d+a | Issue 120 • 2021

69 day dining restaurant and bar Greenhouse, a gym, Thai-inspired spa and event spaces. Sited between the building and the golf course are three swimming pools that span the entire length of the hotel section. In front of them are eight corporate booths that can host functions, especially during golf tournaments, that look out to the course. The clubhouse is on the right side of the building, with two levels and a mezzanine, where the golf support functions are located; at the far end is the golfer’s departure lounge. Before it sits an angular structure, the only reminder of the project’s previous design, which houses The Nest, a restaurant and bar where players relax after a round of golf. Besides the architecture, MDL also designed the interiors, with the exception of the two restaurants, infusing the restrained drama and elegance of contemporary Italian design with a blend of Asian (especially Thai) flavours to inject the feel of the Dusit Thani brand. The lobbies have a sobriety in their lines and through the use of colours and materials, like two-toned travertine and bronzed inserts, evoke a warm grace. This offers a backdrop to an expansive full- glass atrium opening onto the pool and then the golf course. “It ensures that patrons eventually move their gaze to the outdoor spaces and be tricked into thinking they are no longer in Singapore and have been suddenly transported to Koh Samui,” points out Mercurio. Consider it the country’s good fortune that MDL had the opportunity to design Dusit Thani Laguna Singapore almost from scratch. Complications from the construction of a new MRT line nearby motivated the design team, under the client’s suggestion, to rethink the first design intent, which retained most of its original structure and offered a much less organic solution to the building. The outcome is a development with a unique aesthetic character that commands attention, yet merges almost seamlessly with the landscape. In doing so, it establishes a positive dialogue with its surrounding and the environment, exemplifying what the essence of contemporary architecture should always be. 07 FLOOR PLAN 1. Car park 2. Golf bag conveyor belt 3. Golf operations offices 4. Toilet 5. Golf operation reception 6. Golf buggy staging area 7. Staff resting area 1ST FLOOR MASSIMO MERCURIO, CEO AND MANAGING DIRECTOR, MERCURIO DESIGN LAB