to gather : The Architecture of Relationships

Singapore Pavilion at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition — La Biennale di Venezia

22 March 2021, Singapore – The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and DesignSingapore Council (Dsg) jointly present to gather : The Architecture of Relationships, as Singapore’s response to the overarching theme of the 17th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia -- ‘How Will We Live Together?’ by curator Hashim Sarkis. This marks the country’s seventh showcase at the International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia since Singapore first took part in 2004.

Curated by the National University of Singapore (NUS), the Singapore Pavilion will profile local architects and design talents on an international stage through projects that explore and celebrate the different ways in which Singaporeans share public spaces. Drawing upon local spatial typologies, the exhibition will showcase everyday stories representing a broad cross-section of culture and society, and allow visitors to experience a uniquely Singaporean style of gathering and living together.

to gather explores gatherings through Singapore’s urban context where the majority of the population lives in public housing and where designed spaces of different scales such as hawker centres1, community hubs, void decks2 and sky gardens meaningfully contribute to public social life.

For the exhibition, 16 built and speculative architecture, art and design projects on gathering typologies unique to Singapore have been selected. The projects will be presented on 16 round tables within the Pavilion, inspired by the spatial typology of local hawker centres.

The projects will be brought together by four themes – Communing Relationships, Framing Relationships, Uncovering Relationships and Imagining Relationships. Presenting the works of various stakeholders such as architects, designers, communities, citizens and non-profit organisations, the projects collectively feature the different ways in which Singaporeans share public spaces, and how these spaces – both designed and spontaneous – can serve as catalysts in forming relationships, improving the quality of the built environment and forging new spatial contracts.

As a compact, island city-state with scarce land resources to support Singapore’s urban development, it is crucial to constantly balance the demands of the population across a wide variety of needs. Unique forms of public spaces have correspondingly emerged from these considerations, with Singaporeans creatively establishing distinctive ways of encouraging the community to gather. However, rapidly evolving technologies may change the way public spaces are viewed by communities. Over the past year, COVID-19 has also resulted in major shifts in the way Singaporeans interact with one another and with the surrounding built environment. to gather allows local architects and designers to examine afresh these shared public spaces and address the challenges in making them more sustainable, resilient, and safer, as the community positions itself to emerge stronger from the pandemic.

Singapore Pavilion Co-Commissioner and URA Group Director (Architecture & Urban Design) Yap Lay Bee, said: “As we leverage architecture and urban design to address new global challenges, it is important to continue supporting and facilitating community participation in the design of public spaces. Collectively, public spaces have a significant impact on our quality of life, helping us to form connections, share memories, values and a sense of place in which we call home.” ​

Mark Wee, Singapore Pavilion Co-Commissioner and Executive Director of Dsg added: “As a city-state which has experienced rapid urbanisation since its independence, Singapore has over time forged our own style of high density living, and places of community gathering in our parks, hawker centres, void decks and sky gardens. The pandemic and its restrictions on global travel have brought everyone closer together, with a deeper appreciation for our families and communities. This exhibition aims to share how we can live and gather peacefully amidst such challenging times.” ​

Curator of the Singapore Pavilion and Head of Department of Architecture in NUS, Prof Ho Puay-Peng, said: “Architects have always played a significant role in designing safe, healthy, inclusive, and equitable spaces, particularly as Singapore begins to take steps to transition cautiously out of the current pandemic. Yet, this contribution to creating, sharing and building spaces cannot be without a re-learning of what it means to live together, and a new spatial contract for living together needs to be forged. Returning to the status quo is inexcusable, perhaps this global public health crisis can motivate architects to expand their roles in society innovatively and take this opportunity to actively shape a new culture and a new way forward.”

The Singapore Pavilion at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia will open from 22 May 2021 to 21 November 2021. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation globally, digital platforms will be leveraged to present the Pavilion to the international audience. The exhibition will be restaged in Singapore in 2022, and the details will be announced in due course.

For more information, visit www.to-gather.sg, or the Singapore Pavilion’s Instagram and Facebook pages at https://www.instagram.com/to.gather.2021/ ​ and www.facebook.com/to.gather.2021/

-Ends-

1 Hawker centres are public open-air, cooked food centres in Singapore that offer a variety of different cuisines. In 2020, Hawker culture in Singapore was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Culture and Heritage of Humanity.

2 In Singapore, void decks are sheltered, open spaces at the ground floor of high-rise public apartment blocks.

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

Judith Fereday

Managing Partner, Camron

About the Urban Redevelopment Authority Singapore (URA)

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is Singapore’s land use planning and conservation agency. Our mission is “to make Singapore a great city to live, work and play”. We strive to create an endearing home and a vibrant city through long-term planning and innovation, in partnership with the community.

We have successfully transformed Singapore into one of the most liveable cities in Asia through judicious land use planning and good urban design. Adopting a long-term and comprehensive planning approach, we formulate strategic plans such as the Concept Plan and the Master Plan to guide the physical development of Singapore in a sustainable manner. Developed to support economic growth, our plans and policies are focused on achieving a quality living environment for Singapore.

