Googaspace - August 2015

GOOGASPACE trends

EVENTS

PEOPLE

ISSUE #2 -AUGUST 2015-

photo: F+P

EXCLUSIVE! London’s uae pavilion // LONDON’S ROCKSTAR NICOLE HAMMOND // PLUS+ DESIGN FILM FESTIVAL // watg SUMMER PARTY //

KNOW YOUR BRANDS: CHOROMA HOSPITALITY // 5 CAFES SO.GOO.D // sg50: singapore celebrates its 50th year // a WATG Singapore publication

editorial

GOOGASPACE

editorial team

Ahnanchana Srichamara Herbert Montivergen Reena Bapat Umar Abdul Aziz Natasha Ten

editorial’s note:

singapore contributors

We did it! Our first issue was launched and we could not be any happier with the encouraging response that we’ve received so far! Started from a small initiative by a group of WATG Singapore designers, the young newsletter Googaspace only had one goal: to at least reach our Singapore readers. As of today, Googaspace managed to reach 180 readers on the little red dot including readers from the US and London! Not bad for an 8 page newsletter.

Irene Tan Krystal Solorzano

Hence, in the August issue, we’ve expanded our stories of WATG Singapore – our culture, our brand, our people and our location, Singapore. And, in light of the encouraging number of global readers, we are taking our first step to bring in stories from our global offices, beginning with an exclusive coverage of WATG London’s Landscape and Planning team on their work on the UAE Pavilion at this year’s Milan Expo 2015. We invite our global members across all WATG offices to share your stories on Googaspace! Till then, enjoy our August Issue. xoxo

special thanks

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london contributors Aaron Minson Stefano Roman

Nicole Hammond Natalie Shea Padmos

We want to hear from you. If you wish to contribute an article or have any enquiries or comments, do contact our editorial team.

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DESIGN FILM FESTIVAL WHEN WHERE WEBSITE

5- 13 SEPTEMBER 2015 CAPITOL THEATRE & SHAW LIDO THEATRE designfilmfestival.com

Conceived in 2010 as a film festival dedicated solely to design, A Design Film Festival launched in Singapore and has travelled to Portland, Berlin, Taipei, Kaohsiung, and Bangkok. The festival is a curated collection of films dedicated to architecture, fashion, photography, street art, motion graphics, technology and the subcultures of design.

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Unfortunately, August in Singapore won’t be drama free.

Get emotionally riled up with LKY’s musical; Provoke your thoughts an emotion with raw, uncut design films. Or get awed and craze by festivities and flight/ travel deals.

LKY THE MUSICAL

WHEN WHERE WEBSITE

Til 16 AUGUST 2015 Sands Theatre, at MBS SISTIC

How could we not mention this musical when it’s Singapore’s Jubilee Year? A musical tribute to the late Singapore’s former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, or more famously known as the founding father of the nation, the original play follows the life of LKY and the emotional struggle faced at a time when Singapore history hung in the balance.

SINGAPORE NIGHT FESTIVAL WHEN WHERE

WEBSITE

NATAS TRAVEL FAIR

21-29 AUGUST BRAS BASAH & BUGIS PRECINT SNFPORTAL

WHEN WHERE

2ND AUGUST SINGAPORE EXPO

Still unsure of your next travel destination? The NATAS Travel Fair is back! Look out for hottest travel deals, flight tickets and goodies at this bi-annual travel fare. If you hate crowds, go online for air and travel deals concurrently happening throughout the week.

Stay awake when arts and culture flourish the streets of the Bras Basah and Bugis precinct, the heart of Singapore’s art and heritage district.

The nocturnal event features visual art performances and light installations along with music, dance and artworks by local talents.

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SG50

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SG 50

KOPITIAM KOPI MAGNET

STATEMENT T-SHIRT

WEBSITE

WEBSITE

thelittledromstore

statement.sg

Singapore celebrates its 50 years of Independence this year on 9th August. We may not been in Singapore for 50 years, but we got on the convivial mood and listed out 5 unique local souvenirs to eat, drink and wear so you can scream OH THAT’S SO SINGAPORE!

Coffee addicts will love this kopitiam (cafe in Singapore) magnet that will add a burst of colour and flavour to your whiteboards or fridges. For friends overseas, this little reminder will hopefully lure them back to Singapoe for an aromatic cup.

Can’t get more Singaporean than these statement tees, which are self-expression at its best and definitely conversation starters! Wear it proud with a swag, complete with hand gestures, as now’s the time to unleash your inner Singaporean out and go “uh uh siol!”

