Palais Renaissance
Palais Renaissance
Status: Completed – 2022
Singapore Good Design – SG Mark 2023 Winner
DNA – Paris Design Award 2023 Honourable Mention
Palais Renaissance - a refreshing take on French Savoir Faire
The Italian Renaissance, or ‘rebirth’ of culture, catalyzed a renewed perspective of experience and indulgence, seeking to reinstate past achievements. The redesign of Palais Renaissance embodies this essence of ‘rebirth’, aiming to reestablish its locale along the start of the famed Orchard Shopping ribbon, to renew itself once again as a shopping and dining destination for shoppers to indulge in.
The renewed shopping experience entails an earnest attention on artisanal craft through the introduction of new materials and details. Embodying the traditional French Savoir Faire, quality materials are rendered in French artisanal techniques like marquetry and mosaic to redefine Palais Renaissance. Coupled with innovative design and careful detailing, the refreshing take on the French Savoir Faire exudes the spirit of renewed indulgence and meticulous attention, with the sole aim to revivify the shopper’s experience.
Engaging the Street
A key refurbishment occurs at the ground floor facade fronting Orchard Road, where shopfronts encroach towards to main throughfare as a series of informal spaces, transforming sliver of space between the existing street and shops into a porous streetscape that blends the street and the mall. The informal extension of shops creates a seamless transition from street to mall, using ease of access to draw shoppers into the mall.
An immersive Shopping Experience
The pièce de resistance of the space is the voluminous main atrium space, seated under the steel-framed skylight. Arrayed by a series of shops and concierge, a refreshing palate of stone floor finishes defines the curvature of the atrium, accentuating the dominant shopping paths. Illuminated by natural daylighting, the space becomes infinitely more spacious, exuding a sense of luxury and indulgence. The palate is carried through beyond the atrium, guiding shoppers discretely as they immerse themselves in the shopping experience. Geometric arches and the language of curves resonate through the spaces at scale, reminiscent of the Renaissance period. Situated at lift lobbies and circulation spaces, the series of arches and curves evoke the experience of infinity for the shoppers as they transition from one place to the next, enhancing the shopping experience in typically quotidian spaces.
The textural richness of materiality and details reveals itself in the intimate setting of the bathrooms, where a series of handpicked materials like copper, marble and gold trims accent the space intermittently, bringing a profound balance to the intimacy and vibrance of the space. The material palates vary at different floors, providing not only an implicit wayfinding tool but also allow shoppers to rejuvenate themselves in a space of haptic richness. A refreshing take on the use of copper, a semi-precious metal commonly used as art canvasses during the Renaissance, exemplifies Savoir Faire. The aged texture of worn copper patina that reflects the traces of time is achieved by artisans oxidizing the metal with liquid metal that creates varying shades of green. When paired together with slivers of metal trim and marble, creates the delicate balance through the sensitive choices in materiality.
Amidst the revivification of Palais Renaissance, its locale remains immutable, seeking to simply reinvent itself in preparation for the imminent wave of trends and shoppers set to flock to Orchard Road.
