Emmy-winning HBO drama series Westworld is currently one of the biggest TV shows there is at the moment! According to its co-creator Lisa Joy, all it took was one look at imagery of Singapore to make it a key shooting location for the recently unveiled third season. Jeffrey Wright, who plays the character of Bernard Lowe, said, “Singapore seems worlds away. The architecture is futuristic, innovative and sprawling. It is such a unique city.” Although you can’t jump on a plane right now, you can escape reality and transport to Singapore, all you need is a screen. Below, we explore a few spectacular filming locations in Singapore that brought the third season to life.
Helix Bridge
With its appropriately futuristic design, The Helix Bridge looks like something out of a Hollywood sci-fi film. With spectacular views of the Singapore River and the iconic Marina Bay Sands, this bridge is one of the best spots to see the Lion City in all its glory. Constructed by Australian architects Cox Architecture and Singapore-based Architects 61, you’ll feel as though you are walking through an enormous DNA strand and is really just the perfect fit for Westworld’s genetics and data-obsessed universe.
PARKROYAL on Pickering
An urban oasis in the heart of the city, PARKROYAL on Pickering is well-known as the “hotel-in-a-garden”, and it’s not hard to see why. The hotel is featured multiple times throughout the third season, including the opening scenes of the first episode where we catch a glimpse of the hotel during a flashback sequence with Evan Rachel Wood’s Dolores Abernathy, specifically the roof terrace with its distinctive birdcage cabanas and lush infinity pool. Built as an eco-friendly monument exploding with vegetation, the hotel is meant to illustrate how nature and technology have fused in Westworld’s future reality. It comes as no surprise that this iconic hotel was also where the cast and crew also stayed during filming!
Orchard Road
With humble beginnings dating back to the early 1830s when it was simply a road to farmland, Orchard Road is now a glittering, multi-coloured retail mecca and home to endless shopping opportunities. When Caleb, played by Aaron Paul, takes a phone call about his job interview against a night-time backdrop of brightly lit designer stores and neon illuminated steps, he does so between the Wisma Atria and ION shopping centres, representing a “real world” dripping with wealth. For those looking for a hit of retail therapy, there is no better destination!
Chinatown Food Street
In episode four, we see Maeve played by Thandie Newton, stroll under the red lanterns and past the roast meat and noodle stalls of Chinatown’s bustling Food Street. Following a multimillion-dollar revamp, the shophouse-lined street with an all-weather roof is probably the most theme park-esque of all the third season filming locations. Singapore local and co-producer of Westworld, Freddie Yeo said, “Chinatown retains a lot of the looks of the shophouses and you see the old and new world side by side.” From a tantalising plate of char kway teow (stir-fried noodle dish), to sticks of mouth-watering satay, Chinatown Food Street offers a diverse spread of local delights, with iconic food from a melting pot of cultures, all represented on one street.
National Gallery Singapore
Caleb and Dolores’ visit to “the bank for a certain social set” in episode four takes place inside the National Gallery Singapore, specifically within the Rotunda Dome. The National Gallery Singapore is a combination of the former City Hall and Supreme Court buildings and cleverly blends the old with the new, balancing heritage and modernity. Freddie Yeo notes that the National Gallery, “retains what was originally from our British Colonial days, in terms of architecture, and blends this with modern and new in one single location.” The National Gallery is also the largest visual art gallery in Singapore and is home to the world’s largest public collection of Singaporean and Southeast Asian art, a haven for all the art enthusiasts out there!
Atlas
It’s at the sophisticated and visually exquisite Atlas that Maeve and new character Engerraund Serac played by Vincent Cassel, the world’s richest man and the owner of Rehoboam, meet for a drink. Atlas is an art deco-inspired lounge on the ground floor of the Parkview Square building and is currently Singapore’s top bar within the 2019 World’s Best Bars list (sitting 8th on the list) and the 5th best bar in Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2020. Stepping into Atlas is like being transported back to the 1920s, experiencing all the glamour and decadence through the magnificent gothic style architecture, including intricate gold balconies and champagne-hued tapestries. It is also home to the world’s largest gin selection, with over 1,000 bottles of gin, stretching 20 shelves up. Consistently voted one of Singapore’s favourite bars, its surrealist interior makes it a perfect fit for Westworld.
Singapore is often referred to as a “City in a Garden”.
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