In place of one pavilion, AF23 will have many urban insertions.
The Archifest Pavilion is traditionally the centrepiece of the festival. This year, Archifest 2023 diffracts a single pavilion into dispersed Urban Installations around the festival site of Kampong Gelam. In the spirit of adaptability in an “Interim” future, Archifest 2023 has invited emerging designers to create 6 distributed urban installations to embody the “Interim City”.
The activation of Kampong Gelam through various Urban Installations installations seeks to recover this perception of Singapore’s ‘centre’, especially as part of the Kampong Gelam Place Plan. The layers of Singapore’s history are not at all static; they are themselves interim — fluctuating, emerging and receding at different times of the nation’s development.
These installations will be constructed before the festival, and will remain until April 2024.
The fluctuating landscape of Kampong Gelam is an instance of the urban in interim.
Kampong Gelam features in Singapore’s national history as an important trade hub since the Dutch conquests of Southeast Asia in the 1820s. It is significant that Stamford Raffles chose to locate the city centre of Temasek in Kampung Gelam, along the Rochor River during its founding.
As a merchant hub that sought to mimic the free port successes of nearby Riau, Kampong Gelam quickly saw the expansion of its Bugis, Javanese, South Indian and Chinese population west of the island.
These layers of history are little known in Singapore’s national narrative. By sprawling across Kampong Gelam, Archifest 2023 seeks to recover this notion of urban expansion in this key district.
Contextual, Catalysing, Useful
6 sites across Kampong Gelam will host Urban Installations, designed and fabricated by invited architects and designers. Each site is carefully selected to collectively form a balanced reading of Kampong Gelam as an experiment and expression of the Interim. Each site has contextual relevance to the Interim, and addresses specific users.
Each installation piece aims to address the heritage of its site (contextual), spark changes in users’ perception and behaviour in the space (catalysing), and provide functions during the festival and beyond (useful).
URA Lively Places Fund
The Urban Installations are supported by the Lively Places Fund, a joint initiative by HDB and URA to better support community-led efforts in enlivening Singapore’s public spaces.
#1
A Particular Place
by Leonard Yang, Leow Wei Li, Akai Chew
↗ Festival House (45, 47 Sultan Gate)
“A Particular Place” is a piece that reveals the rich histories and memories of Kampong Gelam. The work integrates a mix of iconography found from the heritage of the district as well as fragments of memories, imagination, and speculation.
The historical map of Kampong Gelam forms the base of the mural. Monochromatic images and paintings in bright and bold colours informed by the heritage of the district, derived from archival sources and artificial intelligence, are layered atop. Accompanied by designed elements such as stickers, “A Particular Place” presents a series of significant changes that have occurred in the area, along with the temporary and often invisible histories that spark discussions around the “interim” – the theme of Archifest 2023. It also doubles up as a form of wayfinding from the Archifest 2023 Festival House (45, 47 Sultan Gate) towards the other art installations in the Festival.
As part of the artwork, the mural design incorporates community co-creation sessions on 14 and 21 October 2023.
About the Designers
A Particular Place is designed by an artist collective interested in the use of the built environment in representing, revealing and occluding the different facades of urban spaces.
Leonard Yang is an artist working primarily in the medium of painting. Across his paintings, man-made dwellings meet minutely detailed landscapes comprising trees, rocks, sky, sea, flowers, as well as figures in outlandish gestures and expressions. Leonard is interested in the discourse of the contemporary landscape and his paintings shed light on native histories, dystopias, climate change, as well as the emotional connection between home and an adopted place.
Leow Wei Li is a visual artist working with objects and materials sourced from everyday life. Through various art forms such as painting, assemblage, and collage, her practice revolves around exploring the creative potential of these materials. She finds inspiration in their inherent qualities, and seek to form new connections and realities through the interplay of colors, shapes, and textures in her works. She was a graduate of Lasalle College of the Arts
Akai Chew studied architecture at Singapore Polytechnic and University of Tasmania. With architecture as a stepping off point, he works in photography, maps, and installation art. Connecting such diverse projects are urban memories, stratum of histories, and contested geographies. He had exhibited in Perth, New Delhi, Bandung, Hobart and Launceston. Highlights of his career include participating in Dark MOFO 2018 and a commission for Light to Night 2022.
About the Designers
A Particular Place is designed by an artist collective interested in the use of the built environment in representing, revealing and occluding the different facades of urban spaces.
Leonard Yang is an artist working primarily in the medium of painting. He is interested in the discourse of the contemporary landscape and his paintings shed light on native histories, dystopias, climate change, and the emotional connection between home and an adopted place.
