September_1970 — Page 17

HILIPS

Tower block from landscaped pool deck. Note specially designed fibreglass balcony handrails

Pool deck seen from tower block. Ground floor lobby can be seen through the octagonal domes

Far East BUILDER, September 1970

corridor carpets on all the hotel's 17 floors. Each motif consists of seven colour variations, obtained by the care- ful mixture of five pigments.

Carpets laid in the Ming Garden restaurant, cocktail lounge and various function rooms similarly reflect Cross- ley's design service, the best example being the distinctive 3ft. diameter 'tail- feather eye' motif that dominates the Peacock room.

Main lobby

The spacious lobby is divided into two major spaces - one extending the full width of the main facade and con- taining the front desk operations, a sunken cocktail lounge, the foyer to the grill room and stairs leading to a mezzanine arcade of specialised shops and function rooms.

The second lobby space extends at right angles to the main lobby through to the tower block lifts and is treated as a large informal concourse and loung- ing area flanked each side by the Chip Bee Hall and the coffee shop. The ceil- ing over this lobby is open through five floors and is roofed with a skylight through which guests may see the guest- room tower block. Two 18ft. long chandeliers made out of chains of Vene- tian glass links hang from the skylight to spread a warm glow over the 120ft. long Peking carpet laid along its main axis.

The main flooring in the lobby area is white Pakistani marble veined with tones of jade green in contrast to the blue-black crystalline marble of the columns.

Seating units surround main columns and are contained within geo- metric carpet areas of blue-green- mauvre-series colours. The carpet shape is repeated in recessed areas in the high ceiling, from which a flow of golden light tubes descends to embrace the columns.

Grill room

A foyer off the cocktail lounge leads to the grill room which conveys an atmosphere of garden pergolas ex- tending as ceiling frames from two central banquette clusters.

Local timbers, in form and carving reminiscent of Malayan 'Istana' style, are inset with mirror discs from Thai- land and combine with the cool greens of upholstery and a stylised floral carpet.

High ceiling trellises are illuminated from above to sillouette plant troughs over banquette units and window gla- zing is screened with rattan and cotton woven blinds from the Philippines.

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