BUILDING MY RED DOT

DRAGONFRUIT LYCHEE JAM

ANG KU KUEH SOAP

WEBSITE

WEBSITE

WEBSITE

artisanbricks

Now you can play your part in nation building! Award-winning local artist Artisan Bricks has created this adorable series of miniature local icons that you can build youself with LEGO parts and instructions. In addition to the famous Dragon Playground, there’s also a mini Changi Airport and Merlion, with more designs coming by the end of the year.

gshconserves

Here’s one you can actually eat - this homemade dragonfruit and lychee jam by local company GSH Conserves is perfect for spreading over toast or wafer. Do check out their other flavors too! Yummy! Definitely great for your tea break in the pantry!

angkukuehgirl

Who would have thought that this nyonya (a term referred to Chinese immigrants who came to the Malay archipelago and British Malaya in the 15th and 17th centuries) would inspire a product like this cute handmade soap? With berry scents and moisturing qualities, it’s sure to be a coversation starter anywhere. Just be careful not to eat it.

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by IRENE TAN

‘Hipster’ cafes and restaurants popping across the island is nothing new in the island. But finding the good ones might be a tough job. Luckily, we got our Singaporean food enthusiast guru, Irene Tan, to do the job. Since its SG50, she’s selected one cafe from 5 points of Singapore!

CHOCK FULL OF BEANS WHEN

WHERE

11am-10pm (Tues-Fri); 9am-10pm (Sat-Sun); Closed on Mon Chock Full Of Beans 4 Changi Village

Road #01-2090 S500004

Who doesn’t adore those oh-so-cute, instagram worthy 3D latte art? It is the main reason behind the bustling crowd at Chock Full Of Beans even though it is located in Changi Village, a not so accessible part of Singapore. The Egg Benedict (SGD$12.00) and Iced Hazelnut Latte (SGD$6.20) were decent but nothing to shout about. They do have a pretty good selection of beers even though it is a café. Do pop by for a cute cup of coffee if you are in the area.

FROTH WHEN 11.30am-10pm (Tues-Fri); WHERE 200 Middle Road B1-02 Big Hotel S188980 (Bugis MRT) It is so easy to find a café in central Singapore but with the recent craze about lobster rolls from Pince and Pints, more and more cafés are offering their own versions of lobster yum yum. Located at the basement of Big Hotel at Middle Road, it takes a little effort to locate this gem. I would highly recommend the Cheesy Lobster Sandwich (SGD$22.90). Definitely not the best that I have tasted but definitely the most value for money and definitely instagram worthy! Huge chunky cheesy lobster pieces to satisfy the crustacean crave. Another interesting item to try would be the Boneless Winglets coated with crusted Doritos (SGD$11.90). A fun and substantial starter to share with fellow friends. This is definitely something which I haven’t seen anywhere else. Boneless chickens means no dirty messy hands! Yay to that! What are you waiting for? Try it to believe it!

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ROYCE MARY CAFE

WHEN 11am-10.30pm (Mon-Tues); 11am-10.30pm (Thurs-Sun) WHERE RoyceMary Cafe

8 Jalan Legundi #01-13 S759274 The latest café in Sembawang town which opened late last year located directly opposite the legendary white bee hoon stall. Pop by to satisfy your sweet tooth cravings with the lovely Heart-Shaped Macarons (SGD$2.80 each) amidst the romantic l ‘amour décor. The red Velvet Lava Cake (SGD$10.90) is a gem not to be missed! With a wide selection of cakes and drinks, be sure to drop by if you are looking for a quaint little place to hang out. pockie made with real Pocky sticks. Slurpsss!

WHEN

WHERE

PADDY HILLS CAFE

8.30am-10pm (Mon-Sun); Paddy Hills Cafe 38 South Buona Vista Road S118164

Café by Day, Asian Tapas by Night and it is so near WATG! A fusion café serving up delicious mains and desserts. The Orange Ricotta Pillows (SGD$18.00) is a highly recommended item!

Definitely instagram worthy with the bright orange hues. Soft and fluffy was all I could think of as I took a bite into the yummy citrusy pancakes! While you are there, please do not miss out on trying the Toasted Spicy Rice Cakes (SGD$15.00). An unexpected twist to the usual teokbokki (Korean rice cakes), just forget about the sticky chewy taste but instead embrace this unique dish with crispy crunchy bite! Do not miss out this beautiful gem to spend a lovely afternoon. You would want to be back for more just like me!

CHAPTER 55

WHEN 11.30pm-911pm (Mon-Sun); WHERE Chapter55 161 Middle Road S188978 It is no surprise that new cafés are popping up every other month in the Tiong Bahru neighborhood. Chapter 55 opened its doors late last year and set itself apart from the rest of the Tiong Bahru cafés with its homely Italian dishes.

Café hoppers are spoilt for choice with the variety of pastas, pizzas and of course yummy desserts to satisfy all the mad sugar rush! Do not leave before trying the Signature Gelato Waffle which comes with up to 2 scoops of gelato of your choice (SGD$14 for single, SGD$18.50 for double). For durian lovers, the Mao Shan Wang gelato is simply awesome! What are you waiting for? Go try it out!

