klapsons, a boutique hotel in Singapore, has paid uncharacteristic attention to lighting design and control, bringing hotel design out of the dark.Situated in the heart of Singapore’s central business district, klapsons is a four-storey boutique design hotel, which aims to differentiate itself from other conventional hotels by being fun and innovative. The hotel aims to create a unique experience for guests - a place that is cosy, personal and home-like. The core design theme is about celebrating being singular - no two of the seventeen rooms are the same, bringing freshness and new perspectives to both business and leisure travellers. Besides the luxurious amenities and designer furniture placed in the rooms, klapsons also values the convenience of modern technology. Lighting experts and designers working on klapsons, were charged with lighting an integral element of this chic and sassy business hotel, creating a sense of freshness during the day and romance in the evening.
Design for a Memorable Stay
Renowned designer William Sawaya of Sawaya & Moroni set the design tone of klapsons as “contemporary luxury”. Welcoming the guests upon arrival at the hotel is a unique stainless steel sphere that functions as the reception and check-in desk. The ceiling made up of three tiers of free form organic shapes and invokes illuminating lights that flush the entire lobby in hues from the colour spectrum was designed to harmonise and bring life to the entire lobby. The lobby and corridors are also equipped with a modern LED lighting system where the background tones can vary to match different moods at different hours of the day.
How Lights Work
All indirect lights are LED-powered, with the goal of giving off a sense of freshness during the day and a romantic ambience in the evening with alternation of colours and light intensity. To achieve this effect without increasing operational and maintenance costs, the hotel has specified use of a lighting control system owned by Lutron.
When guests at the hotel insert their key cards to enter the rooms, lights inside the guestroom will be automatically turned on to a day-time welcome mode – both the day and night curtains will open automatically and soft lights will be switched on in the darker parts of the deep rooms. Upon entering the rooms at night, a night-time welcome mode will be switched on. The night curtains will be drawn, the day curtain closed and a warm light activated. In the bathroom shell-shaped and cylindrical-styled showers, and an open-cube rain shower flanked with full length mirrors and colour changing LED lights.
Natural lightKlapson shares Lutron’s philosophy that “lighting control should include control of natural light”, and installed electronic shades to control natural light into all rooms. Guests can control both natural and artificial light sources themselves using a bedside keypad with backlit and engraved buttons. These display every light scene selection at a glance including “Shower”, “All ON” and “Night Time”, and separate buttons to control electronic shades without affecting the current light level. Guests can easily and conveniently control the exact lighting environment they desire, even in the dark.
The Light Speaks
Although it took more than one month to programme the correct light setting in all guest rooms, lobby and the restaurant, the results speak for itself. “Many of our guests expressed that they have never seen a system that integrates the control of electric light and curtains, which is very impressive. It also gives a sense of quality to our guests when they enter the room. The thoughtfulness of design is reflected in the details,” said Lee.
Facts & Figures
- Project Name: klapsons, The Boutique Hotel
- Architect: RSP Architects Planners & Engineers
- Interior Designer:Sawaya & Moroni SPA
- Lighting Designer: William Sawaya,Sawaya & Moroni SPA
