Grand Hyatt Singapore | Grant Associates

Winner of an Outstanding Award in the 2026 WLA Awards – Built Hospitality & Tourism category

Located just off Orchard Road, the refreshed landscape for Grand Hyatt Singapore becomes the primary driver of the hospitality experience. Working with a 50-year-old structure, the project transforms 1.67 hectares of podium and ground-level landscape into a continuous immersive garden that mediates between city and retreat.

Rather than complete replacement, the approach is one of careful curation and renewal. Existing structures, mature planting, and residual spaces are reworked to support contemporary expectations of wellness, environmental performance, and identity. Focusing on decompression, drawing on Shinrin Yoku (forest bathing), the landscape unfolds as a series of layered experiences, in which movement, layering, and sensory experiences shape how space is encountered.

The journey begins at the reconfigured Waterfall, where water is moderated to reduce noise and splash, improving both microclimate and plant health while creating a quieter threshold into the hotel. From here, the experience shifts upward into Garden Oasis. Circulation is deliberately non-linear: winding paths, planted trellised walkways, and moments of pause encourage exploration, allowing guests to gradually disengage. Water becomes less of a spectacle, setting the tone for what’s beyond. As guests move through the landscape, water is encountered in multiple forms — from sound and reflection to movement through rain chains and ephemeral swales — reinforcing a gradual sense of separation from the city.

Material reuse is embedded within the design. Stepping stones salvaged from the original terrace are reintroduced along garden paths, retaining a physical link to the site’s history while reducing material consumption. Mature boundary trees are preserved and reinforced, enabling the landscape to establish immediate depth and enclosure. What was previously a fragmented and underperforming podium has been reconfigured into a cohesive environment that supports both ecological function and the guest experience.

Water, planting, and drainage are treated as integrated systems rather than discrete features. Rain chains and swales make stormwater movement visible, allowing infrastructure to be experienced rather than concealed. Across the site, water shifts in character, from reflective pools to hydrotherapy, responding to different spatial programmes. The Wellness Garden forms a key moment within these gardens. Pools developed with hydrotherapy specialists incorporate jets, swan necks, and submerged seating to support recovery and circulation. Beadcrete finish replaces conventional tiling, giving the water a mineral quality aligned with its therapeutic intent. Surrounding planting moderates light and screens adjacent buildings, reinforcing immersion.

Biodiversity is embedded within this experience. The planting palette draws from the Orchard–Somerset butterfly corridor, extending pollinator habitats into the site. Butterflies, bees, and birds have returned, allowing the landscape to contribute incrementally to the city’s ecological fabric. The landscape also reshapes how the hotel operates. Underutilised areas are adapted to support new uses, including a 25-metre lap pool within the footprint of a former tennis court. Lawns and terraces accommodate both intimacy and social activity while resolving structural and service constraints.

In a dense tropical city where buildings are often replaced than adapted, the project offers a refreshed approach to improving amenity, wellness, and ecology for a luxury hotel, through thoughtful calibration of sound, shade, water, and movement.

Grand Hyatt Singapore

Location: Singapore

Landscape Architect: Grant Associates

Collaborators
Owner: Borneo Properties Sdn Bhd
Operator: Grand Hyatt Singapore
Technical Services: Hyatt Design Services
Project Manager: Currie & Brown (S) Pte Ltd
Architect: RSP Architects Planners & Engineers
C&S Engineer: RSP Architects Planners & Engineers
M&E Engineer: Meinhardt (Singapore) Pte Ltd
Quantity Surveyor: AECOM Cost Consulting
Interior Designer: Strickland/ Nao Taniyama

Images: Grant Associates; Grand Hyatt Singapore;

Text: Grant Associates

Plant List

Trees
Alstonia scholaris*
Artocarpus altilis~
Averrhoa bilimbi
Caesalpinia ferrea
Calophyllum inophyllum*
Cananga odorata*
Castanopsis inermis*
Cinnamomum iners*
Conocarpus erectus
Cyathea latebrosa
Dalbergia oliverii~
Dendrolobium umbellatum*
Dillenia reticulata*
Diospyros buxifolia*
Elaeocarpus grandifloras*
Eucalyptus deglupta~
Eyrthrina fusca*
Ficus lyrata
Garcinia subelliptica~
Gnetum gnemon*
Heterophones fragrans
Hopea odorata~
Kopsia singapurensis**
Lophanthera lactescens~
Macaranga gigantea*
Manihot esculenta
Manikara zapota
Maniltoa browneoides~
Michelia champaca~
Muntingia calabura
Myristica fragrans~
Pisonia grandis*
Plumeria rubra
Pouteria obovata
Saraca indica
Schefflera actinophylla
Sterculia foetida*
Suregada multiflora*
Syzygium zeylanicum*
Tabernaemontana corymbosa
Tarenna odorata

Palms
Areca catechu~
Dypsis leptocheilos
Euterpe edulis
Johannesteijsmannia altifrons*
Licuala grandis~
Licuala spinosa~
Oncosperma tigillarium*
Pandanus tectorius*
Phoenix robellini
Rhopaloblaste singaporensis**

Shrubs & Climbers
Aglaonema spp.
Anthurium ellipticum ‘Jungle Bush’
Antigonon leptopus
Bauhnia corymbose*
Bauhnia kockiana~
Calathea makoyana
Cissus nodosa*
Clerodendum thomsoniae
Davallia denticulata*
Dissotis rotundifolia
Dolichandra unguis-cati
Epipremnum aureum
Lantana camara
Monstera adansonii
Monstera deliciosa
Peperomia angulata
Philodendron ‘Gold’
Philodendron micans
Philodendron selloum
Phyllanthus cochinchinensis*
Pilea nummulariifolia
Piper sarmentosum*
Plumbago auriculata
Raphis excelsa
Spathiphyllum ‘Sensation’
Spathiphyllum wallisii
Sphagneticola trilobara
Strelitzia nicolai
Strelitzia reginae
Syngonium podophyllum ‘Pixie’
Syzygium myrtifolium*
Tabernaemontana dwarf
Tacca intergrifolia
Tarenna odorata*
Ternera ulmifolia
Thaumatococcus daniellii
Tradescantia zebrina
Tristellateia australasiae*
Vernonia elliptica~
Wedelia trilobata
Xiphidium caeruleum
Zephyranthes

Accents & Ferns
Acrostichum aureum ‘L’*
Asplenium nidus*
Alocasia longiloba*
Alocasia macrorrhizos*
Aloe barbadensis
Anthurium ellipticum ‘Jungle Bush’
Anthurium superbum
Bromeliad
Blechnum gibbum~
Dracaena trifasciata ‘Laurentil’
Ficus auriculata~
Leea rubra*
Matteuccia struthiopteris
Memecylon caeruleum*
Memecylon edule*
Nephrolepis acutifolia*
Nypa fruticans*
Platycerium coronarium*
Tarenna odorota

* species native to Singapore
** species endemic to Singapore
~ species native to the region (Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo)