The great volume of the porte-cochere appears to be inordinately over-scaled in terms of its perceived functions – a drop-off zone for hotel guests and an entry to the car park – but it has a grander purpose, a larger agenda. The space serves as a link, as an axis, between two distinctive and discrete areas of the city: Chinatown and the apartment blocks to the south, and Hong Lim Park and the commercial district to the north. A visual connection has been established by the monumental void, as it effectively constitutes a ceremonial gateway between the precincts.