Capella Resort: Integrating Heritage and Modern Structures

Opened in 2009, the Capella hotel and resort development in Sentosa is an adaptive reuse project that began as World War II army barracks. A new design by acclaimed firms Foster + Partners and DP Architects introduced a stunning curvilinear extension to the barracks which would serve as the hotel foyer.

To construct the extension, an open-sided excavation was made behind the legacy structure where Ramboll incorporates one of the first permanent passive soil nail retaining systems in Singapore. Key in the functional viability of the scheme was a seamless integration of the old and new; to achieve this, structures were set out in such a way that allowed hotel guests to effortlessly move from one building and back without traversing different spaces.

The end result of a heritage colonial building and its curvilinear extension successfully built within native vegetation exemplifies Ramboll’s fusion engineering approach to rigorous and complex developments. For its considered design and successful implementation, the Capella Resort was a winning recipient at the URA Architectural Heritage Awards 2009.