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by AARON MINSON & STEFANo Roman

LONDON EXCLUSIVE:

photo: F+P

UAE PAVILION

On May 1st 2015, the United Arab Emirates Pavilion designed by Foster + Partners

welcomed its visitors at the 2015 Milan Expo. Our WATG London’s Landscape and Planning Team were appointed to design the landscaping around the pavilion to evoke the terrain and flora of the UAE. Many of the plants have stories attached to them explaining how successive UAE generations have used them for food, building resources and medicine, making them relevant to the theme – ‘Feeding the Planet’. We were fortunate to have our London designers share with us one of their biggst project highlight of the year.

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photo: WATG london

“Feeding the Energy for life”

planet,

In response to the expo’s statement, the F+P designed building was created with 12m high walls, influenced by ancient planning principles and textured from the scan of UAE dunes. The pavilion’s interior is reminiscent of narrow pedestrian streets and courtyards of the traditional desert city.

The landscape surrounding the building conveyed a unique sense of place, which was designed to evoke the UAE’s terrain and flora. The landscape was comprised of the following zones: • Sandy dunes and desert planting • Rocky desert and desert planting, developing into a luscious green landscape • Oasis

Sandy Dunes The sandy dunes will greet the visitor from the north east and serves two purposes; • Contextualise the large walls • Function as a queuing space for visitors • While passing through the dunes, the visitor will be able to learn about the United Arab Emirates by

looking at orientation panels and tagged exhibits.

The dunes were constructed using rammed earth techniques, with planting to reflect the indigenous species of the Arabian Peninsula and pathways in crushed limestone to mimic the texture of the sand in the desert.

Rocky Desert The rocky dunes visually contain the pavilion to the north. Rather like the sandy dunes, they contextualise the large walls in the pavilion.

In this area there are larger stones and aggregates contained within the berms as well as some areas of stacked freestanding boulders. Planting was again an abstract expression of Abu Dhabi plants with a focus on visual interest and plants that would survive/ perform well for the duration of the exhibition.

Oasis The oasis sits within the north east area of the pavilion and was inspired by the oasis at Al Ain; with a canopy of date palms, an under storey of olive

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and citrus and a ground storey of flax to represent the crops.

Using Revit For landscaping, the London office had only completed a few projects in Revit, most of which had a high CAD content. This was therefore a great opportunity to take a newer project and run it in Revit from an earlier stage. There was a learning curve and once we became familiar with Revit and how it operates, the advantages and disadvantages became clear.

For this particular project we found the following;

Advantages; • The BIM software was great for

scheduling • We could export a 3D PDF directly from Revit and issue to F+P to show the development of the design at any stage, even as a WIP this provided useful for the design team.

• With landscape on different levels (roof top garden etc.)Revit could manage linked files to only display

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ON.THE GROUND

on the level they were drawn, which sped up the drawing process • We could link in drawings from various packages directly into Revit (micro station exported .dwg and rhino 3D models).

• Revit came into its own when we started to layout out sheets as all of the tags and cross referencing were so much more automated.

• At any point in time we could view our designs in 3D

Disadvantages; • Lack of content (we had to build a

lot of our plants for this project), therefore it took about 3 times as long to draw information than in CAD, though as we drew we did get faster and found shortcuts • At the beginning of the project we had relatively little Revit knowledge • Various components were not up to date (3D model) • When changes occurred it took longer to redraw the 3D items.

• There was a lack of landscape tools in Revit for drawing sloping paths • The topography tools took a lot of time to create berms

From Design to Construction Berms We delivered SD and DD and anticipated further development before the project would go to construction. Our concept of using rammed earth mounds was very new.

photo: WATG london

Rammed earth walls have been around for years as walls, but landforms built from rammed earth are incredibly rare to find, as you can see by the following examples, this was the best we could find.

Keable, and were confident that

There were many questions about the construction, durability and the final look of the berms. To be honest, this was untested territory. We advised F+P and the client to build a mockup of the dune in London, so the construction could be refined and performance could be measured in a climate similar to Milan. Then changes to the construction method and specification could be adapted depending on the success or failure of the mock-up.

Traditional rammed earth involves progressively ramming layers of earth mixed with percentages of natural clays as a binding agent. This makes it an incredibly sustainable building process. Playing with the different aggregates or soils influences the final look of the surface. This also has a great visual effect when you remove the form-work and a stratification of layers can be seen which looks like a slow build up of soils over time. We proposed some dunes that had slices removed from them so that it was essentially possible to walk through the berms. This helped to contain people using the paths, while also

We had already worked on a previous F+P project with London based rammed earth specialist Rowland

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his specialised knowledge of the development of rammed earth structures would help us to deliver robust and attractive rammed earth berms.

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photo: TOR SAN LOREANZO

creating a different experience of as possible to fit each space. We even considered the asymmetrical canopy walking through a portion of berm. shape and measured the lean of the palms and mature olives, to maximise Planting the small spaces we had available.

