of the hotel as the market changed, such as looking at long stay [options]. It ended up going back to being a boutique hotel as tourism normalised again. 

Woha has designed many iconic hotels, such as Parkroyal Collection Pickering, Singapore, and Alila Villas Uluwatu. Drawing on your experience, what kind of hospitality guest experience and design details were you careful to bring to this hotel to make it work?
I think one is the heritage story. That’s really unique about shophouses, so we did quite a lot of research into the history of this building and incorporated a lot of interpretations of the history through the design to provide meaningful stays for guests. Also, 8M Real Estate has a lot of F&B [properties], so the [brand] has a more lifestyle orientation. They didn’t want a formal, traditional version of [a shophouse hotel]; they wanted it to be contemporary to suit a broad range of guests and a design that would not be dated in a few years. 

It’s a very different hotel from Pan Pacific Orchard, which Woha completed earlier this year.
Yes. Pan Pacific Orchard was a total design; everything was integrated and working together. The feel here is more eclectic and homey, a bit more mix-and-match.

Also, from a practical point of view, there were many differently shaped rooms because it’s a heritage building. For example, mixing and matching loose furniture is a much more appropriate response than trying to integrate everything.

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