As part of QIC’s vision for transforming Castle Towers into a vibrant mixed-use hub, a new 17-storey hotel in ’The Village’ above Zone 3 of the shopping centre is being proposed. Pending final approvals, the hotel will have approximately 220 keys along with function rooms, a rooftop pool and bar, and an entertainment venue in the basement.

The design is heavily influenced by sustainable initiatives utilising thermal chimneys, stack effect, and natural buoyancy to create air movement through the hotel room façade and out of the large vertical chimneys near the core. The system will promote the use of acceptable external temperatures to help maintain thermal comfort within the rooms without having to use air conditioning, hence saving energy over a standard hotel design.

Zone 3 includes a new and refurbished retail offering and a 16,000sqm hybrid timber commercial building.  The wider development includes a hotel and residential towers atop the retail podium, a heritage square that offers a unique mix of dining and retail spaces as well as an entertainment and leisure precinct. The development is connected to the train station via the recently completed underground NWRL pedestrian tunnel.

A significant engineering energy solution – a Central Thermal Plant, is a key design initiative for this site that was sized to allow for future expansion. The alternate uses of retail, hotel, and commercial on-site will utilise the diversity of occupancy and ensure that extra capacity is utilised in the most efficient way possible, all the while eliminating the need for additional plant per building, saving both space and cost.

The Hotel development aims to achieve 5-Star Green Star, 4.5-Star NABERS Energy, and 4-Star NABERS Water ratings and aspires to be one of the most sustainable hotels around.