A key priority was to verify the plant list and visit the local nursery to ensure Quality plants were a significant factor that we could secure the appropriate in the success of the landscape and plants. The architecture was imposing, securing plants was very important. with 12m tall walls that were very If the plants were not secured early, close together. We had to ensure that we risked missing out, or being left we used large established specimen with poor stock. For this reason it was trees to compliment the architecture; critical that we tagged and logged if the plants were too small, it would every significant plant to ensure the have looked out of scale. To achieve nursery did not substitute or sell what this we needed to specify mature we had already selected and potentially trees, so when the installation opened paid for. All plants we wanted were it would look like the landscape had tagged and logged and set aside. been there for decades.

With Stefano’s background in horticulture and his Italian roots, he proved to be an invaluable member of the team. From London, Stefano contacted several nurseries and helped the client choose the final supplier Tor San Lorenzo.

As the project had a high profile the nursery gave the client a 50% discount on all plants if they could publish that they had worked with F+P on this project. With expensive mature palms, this ensured a significant cost saving of €150,000 was made.

A fundamental process in securing quality plants, involved Stefano visiting the nursery and hand selecting all of the trees and shrubs. The spaces we had to work with were severely constrained. To deliver landscape with instant impact, especially for the Oasis, we set Stefano the task of selecting the largest specimen trees

Preconstruction Mock-Up After DD, F+P continued to develop their architectural package. They contacted us for clarifications, but did not officially sign us up for CD drawings. This was a bit of a challenge when shortly after Christmas they informed us that they were going to site and would like our assistance in delivering the project.

We provided an additional contract to cover procurement of plants, nursery visits and on site supervision at three key times during construction, however during our absence, the following parameters changed;

• The client was trying to control cost over runs and were looking at all areas to see what could be changed or removed (fortunately we had

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negotiated a great deal with the contractor for the price of plants and landscape had already come under budget).

• The client chose to remove the roof top herb garden, (now a sedum green roof).

• While there had been developments and changes to the architectural drawings, some of the landscape drawings were now out of date and some of the berms had to be reshaped to avoid below ground infrastructure changes (in a narrow space the landscape areas were littered with manholes and utilities).

• The QS had only allocated one week for the construction of the berms (highly underestimated) and one week after for the installation of the plants (2 weeks total), which meant that we now had to change the construction process to meet the allocated time-frame.

• However, due to these delays, we installed the berms and planting as the GRC panels finished and as each space became available. This took considerably more coordination to ensure the various contractors did not damage each others work.

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Delivery Faced with the delivery of a landscape project in a diminished time-frame and budget, the success of the landscape heavily weighed on our ability to build a successful mock up of the mound with the landscape sub contractor.

The initial landscape contractor made a mock up of the mound based on our SD drawings and the result was very interesting, in order to construct the berms in time they had changed the specification and used a single material for the construction of the mound. This was capped with orange sharp sand and while the shape and profile was ok, it looked awful and would have eroded very quickly, The overall appearance was not what we envisioned at all.

F+P sent us these photos and asked, ‘is this what you were expecting?’

This was clearly not what we intended and F+P were looking to us for answers.

To ensure success we contacted Rowland Keable and arranged his travel to Milan with Stefano to meet with the contractor with the purpose of specifying the material and developing a construction technique for the berms which would be quick to build, durable and look attractive.

At the meeting in Milan, Rowland took some samples of material which he showcased to the contractor.

Unfortunately, soon after this the landscape contractor quit. They indicated that they didn’t think berms could be built and may have been

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overwhelmed by the project and what ground plane of the landscape was was expected of them in the short one continuous material, creating a time-frame. This happened 3 weeks dune like appearance. prior to the exhibition opening date!

This mock-up was not a traditional A replacement sub contractor was rammed earth structure. It used found by Rimond and Stefano similar techniques, but to speed up discussed the process with them to the process the material was different. ensure they would be happy building This also meant that we could not the mounds as we had proposed. We have the natural colouration or organised a second visit with Rowland visible change in layers. As you can and the new contractor to build a see from the mock-up above, a red mock-up. Proactive coordination with dye was added to try and create this the new ground builder was made by stratification, this would have been Paolo Villa, the former president of better if the contractor had added the Italian branch of IFLA who was the dye to a layer which varied in very excited to be involved in this thickness which would have created a project and to be a part of something more subtle contrast. new and challenging.

