Exterior Architecture
ION Along Orchard Road
Conceptualised by Benoy, ION stands out from the other malls by incorporating a media facade, glass panels and installations. Also, while ION visually sets itself apart from the adjacent malls like CK Tangs, Far East Plaza, and Ngee Ann City, all of which takes on more cultural and historical architectural styles, this inconsistency is only noticeable to a small extent. This is further supported by our survey, whereby 82.6% of respondents said that ION does actually fit in with its neighbours and enhances the stretch in a pleasant manner.
ION, although the most futuristic looking in the stretch, does not stick out like a sore thumb. The visual diversity along Orchard Road implies Singapore’s move towards multi-disciplinary approaches to design (and to other aspects as well), and signifies Singapore’s progress and growth in the shopping landscape.
Inspiration Behind External Façade
The external overarching canopy attached to the building draws on the metaphors of ‘skin’ and foliage’, wrapping the podium in mild curves, resembling a fruit peel.
This is a fully three-dimensional free-form curvilinear glass and metal facade that wraps around the retail component of the scheme while allowing visible shop frontage. This ‘skin’ allows the architectural facade to become a showcase of digital artwork, a stage for the contemporary artists and shared international events such as New Year countdowns.
The iconic tower design is based on the concept of ‘roots’ and ‘shoots’ growing up and out of the canopy below.
ION's unique external façade takes inspiration from Orchard Road’s origins as a nutmeg and fruit plantation district back in the 1830s. The design makes direct reference to the contours and lines of fruits and nuts.
However, it remains futuristic and modern; which is also one of the many reasons why our team chose to analyse this particular mall.
Nutmeg & Mace
Type: Sculpture, Bronze, 360x480x330cm, 2009
Artist: Kumari Nahappan (b.1953), Malaysia-Singapore
Location: ION Orchard Level 1, Singapore
Placed at the entrance plaza of ION Orchard, this sculpture, again, draws a direct reference from the history of Orchard Road, where plantations of various kinds of crops once thrived - like the nutmeg. Native to the Indonesian Spice Islands, the prized spice and essential oil was so highly
valued that its supply source was a heavily guarded secret. Today, it has become a symbol of trade prosperity.
Nutmeg and Mace was built so that “present-day social spaces are enlivened and enriched with histories
and collective memories” (National Arts Council, 2015).
The sculpture thus signifies progress - what was before
and what went into the process. One may even say that
ION is the prized mall of Orchard Road as it represents
trade and prosperity due to its accessibility and the number of luxury stores it holds.
Urban People
Type: Sculpture, Aluminum, 220x0cm , 2009
Artist: Kurt Laurenz Metzler (b.1941), Switzerland
Location: ION Orchard Level 1, ION2, Singapore
Specially commissioned for ION Orchard, this set of six urbanite each in a bright colour – red, green, purple, lime,
rose and purple - adds much vibrancy to the steps in front
of one of the entrances to the mall. The sculptures invite the passersby or shoppers to interact with them; be it holding their hands or putting an arm around them to take a picture. Notice the woman in purple carrying a silver shopping bag with an ION Orchard logo, and the man in red reading a newspaper which carries a feature on the mall.
If you look closely at the headline of the newspaper, it says: “Re-energising Orchard Road with an ION”. Reflective of this statement is the branding of ION itself - the newest and most futuristic mall on Orchard Road that differs from your everyday heartland mall, as evident in the mapping of the stores, the architecture as well as beyond shopping services. All of these offers an entirely fresh and new perspective on the future shopping landscape as ION ‘re-energises’ the heart of Singapore’s shopping scene.
The ION Square
ION also introduced a new large civic space that delivers a central urban meeting space, capable of staging public events of varying sizes beneath Singapore’s first pure monocoque façade and canopy structure.
At 33,000 square feet, ION Square is the largest sheltered public square on Orchard Road. It is a new focal point for shoppers to meet and relax and it houses events such as the annual Christmas set-up that visitors look forward to enjoy yearly.
The entrance to ION Orchard also features a media façade that dominates the streetscape. The power of large public screens to alter the ambiance of urban spaces has been noted.
Mega screens are an important feature of new forms of aesthetic cosmopolitanism that can stimulate the sense of global cosmopolitanism and street level buzz that the Singapore government wants to establish as part of the national atmosphere.
– Hudson, C. (2015). ION Orchard: atmosphere and consumption in Singapore
The Water Drop
The Water-drop is a fully transparent double curved glass feature that sits beside ION, and is known for being the iconic Orchard MRT station entrance/exit.
The materials were chosen to visualise a ‘water-drop’ - water is essential for orchards and plantations - as it seamlessly fits into the overall design concept that draws references to
ION’s history.