We take on a multi-faceted role to turn plans and visions into reality. As the main government land sales agent, we attract and channel private capital investments to develop sites that support planning, economic and social objectives. Through our regulatory function, we ensure that development works are aligned with our plans. As the conservation authority, we have an internationally recognised conservation programme, and have successfully conserved not just single buildings, but entire districts. We also partner the community to enliven our public spaces to create a car-lite, people-friendly and liveable city for all to enjoy.

In shaping a distinctive city, we promote architecture and urban design excellence, and innovate to build a resilient city of opportunity that fulfils the aspirations of our people.

Visit www.ura.gov.sg for more information.

 

About the DesignSingapore Council (Dsg)

DesignSingapore Council’s (Dsg) vision is for Singapore to be an innovation-driven economy and a loveable city through design by 2025. As the national agency that promotes design, our mission is to develop the design sector, help Singapore use design for innovation and growth, and make life better in this UNESCO Creative City of Design. Our work focuses on three areas. First, we help organisations and enterprises use design as a strategy for business growth; and for excellent delivery of public services. Second, we nurture industry-ready talents skilled in design and innovation; and engender a design-minded workforce for the future economy. Third, we advance the Singapore brand through raising design appreciation on home-ground; helping local design talents and firms go international, and making emotional connections with people across the world. The Dsg is a subsidiary of the Singapore Economic Development Board.

Singapore was designated UNESCO Creative City of Design in December 2015. The designation supports Singapore’s development of a creative culture and eco-system that integrates design and creativity with everyday life. It also expands Singapore’s opportunity to collaborate with cities from the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN). The City of Design Office is sited with Dsg which coordinates and implements programmes that respond to UCCN’s mission.

Visit www.designsingapore.org for more information.

 

About the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Department of Architecture

A leading global university centred in Asia, the National University of Singapore (NUS) is Singapore’s flagship university, which offers a global approach to education and research, with a focus on Asian perspectives and expertise. NUS has 17 faculties and schools across three campuses. Over 38,000 students from 100 countries enrich the community with their diverse social and cultural perspectives. NUS also strives to create a supportive and innovative environment to promote creative enterprise within its community.

The Department of Architecture, which is part of the NUS School of Design and Environment, was established in 1958. Today, NUS Architecture offers a wide range of programmes, including landscape architecture, urban design, urban planning and integrated sustainable design. Building on the strength of its rich heritage and visionary leadership, NUS Architecture is poised to remain at the forefront of global excellence in architectural education and research, with a focus on high density Asian cities in the tropics.

For more information on NUS and NUS Architecture, please visit www.nus.edu.sg and sde.nus.edu.sg/arch/.

Singapore Pavilion - to gather : The Architecture of Relationships

Commissioned by: Urban Redevelopment Authority and DesignSingapore Council

Co-Commissioners:

Yap Lay Bee, Group Director (Architecture & Urban Design), Urban Redevelopment Authority

Mark Wee, Executive Director, DesignSingapore Council

Organised by: National University of Singapore

Curators:

Professor Ho Puay-peng, Professor and Head, Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore

Dr Simone Shu-Yeng Chung, Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore

Thomas K. Kong, Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore

Tomohisa Miyauchi, Professor of Practice, IE School of Architecture and Design, Spain

Sarah Mineko Ichioka, Director, Desire Lines

Supported By: Singapore University of Technology and Design and Singapore Institute of Architects

 

Participants in the Singapore Pavilion

Participant - Project

Atelier HOKO - HABIT©AT

DP Architects - Our Tampines Hub

Drama Box, ArtsWok Collaborative and Forest & Whale - Both Sides, Now

Hyphen Architects + Brian Khoo + Mary Ann Ng - An Ode to Smell

Lai Chee Kien - Hawker Centres in Singapore

Lighting Planners Associates - Lighting Detectives

Michael Budig and Oliver Heckmann, Singapore University of Technology & Design- Future Hybrid High-Rise Commune

Milennial Nomad Space - We are Milennials, Mobilised

MKPL Architects - Rail Corridor: Choa Chu Kang Integrated Housing Development

NUS-Tsinghua Design Research Initiative for Sharing Cities - Architecture of the Sharing Cities

Red Bean Architects - Common Ground

salad dressing - Rewilding the Sky

Studio DO: PULAU - Pulau Ubin Lives

Studio Lapis + Eugene Tan + Jerome Ng Xinhao - Syncretically, Eclectically - ‘Haw Par’ Have We Come?

Surbana Jurong - Temasek Shophouse

WOHA - Kampung Admiralty

 

Curatorial Statement

to gather examines the different ways in which we share space — in our city, with one another, and nature. The exhibition grew out of a desire to pull together stories on the ground. The relationships within and between communities living in public housing and neighbourhoods are the bedrock upon which many collective actions in this exhibition are built. These efforts, in turn, transform and reinvigorate the spatial environments they reference.