Construction

The solution was to have various mixes of clay and aggregates that could be rammed in layers to form a Oasis solid face, this would be used in the exposed edges of the berms similar to One of the first landscape zones to be the construction of a rammed earth created was the Oasis. This concept illustrated how, in the UAE they use wall. planting to create micro-climates F+P were on site, so the mock-up was which facilitate the growing of crops. able to be approved for construction. Palms produce a canopy cover, which Using only natural binding agents shades medium sized fruit trees that (clay) after this sample fully dried, even then add further shade to allow more the contractor was impressed with the delicate edible plants to grow on the concrete like strength. To speed up ground. construction, the rest of the berms were to be back filled with compacted An important feature of the exhibition material and capped with a 150mm is the palm. It supported existence in thick layer of 6mm-fine limestone the UAE before the discovery of oil aggregate plus grey clay. This formed and its integral part of life in desert a crust across the entire surface and environments is celebrated by their was then stamped with the same loose substantive inclusion in the exhibition. limestone aggregate we had used to After watching the immersive 4D finish around the plants and to build video about the UAE, visitors exit the the self binding path, ensuring the building where they have a chance to experience a slice of what they have been watching, the Oasis.

photo: RIMOND

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To make the experience memorable, we pushed for established palms, olives and orange trees. The space was incredibly tight, combined with the below ground foundations, utilities, walls and ground level clearance zones. Stefano communicated with the nursery who measured the large palms including root ball, height, COPYRIGHT F+P

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photo: F+P

canopy cover and lean. We then took this information and working back and forth with F+P, adjusted them until they could fit. At any time we could have chosen smaller species and just moved on, but the magnitude of the space was such that we knew we had to negotiate hard to get the

biggest specimens possible into this space.

On site, fitting the palms proved to be very difficult as they had to be craned in over the building.

Once we received photos from F+P on site, we found that the contractor was referencing a very old drawing and had actually placed one of the palms in the wrong location.

Client project manager Mid way through the landscape construction the client’s representative came to site. At this point, after considerable effort, 3 mature palms were in place in the Oasis and we were pleased with how they were sited. The client’s representative was unsure about constriction of the exit space to the pavilion and sent a photo to the

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emir. The next day one of the palms Stefano went on-site to oversee the was marked for removal. construction of the berms. This was critical because there were many Generally the client’s representative changes to the utilities underground had a different perspective on the and, on site adaptations had to project. With architectural overruns be made. We needed an excellent his major focus was to get it finished, landscape architect to be on-site items were being slashed and there to oversee any adaptations and to was a risk that our landscape could be ensure the contractor was keeping to turned into basic gravel with planting schedule and not losing time. and no berms. Our aim was to ensure that the contractor was fully on board Delays to the project increased as it and to deal with any problems as soon progressed. At the time we were due as they arose to reduce unnecessary to construct the entrance berms, the involvement with the client’s contractor requested to reduce the representative, which may have led to height of the front dunes and thus ensure they would finish on time. a drastic reduction in landscaping.

They suggested it might be difficult to produce the berms at the entrance to Perimeter dune their full height of 1.75m because of landscape the dual cut in the berm and they also During the construction period we thought the berm may collapse. suffered more problems. The GRC architectural panels from China were F+P and WATG felt that this was a proving difficult to install, were not critical space. We lowered the berms accurately sized and nearly every to 1.5m and Stefano was advised not panel had to be man handled and to concede to any further reductions forced into place. With the opening unless necessary. This meant that day looming, every delay due to the the contractor was pressured until fitting of the GRC panels resulted in completion of the project and had less time to construct the landscape. to put in extra effort to build it as intended.

This was compounded by the order in which the panels were installed; from the rear of the building first, to the front of the exhibition last. This added pressure to the most critical part of the landscape, the entrance!

As construction time diminished with every delay, we had to adapt the design. The first compromise was to lower the height of all of the side dunes. The second concession was to remove the higher rocky landscape at the rear as this was not an area where people would pass by and could be reduced.

The contractor performed extremely well under difficult circumstances and applied meticulous attention to all measurements, building formwork off site and immediately began construction of the berms as soon as each landscape area became clear.

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Below you can see the sketch done over the weekend and the end result was very close to what we had originally intended.

was an unexpected stress on the berms however the biggest problem was that and added to the erosion of the edges of they did not install a foundation base layer. This meant that any remedy to There will always be items that the berms. the path surface would fail. Even if need to be checked and fixed post To compound the effect of human the path surface was relaid with the construction, such as irrigation pipes not being pinned down, construction interaction the wet weather on the correctly specified material, unless the debris being left behind and some first few days delayed the drying and base foundation layer was completely edges not aligning, these were all hardening of the berms, leaving them dug up and reinstalled, it would fail. resolved before the opening of the more susceptible to damage. As the exhibition, however we had two major berms dried over time erosion and With the exhibition in full progress 7 days a week the only option was to issues that arose after the exhibition damage reduced. ensure the contractor topped up and opened to the public. re compacted the path on a weekly Path basis to ensure it was kept in good Berms Self binding gravel is a natural product condition.

