Yahoo Finance 21 Carpenter: Heritage boutique hotel pays tribute to its history
The newly opened heritage boutique hotel at 21 Carpenter Street (All photos by Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore).
SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - At the junction of North Bridge Road and Carpenter Street, the new boutique hotel, 21 Carpenter, officially opened its doors to guests in the first week of December. The heritage property was built in 1936 in the Chinese Art Deco/Mid-century Modern style and has been conserved.
The hotel at 21 Carpenter Street is the amalgamation of four 99-year leasehold conservation shophouses at 27, 29, 31 and 33 New Bridge Road. They were purchased for $37 million by real estate investment firm 8M Real Estate and are estimated to be worth over $100 million today.
They were part of a portfolio of nine conservation shophouses and one commercial building at Boat Quay, Circular Road and New Bridge Road, purchased by 8M Real Estate for $82.5 million in February 2018.
The portfolio of properties was purchased from Lee Brothers (Wee Kee), a company controlled by the family of the late philanthropist and entrepreneur from Guangdong, Lee Wee Nam. Lee was chairman and managing director of Sze Hai Tong Banking & Insurance, now known as Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp or OCBC Bank.
Singapore-based, award-winning architecture firm Woha designed the project. The four-storey shophouses at 27, 29, 31 and 33 New Bridge Road (now part of 21 Carpenter Street) was formerly a remittance house called Chye Hua Seng Wee Kee.
The interiors of the old buildings were gutted, and a new rear extension was added to the four shophouses at 27 to 33 New Bridge Road as part of the conversion into the 48-room boutique hotel that is now 21 Carpenter. The leases were also topped up to a fresh 99-year lease.
History as a remittance house
8M Real Estate wished to incorporate elements of the history of the former remittance house into the hotel’s design and collaborated with Woha to do so. During their research into the building, the architects at Woha found a collection of letters owned by a private collector. These were copies of letters written by Chinese migrant workers in Singapore to their families back in China.
As they were mainly illiterate labourers, they engaged letter-writers in Chinatown who made a living writing letters in Chinese calligraphy. “Most of the letters ended up being beautifully written and poetic because the writers were classically trained,” says Lin Bolt, head of public relations at Woha.
Some of the poetic phrases are featured in the interiors and on the façade of the building — both in their original Chinese characters and English translations. Even the hotel’s design is said to be inspired by these letters, including the hotel carpet and several paintings in the guest rooms.
The architects at Woha also stripped off layers of paint from the building’s façade to reveal the original Shanghai plaster, and it was a painstaking, three-year process. “The original plaster is unusual as it is composed of three different tones”, according to Bolt.
Other interesting architectural features that were conserved include the wrought iron railings at the balconies that bear the distinct dollar sign at its centre, signifying its former days as a remittance house. In those days, the remittance house was where Chinese migrant workers sent money and letters back to their families in China.
Mix of Chinese Art Deco and Mid-century Modern
The original wooden floorboards of the interiors have also been preserved to maintain the character of the building. “The floors were removed, polished and pieced back together to resemble a cobbled courtyard flooring,” adds Bolt. “We wanted to keep the feeling of the old building and the ‘scars’ it had received over the years.”
The mix of Chinese Art Deco and Mid-century Modern styles of the building is also reflected in the interiors. “We wanted to retain a timeless and classic vibe that is also contemporary, warm and airy,” Bolt says.
Amenities in the hotel include a rooftop pool; a terraced garden on the third floor; and on the ground floor, Kee’s bistro, restaurant and bar curated by Michelin-starred chef Andrew Walsh. It is slated to open in February next year. Walsh is known for Cure on Keong Saik Road, his first venture as a chef-owner. He has since established four other restaurants in Singapore: Butcher Boy in 2017, Bao Boy in 2019, Catfish Izakaya in October 2020, and Club Street Wine Room in 2021.
The terraced garden on the third floor has been oriented such that guests are sheltered from natural elements and can enjoy the space throughout the day and night. Woha selected three plant species, namely gambier, pepper and nutmeg, as an ode to the three main crops traded in Singapore in the 19th and 20th centuries.
“We try to integrate greenery into our projects,” says Bolt. “This project now has more greenery than it ever did in the 100 years it has been here.”
Sustainable heritage building
The hotel is operated by Berlin-headquartered Design Hotels, which specialises in managing boutique luxury hotels in more than 50 countries. It is also affiliated with Marriott International’s loyalty programme, Marriott Bonvoy.
The 48-key hotel comprises the Heritage Wing and Urban Wing. The Heritage Wing is situated in the conserved building and houses 26 rooms. The Urban Wing is a modern extension that houses an additional 22 rooms, says Tarun Kalra, general manager of 21 Carpenter. Room sizes are between 323 and 603 sq ft.
The property has also been designed to be sustainable. It uses a hybrid cooling system by running the air-conditioner and fan simultaneously to cool the room to optimal temperatures without consuming excessive energy. “The hybrid cooling system allows the room temperature to be maintained at a comfortable 26°C to 27°C, which saves energy,” says Kalra.
While the original windows of the building have been retained, they have been triple-glazed to reduce noise and heat. “Even though your room is next to a busy road, you don’t hear the noise,” says Kalra. “It’s meant to feel like a cocoon.”
The hotel is also very accessible, adds Kalra. It is located directly opposite Clarke Quay Central, a mall linked underground to the Clarke Quay MRT Station. It is within walking distance of Boat Quay and Clarke Quay, tourist destinations with a wide range of F&B and entertainment establishments. Kalra expects the hotel to attract a mix of leisure and business travellers given its location, as it is also near the CBD and Orchard Road shopping belt.
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