The 2021 Singapore Pavilion features a total of sixteen projects that represent the cross-section of local cultures and society. Singapore is deeply urban and affable. Against this cosmopolitan backdrop, spatial typologies such as hawker centres, community centres and void decks are constant fixtures in facilitating and nurturing practices of sociability in the city.

The curators are interested in bringing these modes of conviviality and inclusivity into the context of an exhibition. The Biennale Architettura 2021 poses a prescient and important question: how will we live together? This is a question that opens up a plethora of possibilities. The Singapore Pavilion addresses this through a community-led focus, and the built spaces that facilitate these gatherings. The spatial typologies of the hawker centre and the living/dining room of a public housing flat emerged as a natural and seamless way with which we could introduce a uniquely Singaporean mode of gathering and living together.

In the process of curating, we gathered around a quote by Donna J. Haraway (2016):

Sympoiesis is a simple word; it means, ‘making-with’. Nothing makes itself; nothing is really autopoietic or self-organising. [...] Sympoiesis is a word proper to complex, dynamic, responsive, situated, historical systems. It is a word for worlding-with, in company.

We understand sympoiesis as the building of a relationship, a role that architecture and the built environment in Singapore have actively played over the years. Sympoiesis also takes time, and so does sitting with the projects in this space. to gather is an invitation to view and experience up close the gathering of ideas, stories, and solutions that respond to Hashim Sarkis’ call to forge a new spatial contract for living together.

 

About the Curators

Professor HO Puay-Peng is currently Head of Department of Architecture, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore. Prior to joining NUS, Ho was Professor of Architecture and served as Director of School of Architecture and University Dean of Students at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He was conservation consultant, architect and adviser to some 100 conservation projects in Hong Kong, including PMQ, Haw Par Villa and New Campus for Chicago University Booth School.

Dr. Simone Shu-Yeng CHUNG is Assistant Professor in the Department of Architecture, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore. She holds a Ph.D. in Architecture from University of Cambridge and practiced as an architect in London. A former Rome Scholar in Architecture and Japan Foundation Asian Center Fellow, she is also a 2020 CCA Research Fellow. She co-authored, with Mike Douglass, The Hard State, Soft City of Singapore (2020, Amsterdam University Press).

Thomas K. KONG is an architect and Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore. He holds a Master of Architecture (Distinction) from Cranbrook Academy of Art, U.S.A and a Bachelor of Architecture (Honours) from the National University of Singapore. Working at the intersection of art and architecture, he is the principal investigator for a National Heritage Board research grant that examines curating and archiving as a social practice.

Tomohisa MIYAUCHI is an architect and educator. He is a Professor of Practice at the School of Architecture and Design at IE University (Instituto de Empresa), Spain. He received his Bachelor of Architecture (Distinction) from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) in 2000 and a Master of Architecture II from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University (GSD) in 2004. He is a registered

architect in Japan and the US. Tomohisa also represented Singapore as a curator for the Pavilion of Singapore at the International Architecture Exhibition, Venice Biennale (La Biennale di Venezia) in 2016 and 2018.

Sarah Mineko ICHIOKA, Hon FRIBA, leads Desire Lines, a strategic consultancy for environmental, cultural and social-impact organisations and initiatives. She has been recognised as a World Cities Summit Young Leader, one of the Global Public Interest Design 100, and a British Council / Clore Foundation Cultural Leadership International Fellow. Previous roles include Director of The Architecture Foundation (UK), Co-Director of the London Festival of Architecture, and positions with the LSE Cities Programme, La Biennale di Venezia, Tate Modern, and Singapore’s National Parks Board. She has advised cultural initiatives such as the European Prize for Urban Public Space, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, and Triennale di Milano. She is also the co-author, with Michael Pawlyn, of Flourish: Design Paradigms for Our Planetary Emergency (Triarchy Press, 2021).

 

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Judith Fereday

Managing Partner, Camron

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About DesignSingapore Council

The DesignSingapore Council was established in 2003 to help develop the nation’s design sector. This follows from the Singapore’s Economic Review Committee report, which identified the creative industry as one of the three new sectors (including education and healthcare) for economic growth. Developing the design sector can help to enhance Singapore’s value proposition; as well as contribute to the country’s economic growth and social progress.

The vision of the DesignSingapore Council is for Singapore to be an innovation-driven economy and a loveable city through design by 2025. As the national agency for design, the Council’s mission is to develop the design sector, help Singapore use design for innovation and growth, and make life better in this UNESCO Creative City of Design. Our work focuses on three areas. First, we help organisations and enterprises use design as a strategy for business growth; and for excellent delivery of public services. Second, we nurture industry-ready talents skilled in design and innovation; and engender a design-minded workforce for the future economy. Third, we advance the Singapore brand through raising design appreciation on homeground; and making emotional connections with people across the world.

Singapore was designated a UNESCO Creative City of Design in December 2015. This designation supports the development of a creative culture and eco-system in Singapore that fully integrates design and creativity into everyday life. It is also an opportunity for Singapore to collaborate internationally with the cities of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN). The City of Design Office is sited within the DesignSingapore Council to coordinate and implement programmes that contributes towards the UCCN mission.