The berms do not have any artificial that does not require any artificial binding agent and need to fully dry additives like cement. To learn more, informative installation for 21 days in order to reach their full including strength. Unfortunately they were videos, visit here. Similar to the berms, finished in the evening and the next once it fully dries, (approximately 25 morning, the exhibition opened for days) it is essentially as hard as concrete dignitaries. On the second day, it was and can even take heavy vehicles. open to the public, well before the berms had dried.

The contractor did not follow the installation instructions; A factor we did not anticipate was • The material they sourced did not how much people wanted to interact have any fines (critical to achieve a with the berms. Small children found self binding surface). them particularly appealing and • They did not wet the path during photo: F+P climbed over them. Also during the compaction and. cost saving changes to the design, we • Most critically, due to time and site had reduced the height of the berms constraints (all of the utilities running from 1.3m to 400-500mm which was under ground) they did not prepare a the perfect height for sitting on. correctly compacted sub base.

As people waited in line to enter the • Levels were not correctly followed, which meant that when it rained, exhibition they sat on the berms, water pooled in some areas of the kicking and touching them as they path (this was not ideal for queuing). passed by. Whilst we were very pleased that we had created such a It was no surprise that in places the tactile and engaging landscape this surface started to break up and settle,

Post construction

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It has to be noted, that for this project in particular with the key component of our landscape yet to be proven, having someone on site was invaluable. Due to time pressures and the influence of client representation on site the landscape could have been turned to gravel.

However, we worked hard right up until the project was finally completed. Stefano managed the contractor well, even picking up tools and working with them to ensure everything we had planned could be achieved.

photo: F+P

It was a very tight timeframe, and the final design is slightly watered down from our initial concept, but we have received great feedback from F+P and being an F+P designed exhibition we are now receiving a lot of media attention from our association with them.

photo: F+P

photo: F+P

WATG Project Team Senior Leader: John Goldwyn Project Manager/Landscape Architect: Aaron Minson Landscape Architect: Stefano Roman Project Info Client: National Media Council Architect: Foster + Partners Landscape Architect: WATG Local architect: Marco Visconti M&E: Foster + Partners Visitor experience design: Land Design Studio Engineering, procurement and construction management : Rimond Quantity Survey Fraser Randall Management: A&A Company Plant supplier + installer: Tor San Lorenzo + Iperverde Ground constructor: Rimogreen

photo: F+P

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ON.THE G00

on.the.goo

by KRYSTAL SOLORZANO

KNOW YOUR BRAND:

CHROMA HOSPITALITY

“We want to show the market and the industry that we are serious about our hospitality management business,� Francis Gotianun, assistant vice president of Chroma said in an interview with Hospitality News Philippines.

Recently, Filinvest (Philippines) and Archipelago (Indonesia) announced the rebrand-

ing of their joint venture, FilArchelago, to Chroma Hospitality. The evolution of the partnership is aligned with the aim of becoming a more entrepreneurial and independent from its parent companies.

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ON.THE.GOO

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Crimson Resort & Spa Boracay Island A Philippines based hospitality group, Chroma is a young and forward-thinking management company that has crafted four unique hospitality and leisure destinations. As a group that owns and manages their properties they are highly engaged in every aspect of each development and look to inspired their guests through memorable and engaging experiences.

Their philosophy: ‘Chroma is committed to inspired, passionate management, to building unique, vibrant hotel brands and forging lasting relationships with like-minded partners.” Sounds like the perfect pairing with WATG and Wimberly Interiors!

Chroma notes that collaboration is key to each successful designing and they highly value creativity and free expression in a common strategic direction to achieve shared goals.

Crimson Hotels & Resorts Rich in Cosmopolitan Style

Currently with a portfolio of just two properties, one in Manila and one in Mactan, Cebu (worked on by WATG), Crimson aims to be a destination for all travellers. With a design style they define as sleek with a warm Filipino hospitality, each property combines service from the heart with chic and modern spaces.

The Crimson brand is seen as Chroma’s luxury level brand.

Crimson Resort & Spa Boracay Island will be the next destination to open in 2016

Chroma Hospitality takes a proactive approach to Corporate Social Responsibility, engaging in programs that nurture people and the environment. Developing in fragile ecosystems such as Mactan and Cebu they look for ways to protect and enhance the environment through projects such as beach cleaning, mangrove planting and sponsorships and maintenance of marine sanctuaries.

WATG and Wimbelry Interiors are currently involved in the design and development of Chroma’s future Crimson Boracay property which will set the standards for all future Crimson properties. The property is set to complete toward the end of 2016 and was a fully integrated project including architecture, landscape, interiors and signage.

Chroma Hospitality has plans to manage 4,000 rooms by 2020 and hopes to bring the Filipino brand outside of the Philippines.

#GOOGASPACE | AUGUST 2015

GOOGASPACE

ON.THE GOO

Azure Beach Club

A Sophisticated Space on an Idyllic Azure Beachfront With it’s flagship property located on the famous white sand beaches of Boracay it’s no wonder the brand is catching attention.

