Innovative contrast of modern materials and rustic natural materials lends an interesting materiality and detailing palette to this well-designed Peranakan-inspired resort.
The design of the Angsana Resort celebrates the experience of the meeting of the Forest and the Sea.The narrow 3.5-acre site is sandwiched between the majestic, forested slope of Penang Hill and the pristine bay of Teluk Bahang where remnants of the old Malay fishing village community still bring in their daily catch each morning in their weathered wooden boats near the abandoned timber jetty.
Inspired by the tenacity of the Malay fishing community and their closeness to the outdoors, the hotel and service apartments are laid out to allow a constant experience of the outdoors and the sea, with naturally-ventilated circulation and common areas connecting the hotel and serviced apartment block.
The hotel and serviced apartment block is connected by a generous entrance portal where arriving guests are immediately greeted by sea breezes and a dramatic view of the Andaman Sea framed by lush trees and the lofty 3-storey high lobby, clad in old, recycled timber.Sheltered by a large, permeable screen of overlapping glass panels, the lobby with its slim, tall steel columns and recycled timber walls is intended to evoke the Forest.The recycled timber recalls the old fishing village nearby, reminiscing the experience of water, boats and jetties.The arrangement of the timber on the wall was hand-picked at the site to enhance texture and shadow on the large lobby walls.
While creating a distinctive arrival statement for the hotel, the lobby also serves as a multi-use space which hosts community events on weekends, in line with the corporate ethos of the hotel operator, Banyan Tree Hotel and Resorts.
The long, folded block breaks down the length of the building on a narrow, elongated site, allowing the guest rooms to have varying views of the sea and forested cape.The angled block also relieves the sense of the long corridors in the single-loaded plan.The corridors are kept open for guests to enjoy the forest views of Penang Hill, punctuated with screens of the metal grill and custom-cast GFRC screens with a geometric Peranakan-inspired motif that creates a rich play of light and shadow to mitigate the typical relentless wall-of-corridors façade that plague many seafront hotels and apartment blocks.
At the seafront façade, the long building block is punctuated with several multi-storey sky terraces which aspire to extend the greenery of the majestic backdrop of Penang Hill, through the building and out to the seafront – reinforcing the theme of the meeting of Forest and Sea.The seafront façade of the 9-storey hotel block is punctuated by alternating pairs of verandahs to create a modulated façade and greater privacy for guests.The Service Apartment block has a terraced roofline with cascading roof gardens to soften the building profile against the mountain backdrop.
Along the beachfront, the landscape is designed as reflecting pools and landscaped terraces in soft waveforms stepping down to meet the sea.
The interior design seeks to showcase local Peranakan culture, mainly inspired by the playful intricate patterns of batik and lace from traditional Peranakan fashion with cheerful, vivid Peranakan porcelain colours of deep pastels.The shading screens throughout the building help to layer the spaces, with light and shadow play formed by the intricate pattern inspired by the Peranakan traditional card game, ‘cherki’.
The outdoor pavilion ‘floating’ at the edge of the sea-facing infinity pool creates a distinctive landmark for the hotel – the Instagram moment.Similar to the entrance portal, the pavilion is cladded in steel and timber strips, to echo the theme of the meeting of Forest and Sea.The pavilion creates a backdrop and frames the pool against the surrounding hills enclosing Teluk Bahang- while also screening the pool from the view of the disused neighbouring building.
Passive and active green design strategies were also integrated into the design to achieve low energy efficiency.The existing exposed concrete rainwater culvert was replaced with a planted environmental Bio Drain that cleans the large rainwater discharge from the hill and acts as a velocity-reducing feature to protect the beach from erosion.
The Angsana Hotel & Serviced Apartments is operated as a 5-star family-friendly resort hotel by the Banyan Tree Hotel and Resorts.