Leow Wei Li is a visual artist working with objects and materials sourced from everyday life. Through various art forms such as painting, assemblage, and collage, her practice revolves around exploring the creative potential of these materials.
Akai Chew studied architecture at SP and University of Tasmania. With architecture as a stepping off point, he works in photography, maps, and installation art. Connecting such diverse projects are urban memories, stratum of histories, and contested geographies.
#2
Scaffold Bridge Over Fence
by Faiz Bin Zohri
↗ Sultan Gate Park
The Pondok Jawa was a lodging and community space for Javanese community in Kampong Gelam until it was demolished in 2003. Today, a fence surrounds the Pondok’s boundary, encapsulating the memory of where it used to stand.
The installation — a temporary bridge — crosses over the fence and provides public and community access again to the Pondok Jawa site.
About the Designer
Faiz Bin Zohri is a landscape architect fascinated with public spaces and how people and nature interact and adapt in them.
He is a Senior Associate at Henning Larsen, runs an experimental wild-landscape studio called Stable Unstable, co-founder/editor of the publication series Street Report, and tutors in the Landscape Architecture department at NUS.
About the Designer
Faiz Bin Zohri is a landscape architect fascinated with public spaces and how people and nature interact and adapt in them.
He is a Senior Associate at Henning Larsen, runs an experimental wild-landscape studio called Stable Unstable, co-founder/editor of the publication series Street Report, and tutors in the Landscape Architecture department at NUS.
#3
Asterisk Constellation
by Dynamic Assemblies Lab
↗ Sultan Gate Park
Asterisk place-makes by creating a distinct ephemeral spatial effect that has the capacity to layer onto existing rich identity of Sultan Gate Park. Floating tubes suspended using thin (almost invisible) cables give this installation its distinctive effect. Using a novel type of digitally designed tensegrity this canopy structure helps delineate a place to contemplation, people watching or host celebration within the bustling context of Kampong Gelam.
The pattern for the canopy is composed of several overlapping 2.5m asterisks that are rotated to avoid touching. The rotation of the elements relative to one another creates a dynamic, informal composition stimulating onlookers to explore the various ways the piece can be perceived. The installation is deliberately designed to conjure associations with the recently felled banyan tree, which has deep cultural and religious significance for the local Kampong Gelam community.
About the Designers
Dynamic Assemblies Lab (DAL) explores emerging technologies through prototyping, simulation, and digital design workflows, to broaden the palette of design possibilities for a more resilient and adaptable built environment. DAL is directed by Christine Yogiaman and Kenneth Tracy, with current research focus on several topics within building performance and digital fabrication, including responsive structures, 3d knitting, computational fluid dynamics, compliant mechanisms, fabric formwork and tensegrity.
Design Team:
Dynamic Assemblies Lab, Singapore University of Technology and Design
Christine Yogiaman
Kenneth Tracy
Tan Ying Yi
Yeow Zhi Wei Michael Augustine
Benjamin Lim En How
Gwynne Ang
Collaborator
Sponsors
About the Designers
Dynamic Assemblies Lab (DAL) explores emerging technologies through prototyping, simulation, and digital design workflows, to broaden the palette of design possibilities for a more resilient and adaptable built environment. DAL is directed by Christine Yogiaman and Kenneth Tracy, with current research focus on several topics within building performance and digital fabrication, including responsive structures, 3d knitting, computational fluid dynamics, compliant mechanisms, fabric formwork and tensegrity.
#4
Dulang-Dulang
by Syafiq Jubri and Syazwan Hanif
↗ Coach Lots
This installation transforms what is currently a parking zone for coaches and cars into a hospitable public gathering space that encourages congregation and conversations.
Inspired by the ‘dulang’, a steel tray typically used in Malay culture, to serve communal meals (Nasi Ambeng ) and present gifts at important events, dulang-dulang in its essence is a linguistical play through reduplication of the word ‘duang’ (kata-ganda in Malay). As a physical installation it echoes this sentiment, multiplying into collective clusters, with common surfaces created from intersecting and overlapping circles. Spices commonly used in preparation in Malay cooking and other plants local to the Kampong Gelam district will be incorporated into the installation. These associations hopefully will be be intuitively received by the local Kampong Gelam community, and amplify its significance of this unique cultural element to the general public.
About the Designers
Syafiq Jubri Is a designer and architect (ARB UK) based in London, passionate in creating characterful spaces & objects. He founded Intuition, an award-winning hospitality/F&B design consultancy and is a designer at Heatherwick Studio.
Syazwan Hanif operates at the intersection of design and manufacturing, serving as a project manager, digital fabricator, and educator. Engaging in both practice and academia, he oversees and advises on construction projects for Supereka while also instructing in computational design at Lasalle.
