Breaking The Mould

General manager of Mondrian Singapore Duxton, Robert C. Hauck doesn’t believe in conventionality

- SNG LER JUN

In Robert C. Hauck's office, a street away from the up-and-coming luxury hotel Mondrian Singapore within Duxton Hill, there are no chairs with back rests. In their place, there are two plum-coloured, round cushioned stools, unorthodox given how office spaces these days are into ergonomic pursuits. "They help break down the tension," Hauck, the general manager of Mondrian Singapore, says. "More importantly, conversations are warmer and more spontaneous this way."

"Unorthodox" or "unconventionality" are just some of the many words that describe how the German national, who has had stints as a hotelier around the globe with Singapore becoming his 15th country to live in, envisions things to be at Mondrian Singapore.

For the uninitiated, Mondrian Singapore will be the brand's first outpost in Southeast Asia, following the launch of Mondrian Seoul Itaewon in 2020, which at the time, signalled the brand's entry into the Asia Pacific. Managed by leading international hospitality group Accor's lifestyle subsidiary Ennismore, the luxury boutique chain has seven properties across Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Doha, Seoul, Shoreditch London and Singapore.

Mondrian Singapore is designed by award-winning architectural interior designer, Robbyn Carter, who had lived on the sunny island for six years. The 302-room luxury hotel also tips hats to Duxton's storied history and impressive progress, both its colonial past and now modernised neighbourhood.