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HOTEL IN A GARDEN: PARKROYAL ON PICKERING

Hotel in a Garden Parkroyal on Pickering

PARKROYAL on Pickering’s unique design as a hotel in a garden. [Photo: Patrick Bingham-Hall]

PARKROYAL on Pickering dispels the myth that sustainable design is more expensive by showing how investments in making a hotel unique and special can also make it sustainable. This hotel shows that even as our cities grow taller and denser, we can retain our green spaces and incorporate energy-saving features by adapting sustainability practices to high-rise developments and the hospitality industry.

PARKROYAL on Pickering’s design is a unique example of a hotel-in-a-garden concept. The hotel faces the urban green space of Hong Lim Park, and it is located in the heart of the Central Business District (CBD). Despite the challenge posed by a narrow, linear site that gives the hotel less room to be generous with outdoor features, it is still able to create intimate garden spaces. Extensive landscaping, which includes sky gardens, water features, waterfalls, planter terraces, and green walls, offers visual relief in the built-up city centre. The greenery also serves to screen ventilation openings for car parking facilities.

The hotel is built with Cobiax technology, an innovative green construction system that optimises building efficiency by positioning hollow spherical void formers made of environmentally friendly recycled plastics within concrete slabs. This reduces the dead load of the slab and unnecessary concrete usage. The concrete reduction through the void formers leads to increased productivity during construction and resource effectiveness as well as improved energy efficiency of the building.

Green architecture is an environmental feature that also enhances the guest experience. The hotel features Singapore’s first zero-energy sky gardens powered by solar energy. The hotel’s diverse greenery ranges from shade trees to tall palm flowering plants, leafy shrubs, and overhanging creepers. These are spread throughout internal spaces, with 50% of guestroom corridors shaded by tropical trees and flanked by water features, both of which effectively reduce the need for 24-hour air-conditioning.

Features such as performance glass, high efficiency chillers, and light-emitting diodes (LED) lighting cost more upfront, but offer savings over their lifetime. Instead of conventional electrical heating systems, the hotel uses heat pumps to generate hot water and use up to 70% less energy, while LED lighting and T5 type fluorescent lamps lessen electricity use by up to 20%.

Floor-to-ceiling glass windows and mirrored panels at PARKROYAL on Pickering’s Lime Restaurant.

Floor-to-ceiling glass windows and mirrored panels at PARKROYAL on Pickering’s Lime Restaurant. [Photo: PARKROYAL on Pickering]

Floor-to-ceiling glass windows and mirrored panels maximise harvesting of natural light for public areas. High performance glass lets in abundant daylight while cutting out solar heat, reducing the need for artificial lighting.

“By aligning business and environmental objectives, our sustainable practices will give us approximately 30% energy savings in operations, as estimated through computer modeling.” — Mr Lee Kin Seng, Director of Marketing Communications, PARKROYAL on Pickering

Additionally, a 60kW peak photovoltaic cell array on the roof supplements grid electricity usage while reducing energy consumption, and powers the sky gardens’ night lighting and grow lamps, which stimulate plant growth. Photo sensors are strategically installed to monitor light levels and light usage, reducing intensity or turning off when common areas are unoccupied.

For being one of the first hotels in Singapore to implement a solar energy system, PARKROYAL on Pickering won the Solar Pioneer Award in 2011, even before the hotel was open. This award recognises pioneer solar installations in Singapore that are innovative in their system design, size, and installation.

Roof surfaces collect rainwater for landscaping irrigation by gravity feed, with a drip irrigation system used to optimise water consumption. Collection tanks are sized to hold reserves and supplemented with non-potable NEWater during periods of dry weather. All landscape areas are also fitted with rain sensors, which cease irrigation to prevent wastage when a minimum water level is detected.

Recycling bins in guest rooms.

Recycling bins in guest rooms.
[Photo: PARKROYAL on Pickering]

In the guest rooms, separate recycling bins for plastic, glass, and paper encourage guests to join the hotel in reducing its carbon footprint, and raise further awareness of living green, even when guests are away from home.

PARKROYAL on Pickering’s efforts to blend environmentally-friendly practices and technologies with sustainable design will play a part in positioning Singapore as a leader of green high-rise developments.