Pan Pacific Orchard Singapore has been named “2024 Best Tall Building Worldwide” by The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), a non-profit organisation founded in the United States that is recognised as the leading authority on skyscrapers globally.
The award recognises the project’s groundbreaking approach to high-density urbanism, combining nature, community and sustainability within the city’s bustling Orchard Road district in Singapore. The 140m-high 25-storey Pan Pacific Orchard, which opened its doors in June 2023, also won three other awards, including the best tall building between 100m and 199m high.
The project’s “hotel in nature” concept transforms the traditional high-rise into a vertical green space district, with multiple terraced gardens and water features integrated into the building, achieving a green plot ratio of more than 300 percent.
“Pan Pacific Orchard represents the best in responsible vertical urbanism today,” explained CTBUH CEO Javier Quintana de Una. “This building is about reimagining entire communities in novel, forward-thinking ways. The significance of Pan Pacific Orchard cannot be overstated—it emphasises the revitalisation of urban spaces rather than relying solely on new developments.”
Four terraced sky concepts to create ‘hotel in nature’
WOHA, the Singapore-based architectural firm behind the 343-key Pan Pacific Orchard, said the Pan Pacific Orchard design envisions a new prototype for high-rise tropical hospitality as in a distinctive garden hotel. It stacks 4 distinct strata – forest, beach, garden and cloud – each with its own terrace into one dramatic building. In turn, the guest rooms are split into three stacks configured in L-shaped stacks overlooking either the Sky Terraces or city.
WOHA designed the first “stratum” as a “forest terrace“, with a water plaza and waterfalls surrounded by trees, with the idea of offering “a dramatic entrance and a memorable urban connection.
The second terrace offers guests a “a tropical beach oasis, with meandering sandy beachfront and palm groves around an emerald lagoon.
The third “layer” corresponds to a landscaped garden terrace, flanked by the Bar and Lounge and with a manicured garden, complete with verandah, lawn and fountains.
Finally, the architects conceived the fourth stack – the cloud terrace – which is a large hall for 400 people, surrounded by thin mirror pools and filigree planting, washed by natural light with views of the surrounding city.
Sustainability features
The project departs from conventional tower designs by carving out large open-air atria that not only reduce the building’s environmental footprint but also foster interaction between nature, the city and its many diverse communities.
Its semi-outdoor tropical climate reduces reliance on mechanical cooling systems, while its 45 percent external to 55 percent internal surface area ratio optimises energy efficiency.
The project’s focus on sustainability extends to its Green Mark Platinum rating, which recognises its commitment to minimising energy consumption, water usage and waste. Solar panels power the common areas, rainwater is harvested for irrigation and food waste is processed via an on-site biodigester.
Pan Pacific Orchard also received CTBUH’s Space Within category award, which recognises tall building projects that have integrated extraordinary interior spaces and demonstrate exceptional functional success in terms of the user experience, elevating the solutions and possibilities for interior space design to the next level.
As the CTBUH 2024 Best Tall Building Worldwide, Pan Pacific Orchard joins an illustrious group of past winners, including Quay Quarter Tower, in Sydney (2023), The David Rubenstein Forum, in Chicago (2022), and One Vanderbilt Avenue, in New York City (2021). These projects represent the pinnacle of innovation in sustainable tall building design and serve as benchmarks for future urban developments.
