CARLTON HOTEL, SINGAPORE
A LANDMARK ARRIVAL, REIMAGINED WITHOUT REBUILDING WHAT WAS ALREADY THERE
When the Carlton Hotel in Singapore set out to renovate its entrance, reception, and ballrooms, later unveiled publicly as a refresh of the Empress Ballrooms and the Istana and Connaught function rooms, its water feature was almost an afterthought. The fountain at the porte cochère had been there for decades, an aging pool of leaper jets prone to excessive splashing. As the hotel’s ownership and project team reviewed the scope of the broader renovation with General Manager Niall Cowan, it was decided midway through that the fountain should be part of the scope too, the starting point for a project that tested what a retrofit can look like when the surrounding infrastructure must stay exactly where it is.
FROM AN IMAGE TO A SITE-SPECIFIC DESIGN
The initial brief was simple on its face. The idea took root from an online water wall image that caught the attention of the project team and ownership, and Mr. Cowan carried it forward as the brief for Crystal Fountains’ Singapore team to interpret for the site. Crystal Fountains’ Singapore team had to work through what that idea would mean on this site. The fountain sits in the middle of a working vehicle drop-off, the only route in and out of the porte cochère, and a solid water wall tall enough to read as a design statement would also block sightlines for cars, a safety problem the design had to solve before it solved for aesthetics.
That constraint opened an iterative process. Our Singapore team worked through more than five design concepts, testing combinations of tulip jets, vertical jets, and a mylar lace water curtain that offered some of the see-through quality the water wall had promised, without the obstruction. The lace option came close, a controlled, sheeting fall rather than free-falling spray, but was dropped for a practical reason: the driveway is narrow enough that maintenance on it would require a boom lift, shutting the hotel’s only drop-off lane. The final design paired tulip jets with vertical multi-stream jets from Crystal Fountains’ NLC series, tested through simulation before installation.
A CUSTOM EFFECT, ITS SECOND INSTALLATION
The tulip jet is a custom product with an integrated RGBW color ring light, originally conceived for the Lavender Fountain in Cannes, France, echoing the lavender fields surrounding that site; Crystal Fountains engineered the concept into a working product. Carlton Hotel is only the second installation of the tulip jet anywhere, and the first in Singapore.
Alongside it, the vertical multi-stream jets carry RGBACL lighting, which the team believes is the first installation of RGBACL colour light in Singapore, giving the fountain a broader, more nuanced palette than the tulip jet’s RGBW alone.
That control does real work. The fountain runs pre-programmed light shows tied to the calendar, red and white for National Day, separate palettes for Christmas, Hari Raya, Deepavali, and weddings, plus a default everyday mode, selected from a control panel beside the pool. The fountain also deliberately doesn’t invite anyone in. Its driveway location ruled that out on safety grounds, and it matched what the hotel wanted, quieter than a high-energy display.
SOLVING FOR A SITE THAT ALREADY EXISTED
The new fountain had to go into an existing pool basin on a roughly three-month schedule, without disturbing the building’s structure. Crystal Fountains specified individual CFPDMX submersible pumps rather than a dry vault system. The only work required was replacing the filter pump, cartridge filter, and in-line chlorinator, and refreshing the waterproofing; the original filtration infrastructure, including the existing piping and civil works, stayed in place, and each pump sits directly beneath its nozzle within the pool itself. Installation and commissioning took two to three weeks; the rest of the schedule was shipping lead time.
The choice also changes performance. Pumps beneath their nozzles make the lag between starting the pump and seeing water almost instantaneous. That’s a real advantage in a retrofit like this, where existing infrastructure sets the terms. New construction, with a vault built to purpose, may still be better served by a dry system. Carlton Hotel argues for having both options and matching the strategy to the site, not for one replacing the other.
Between the design iterations, the custom tulip jet, and the retrofit strategy, this project reflects design and engineering carried out end to end, one more space where an existing building was respected rather than replaced.
FAQs
WHAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WHEN DESIGNING A FOUNTAIN FOR A HOTEL ENTRANCE OR DRIVEWAY?
A fountain at a working hotel entrance has to protect sightlines, keep vehicle access clear and be safe around guests. At the Carlton Hotel Singapore, a solid water wall tall enough to read as a design statement would have blocked drivers’ views, so the design uses jets instead. The fountain is also designed to be admired from the drop-off rather than entered, which suits the hotel’s preference for something quieter than a high-energy display.
HOW CAN A FOUNTAIN BE RETROFITTED INTO AN EXISTING POOL BASIN?
A retrofit works best when it reuses the infrastructure already in place. At the Carlton Hotel Singapore, the new fountain went into the existing basin without disturbing the building’s structure. The existing piping and civil works stayed, and the work covered replacing the filter pump, cartridge filter and in-line chlorinator and refreshing the waterproofing. Installation and commissioning took two to three weeks, and the rest of the roughly three-month schedule was shipping lead time.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF SUBMERSIBLE PUMPS COMPARED WITH A DRY VAULT SYSTEM?
Submersible pumps sit directly beneath each nozzle inside the pool, which makes the lag between starting the pump and seeing water almost instantaneous. They also avoid the need for a purpose-built vault, which is a real advantage in a retrofit like the Carlton Hotel Singapore, where existing infrastructure sets the terms. New construction with a vault built to purpose may still be better served by a dry system, so the right choice depends on the site.
HOW DOES LED LIGHTING ENHANCE A HOTEL FOUNTAIN AT NIGHT?
Lighting turns a daytime water feature into an evening attraction and gives guests an impression of the hotel before they check in. At the Carlton Hotel Singapore, the tulip jets use RGBW lighting and the vertical multi-stream jets use RGBACL lighting, which gives the fountain a broader, more nuanced palette than RGBW alone.
HOW ARE LIGHTING PROGRAMS SET UP FOR HOLIDAYS AND SPECIAL EVENTS?
Modern fountains store pre-programmed light shows that can be selected without changing any hardware. The Carlton Hotel Singapore fountain runs shows tied to the calendar, with red and white for National Day and separate palettes for Christmas, Hari Raya, Deepavali and weddings, plus a default everyday mode. The shows are selected from a control panel beside the pool.
