Coffee shop
Copper facings to the grill equipment area and to plant troughs add warmth to the interior.
Diners may select their dishes from a food display unit near the entrance to the grill room and watch the
prepa- ration of meats in the open grill coun- ter.
Chip Bee Hall
The Chip Bee Hall which features classical Chinese cuisine is divided into areas based upon the Ming period octa- gonal module. Six of these areas form screened enclosures for private dining around tables each seating a party of up to twelve.
Alcoves between the party rooms contain antique pieces of Chinese sculpture and pottery and the open restaurant area is graced by a folding Coramandel screen from Malacca.
The open restaurant area seats diners at intimate tables for four or six and has a panelled red lacquer-filled timber ceiling which rises in the octa- gonal form to contain custom-made brass lanterns which diffuse the space with a warm glow.
The carpet is of red, purple and blue hues in a pattern derived from
Ming geometry and columns are faced in the same black opal-like crystalline marble of those in the main lobby.
Guardian hero statues stand above lotus pools at each side of the main entrance doors which are of antique carved timber from an old Malaysian house. A turquoise glazed tile awning extends above the restaurant's partly glazed facade, through which occasion- al glimpses of the interior can be gain ed from the lobby.
The Coffee Shop
The modern hotel coffee shop is an internationally derived institution and is best served when its character con- veys something of its American drug- store, English cafeteria and Italian espresso bar origins an efficient, lively, 24 hour-a-day, yet intimate place.
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The materials of this coffee shop are contemporary
mirror finish Mylar plastic, PVC flooring, vinyl upholstery and enamel paints.
The idiom, in trend, is 1920 Chica- go 'Midway Gardens' with the geo- metry of the spaces defined by spheres and cubes coloured white, yellow, orange and red to relate in key to the
opposing Chip Bee Hall.
Screens formed of a rhythm of coloured cubes separate the coffee shop from the main lobby concourse, but allow free access between these areas without doors. A similar awning extends above these screens as over the Chip Bee Hall facade. The end walls. are decorated with polychrome dia- grams of Chinese opera face paintings.
Barbarella
For the first time in Singapore the 'Barbarella' discotheque and a-go-go bar features multiple projection light- ing so that the background walls and ceiling are bathed in constantly chang. ing patterns of 'psychedelic' lighting pulsing with the beat of the music and varying in hue and intensity with the tone and mood of the music.
Lighting is controlled by tone ana- lysing electronic circuits which convert the musicians' sound into visually equivallent displays through program- med projectors. The theme is high camp (threatrical) futurism as epito- mized by the internationally known French comic strip of the same name.
All the wall and ceiling surfaces of the two floor space are continuous curved surfaces out of which grow 'cillia' light clusters of warped plastic tubing.
The dancing and musicians area is open through two floors, the upper of which, like a theatre mezzanine, is reached by helical stairs at each side of the main dance floor. The main dance floor is circular and has at its centre a revolving mirror column which reflects the movement of the dancers. Two smaller dance floors cantilever from the mezzanine gallery over this space so that dancing action occurs on two levels. Overlooking the dancing areas on each level is a circular bar seating twenty or more people.
Entrance doors from the concourse and the car park areas are ornamented with l'art nouveau patterns in gold and black and stairway railings similarly reflect the l'art nouveau theme.
Seating capsules lined with pneu- matic upholstery are accessible from the stairs and are scattered in other areas indispursed with table and chair seating and banquettes in wall niches.
Contractors
Finishes are gold anodised alu- minium, stainless steel, white fiber- glass, clear acrylic and mirror, with a synthetic fur carpet. However, their appearance continually changes under the constant bathing of light.
The general contractor for Ming
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Far East BUILDER, September 1970
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