Mandarin's glass act
The stunning wavy, glass facade along Orchard Road now belongs wholly to its mall
By tay suan chiang
Changes at the Meritus Mandarin hotel include a new driveway (left) and moving the lobby to the fifth floor (above). -- PHOTOS: MERITUS MANDARIN SINGAPORE
Gone is its dated granite and stone facade. In its place is a swanky 152m-long wavy facade and 10m-high glass walls.
The new Mandarin Gallery, open since last Friday, now sports a more modern look, in keeping with its neighbours.
'The facade takes on an inviting look and is more trendy. It has architectural design and yet still looks like a mall,' says Mrs Patrina Tan, senior vice-president of retail, marketing and leasing at Overseas Union Enterprise, which owns Mandarin Gallery and the adjoining Meritus Mandarin hotel.
Mr Ti Lian Seng, director at DP Architects who designed the new mall, says: 'We wanted to create a visually impactful facade along Orchard Road to announce the arrival of Mandarin Gallery as the new kid on the block.'
The new look comes after an 18-month, $200-million facelift for the four-storey shopping mall and the 39-storey hotel, which was also transformed by DP Architects.
One major decision was to separate the entrances of the mall and the hotel. Previously, both faced Orchard Road, with the mall's being less prominent compared to the hotel's.
The Orchard Road frontage now belongs to the mall, while hotel guests enter from the side road of Orchard Link.
'It was more logical and functional for the mall to have the Orchard Road frontage,' says Mrs Tan.
About 50 of the 103 tenants in Mandarin Gallery will open before Christmas, ahead of the mall's official opening next month.
Mrs Tan says 'construction of the mall began only this year after the hotel's new lobby was operational'.
Enter hotel at Orchard Link
The 35-year-old mall now has double the retail space at about 126,000 sq ft and twice as many stores as before.
All its tenants are new, including new names to Singapore such as fashion labels Bathing Ape and Y-3 and food outlets Ippudo and Thai Thai - Royal Thai Cuisine.
The new mall also has five duplexes dominating the facade. One duplex houses the multi-label boutique Bread And Butter, which is already open.
The other four, whose tenants are Emporio Armani, D&G, Montblanc and Marc by Marc Jacobs, will open by the end of next month.
The 1,051-room Meritus Mandarin also got a new look.
The double-volume lobby was previously on the ground floor, with a driveway facing Orchard Road.
It is now on the fifth floor, which was previously occupied by the Triple Three restaurant, the swimming pool and a function hall.
The hotel's driveway is now along Orchard Link, facing Ngee Ann City.
Ms Lim Ee Jin, assistant vice-president of marketing communications and public relations for Meritus Hotels & Resorts, says 'the hotel had to undergo refurbishment works to stay innovative and maintain its lead at the forefront of the hospitality industry'.
She adds that it maintained a 'healthy occupancy rate' throughout the refurbishment.
Floors that were under renovation were kept closed. 'We blocked out the lower floors of the hotel so that guests would be housed as far away from the renovation works as possible,' she says.
During the refurbishment, guests could use the pool at sister hotel Marina Mandarin and meeting rooms were converted into a temporary fitness centre.
Meanwhile, the mall's new look is already receiving compliments.
Financial planner Michelle Lee, who works in the area, says: 'It looks fantastic even though it is not fully complete. I can't wait to see it when it is done.'
taysc@sph.com.sg
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Old vs new
Number of floors
Old Mandarin Gallery: Four
New Mandarin Gallery: Four
Size of retail space
Old Mandarin Gallery: 61,805 sq ft
New Mandarin Gallery: 126,211 sq ft
Number of shops
Old Mandarin Gallery: About 50
New Mandarin Gallery: 103
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