An emphasis on creative cocktail, live DJ music, gourmet food and spectacular views attracts the most trend-setting and fashion-forward crowd.

Future expansion includes a new Azure at the new Crimson Resort & Spa Boracay (2016) and a new location in Ortigas.

Quest Hotels

Premium Budget Hotels Energizing Design

with

Bright,

Quest is the largest of the brands in the Chroma portfolio with 14 hotels in the region in some of the busiest urban and coastal hubs. Their clientele ranges from families to business travellers looking for a comfortable, stylish and affordable 3-star experience. Quest Hotels also has a focus on generating revenue through MICE related travel.

Canvas Hotels & Resorts

A bold statement in Modern Travel The newest brand to be added to the Chroma Hospitality portfolio, Canvas will cater to the modern traveller through a mosaic of shared multi-use spaces, techprogressiveness and a brash, anti-establishment approach. The brand concept is described as “Your Space, Your Rules,” a place where the guest redraws the guidelines on hospitality. Whether its an island hideout or an urban hangout, the goal is for the guest to create their holiday in their own way. In the words of the Rolling Stones “I’m free to do what I want any old time” at Canvas Hotels.

First one to be in Cebu, Philippines

Follow them on twitter to hear about updates @ChromaLeisure

#GOOGASPACE | AUGUST 2015

SGOOP

GOOGASPACE

SGOOP

LEAVE THE DIRTY JOB TO US FOR SNOOPING AROUND TO GET THE LATEST HAPPENINGS IN THE OFFICE. HERE’S THE ‘SGOOP’ WE’VE GOT, SO YOU WON’T MISS A THING!’ SHARING IS CARING~

JUST THE GOOD JUICY BITS

Eid-al-Fitr!

Eid-al-Fitr or Hari Raya Puasa is a holiday to mark the end of the Islamic month of Ramadan, during which Muslims fast during the hours of daylight. So this year it fell on 17th July and as it marks the end of Ramadan, which is a month of fasting and prayers. Our muslim colleagues in WATG Singapore don their best ethnic dress and outfits to work and had a mini-celebration of their own with some home-cooked savoury and spicy dishes as well as sweet home-baked cookies and nibbles! Our HR Manager Carrie Campbell was in town to try out some of the delicious food. You can ask her for that story!

Design Trends : Wellness Activity WHEN WHO CONTACT

20 JULY 2015 onwards All WATG members

Suhada

Design Trends: Wellness is back! Be sure to look out this month as Lipeng steps in as our Yoga instructor replacing the fabulous yoga guru Khalsom who is expecting! Congrats to her! On top on that, Juice Day Thursday is back too - this definitely will help the sleepyheads after lunch, and of couse bringing us all a healthier office lifestyle.

Design Journey : Project X Yet another challenging exercise for WATG Journeyers. The brainchild behind Project X - Nora Pui made Journeyers explore their senses and emotions through reflecting on images that have ‘chosen’ them. Once a month, they will reflect and discuss the emotions and senses evoked for each images and built on the stories. The exercise is an experiment on the different approaches in communicating spaces to potential clients. Read it here or better, don’t hesitate to participate in the projects in person! Here’s the link. Approach Sindhuja & Reena for a journeyer trial session!

#GOOGASPACE | AUGUST 2015

GOOGASPACE

SGOOP

Congratulations Donald Goo! Yes, we named oursevles after him. The American Institute of Architect’s (AIA) Hawaii State Council will present Donald Goo, FAIA, with the Medal of Honor. This is the highest accolade that the Hawaii Chapter bestows and represents only the seventh time that the Medal of Honor has been represented. Let’s raise our glass to celebrate Donald Goo for the achievement!

Read it all here.

Sotogrande Mirador, Andalucia, Spain The London Planning and Landscape team are on the roll and they recently launched their 7th built project in 12 months last week! With some fantastic architectural input from Chin Lim, the core team members were Mathew Lamb and Katherine Armstrong. Fun fact:Concept to CD was undertaken in a month and it was built in just 7 weeks! More here.

The New Ritz-Carlton Bali Bali’s newest resort, The Ritz-Carlton, Bali, opened its doors earlier this year on a 30 acres of beachfront and dramatic cliff top settings! The WATG Singapore designed resort overlooks the Indian Ocean in Southern Bali where columns frame a 180 degree view of the ocean below.

The sprawling property makes a stylish statement the moment you enter the tranquil open lobby with musicians play the soothing sounds of the gamelan (a percussion instrument similar to a xylophone) as a jasmine-scented breeze fills the air. Congratulations to the team behind it: Roger Gaspar, Reena Bapat, Rosalind Lin, Evelyn Ang. Read it more here.

