The Great Madras, Singapore

Design studio Farm combines old-world charm with the spirit of Little India to create a playful hotel bursting with wit and whimsy. Words: Luo Jingmei | Photography: © Studio Perophery. The Great Madras, Singapore

A new boutique hotel has sprouted in Singapore’s vibrant Little India district, confidently standing out from its sleepy neighbours of construction supply stores, local coffee shops and nondescript budget hostels. The Great Madras’ bold signage, accompanied by a fuchsia flamingo neon light tower at the side, heralds an establishment with a witty, distinctive personality juxtaposed against charming Art Deco bones. Owned by Mini Environment Service (MES) Group – which also operates The Daulat, a more conservative boutique hotel a few units down – The Great Madras’ rich tapestry of colours, playful elements and modern takes on old-world charm can be described as sunny Malibu-meets Cuban chic-meets vintage colonial. Unsurprisingly, film director Wes Anderson’s eclectic, offbeat sets have been mentioned as a point of comparison. “In early discussions with the client, we suggested that the hotel ought to appeal to travellers who are looking for a bespoke offer and not your run-of-a-mill experience; someone who loves good design, a good book, and is a bit of a romantic at heart,” says Selwyn Low, Director at local multidisciplinary design studio Farm, which worked on both the hotel’s branding and interiors.

Spaces on the ground floor flow easily, blurring not only indoors and out, but also public and private spheres. Behind the reception is a modern-day barbershop, and there’s a laundromat in the lounge area for use locals as well as hotel guests. Books by travel writers such as Rudyard Kipling and Peter Mayle line the walls, reiterating the hotel’s theme of wanderlust and storytelling. “There are in fact numerous traditional, no-frills barbershops dotted around Little India. We took elements of these and reinterpreted them: the framed glass frontage, the barber pole, the no-nonsense tiled floor and the large mirror contained within a characterful timber cabinet,” Low explains. “We had a romantic vision of the laundromat as a place where you could meet people and make friends, so instead of placing it somewhere hidden from view, we put it in the lounge area and tarted it up with a printed floral pattern mirroring the quirky wallpapers in the rooms.”

These wallpapers take centrestage, exuding a vintage flavour reminiscent of cosy bed-and-breakfasts. They bring character to the guestrooms alongside floating Hay side tables, punchy coloured washbasins housed on long vanity counters, and furniture consistent with the architecture’s heritage, such as Ton chairs and Lampe Gras and Anglepoise lights. In all, there are 35 guestrooms and five room types, ranging from The Balcony Room with verandas facing Madras Road, to The Good Room – a 9m2 space featuring intricate prints of ferns – and The Great Suite with its own study and a standalone bathtub. On the ground floor is The Deluxe Hostel – co-living spaces named thematically after well-known travel writers. Each unit features a king-sized bed on a raised platform, pop-up tables and shelves, and shared bathroom facilities. As a considerate gesture, there are three women-only rooms, as well as The Courtyard Room – the largest at 28m2 – designed to be fully accessible.

Throughout the hotel, curiosity is piqued with details such as scribbled ‘messages’ left on window ledges and wall corners. Faint inscriptions of ‘imagined’ spaces such as a bowling alley and ballroom on the wayfinding wall next to the lift playfully suggest a layered past to the hotel. Acting like artwork, neon wall lights of inspirational quotes tell guests to ‘go everywhere, do everything’ or take it ‘easy like Sunday morning’. Above the circular aperture framing the pool on the top storey, neon lights also cheerily mark ‘The Great Madras Swimming Club’ and its icon of a swimmer held up by raised hands. “The text art serves several purposes,” explains Low. “On the one hand, it is a nod to the significant role of typography and neon lighting in Art Deco architecture. On the other, the actual phases selected reflect the overall persona of the building, that it’s about the freedom and joys of travel. They also help to orientate and provide visual markers for guests as they wander from floor to floor, and corner to corner.” Not surprisingly, they’ve also turned out to be great photo spots. Exuding a joie de vivre, The Great Madras is an exciting addition to both Singapore and the local vicinity, small in size but rich with details. Its casual feel is met with sophistication in design. Eschewing the more streamlined route in dealing with a heritage building, Farm has concocted a fun and highly engaging hospitality encounter for both tourists and locals alike.

sources: Sleeper, July-August 2018.