Summer Picnic 2015 WHEN 15 AUGUST 2015 WHERE OWL BAR CONTACT YURINA, KRYSTAL, SUHADA, LIPENG Singapore’s crazy hot and humid weather ain’t gonna stop no one from having a good time outdoors! Mark the date, 15 AUGUST for WATG Summer Picnic! Cool down with cold beer or be fancy and have some wine, cheese and crackers. Of course, there are more on the menu! Bring down your families, kids and friends, it’s definitely not a date to be missed!

Look out for more updates from the planning committee!! #GOOGASPACE | AUGUST 2015

GOOGLE.ME

GOOGASPACE

GOO.GLE ME

IT’S THE LONDON INVASION IN GOOGASPACE! Say hello to TWO of London’s featured victims (well technically, one was a former Londoner), rockstar legend Nicole Hammond & newly-wed TM President Natalie Shea Padmos. Read on to know how well they did with our 10 Questions!

You jammed with us on your last day in our office. Which rock star were you channelling?

Well, SOMEHOW, a photo of that rapidly made its way around the London office, and SOMEONE then quickly followed up with a photo of Chrissie Hynde to London All - so let’s go with that.

She is very cool.

What’s the most overused word in architecture that you wish people would stop using?

Like a true rockstar Nicole Hammond visited our office last month with a mission, got her hands dirty, rocked it out and left with a bang! Find out if she can still leave you impressed answering our 10 questions!

If you had one thing you regret eating, drinking or doing in Singapore, what advise will you share to your fellow Londoners?

No regrets, I had a great time. The only thing I wish I’d done is get on Instagram sooner – it’s obviously the Singapore office’s no. 1 method of communication.

What’s the one thing in the Singapore office you wish you could have taken it back to London?

Can we borrow your Auntie? We don’t have anyone like her in our office!

“Organic ” - especially when describing random shapes that aren’t particularly organic at all.

If you could switch lives, dead or alive, who would it be?

Probably some scientist from the 19th century - there were so many huge discoveries being made by passionate amateurs in every field, and over such a short period - it must have been an incredibly exciting time.

What’s your favourite phone app?

I wish I could come up with some cool new thing nobody has heard of but Google Maps is the most consistently useful, as well as mindblowing - it’s hard to believe it’s only been around a few years.

Where does one go for the perfect road trip?

Doesn’t matter where as long as you’ve got the right people with you! #GOOGASPACE | AUGUST 2015

What are three must haves you’d bring along with you on your business trips?

US dollars (the only common currency that also comes in single denomination banknotes - handy for tips most places), cereal bars in case of jetlag midnight munchies, and some decent headphones.

Which WATG destination would you want to retire into?

Mars. Ha ha ha! Seriously though, architects don’t retire, do they?

We had so much fun with you here, what advise will you give to anyone from the London Office who are coming over to the Singapore office?

The Singapore office has such a great culture, I’m sure any Londoner would be looked after as well as I was, so I’d advise them to make friends fast! Thank you to everyone who took me out while I was there.

GOOGLE.ME

GOOGASPACE

saying my vows at my wedding! It is so intimate and therefore really awkward to have to say in front of people, even though they are family.

If there was a yearbook in WATG, what will you be named?

Most quiet ;)

If you could get a cameo in a TV Show, what show will it be?

‘Friends’ for sure! I would want to be Rachel – glamorous and goofy all rolled into one.

She’s no stranger in the London’s office. Just like our rockstar, she’s a showstopper. She surprised everyone with a wedding tricking them to attend a wine tasting session! See what other shocking facts you don’t know about the newly appointed WATG Singapore Toastmasters President Natalie Shea Padmos!

If you had to make a campaign to gain votes for presidency, what will be the title of your campaign?

I am president!!! President of Toastmasters! Haha! I probably have my campaign name: Love Works

A huge challenging part of Toastmasters is about overcoming your nerves while giving speeches. When was the most nervous you ever felt in your life?

The most nervous I felt recently in terms of having to speak in front of people would have been

If you could make a documentary, what will it be?

A documentary on the trafficking of pangolins – they are such cool little creatures and so few people know about them. Spreading awareness would be rewarding – and bonus – I would get to hang out with some pangolins!

What is the biggest surprise that made you cry?

For my 30th birthday my cousin (who is like a sister to me) from Colorado secretly flew to London and walked into my birthday party – It was so amazing.

What was your least favourite subject back in school?

Spanish. I’m terrible with languages, I can barely speak English some days.

What is the skill that you feel could not ever be mastered?

Yoga – because it is not meant to be mastered – it is about always finding ways to keep challenging

#GOOGASPACE | AUGUST 2015

yourself, just when you think you have got an asana down, you realise there is a whole new level to it, and I love that!

If you could moonlight as another profession what would it be?

Yoga instructor – on a beach in Thailand or a rice paddy somewhere in Bali…I think another word for this could be hippy.

Which designer, dead or alive, would you like to cover you when you call-in sick?

Roberto Burle Marx – I feel like he would mix things up a bit!

a WATG Singapore publication

#GOOGASPACE | AUGUST 2015