Fabricated by Baremetal Co.
About the Designers
Syafiq Jubri Is a designer and architect (ARB UK) based in London, passionate in creating characterful spaces & objects. He founded Intuition, an award-winning hospitality/F&B design consultancy and is a designer at Heatherwick Studio.
Syazwan Hanif works at the crossroads of design and manufacturing, propelling industries into the digital era while fostering innovation. Involved both in practice and academia, he founded cmdR, a consultancy that helps labourers adopt new technologies and workflows, and teaches creative coding to design students.
#5
Collective Memories of Kampong Gelam
by Jerome Ng, Zed Haan, Kevin Ong
Fabricated by Calvary Carpentry
↗ Grass patch in front of Jln Keledek Substation
The living and the dead are intricately linked, and one cannot truly understand the essence of Kampong Gelam without recognizing the significance of both. The site of the installation is at the interim of the boundaries of an existing shophouse at Kampong Gelam, and the old cemetery which is slated for demolition across the road, posing an interim between Kampong Gelam’s past and future, and serves as a poignant tribute and remembrance to the rich history of the area.
As visitors delve deeper into the narrative and stories of these pioneer, they immerse themselves in this experiential installation and become part of a journey that pays homage to the diverse communities that journeyed from distant lands to Singapore, seeking a new life in Kampong Gelam. The collective memories of triumphs, struggles, and shared experiences of these courageous souls have laid the foundations for this neighborhood to become the vibrant and popular district it is today.
The installation design further references the shophouse typology, born out of trade activity, that is defined through its interstitial spaces. Through this journey, these interstitial spaces are extended and designed as an open-ended linear landscape. The installation facilitates the act of re-looking and speculating the linearity of the journey through the 5-foot way, and re-investigates these negotiations of thresholds and boundaries between the past and present; the old and new; the conserved and demolished.
About the Designers
Jerome Ng Xin Hao is an architectural designer who has always believed in an inter-disciplinary approach to design projects. He believes in the power of story-telling that traverse the realms of architecture and material craft. The projects that he develops usually adopt a nuanced approach to speculative research, revealing the narrative potential of nascent spaces.
Zed Haan is a Singapore-based spatial designer and artist. Having trained formally in architecture, his works traverse the social and spatial through speculative research and material interventions. His current research questions and reframes the role of objects and detailing in revealing nascent qualities of the mundane.
About the Designers
Being an enthusiast of both Architecture and Visual Communication, Jerome Ng believes that the marriage between these two fields allows him to see Architecture as a form of communication both visually and conceptually. His dream would involve working in the area of social architecture and contributing to the architectural scene through his designs.
#6
Fabric Forest
by Jezamine Chua, Kendrick Tay
↗ The Quadrant (110 Arab St)
Fabric Forest is an urban installation that envisions to enliven and enhance this leftover pocket of space by transforming it into a vibrant gateway into the Kampong Gelam district, and laying a blank canvas for community adaptations, gatherings and pop-ups.
Drawing from the district’s past as a port for pilgrims en route to Mecca, this installation offers a sanctuary for spiritual respite, rejuvenation and reflection. Made up of a euphony of canopies and tiered seatings, the installation weaves together a myriad of grounds for congregation and respite under the majestic shade of the Angsana trees. The forest of fabrics encircling the trees enfold and unveil with the ebb and flow of pedestrian traffic, bringing to fore the textile heritage and charm that continue to define Kampong Gelam today.
About the Designers
An architect by profession, Jezamine enjoys envisioning and shaping inclusive and nurturing environments for learning, play and coexistence and seeing communities bring them to life. Some of her work include children’s homes, homes for the intellectually-infirmed alongside inclusive public spaces and urban acupuncture from national wildlife parks, neighbourhood renewal programmes to community gardens.
Kendrick trained in Architecture at the Singapore University of Technology and Design and is a sought-after project manager and producer, with experience in the design, fabrication and general organisation of exhibitions both within and beyond Singapore. He managed the Singapore Pavilion at the Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition, No More Free Space? (2018), and When is Enough, Enough? (2023) where he was responsible for works conducted in Venice and the following homecoming exhibitions in Singapore.
Built by cutanything.co
About the Designers
An architect by profession, Jezamine enjoys envisioning and shaping inclusive and nurturing environments for learning, play and coexistence and seeing communities bring them to life. Some of her work include children’s homes, homes for the intellectually-infirmed alongside inclusive public spaces and urban acupuncture from national wildlife parks, neighbourhood renewal programmes to community gardens.
Kendrick trained in Architecture at the Singapore University of Technology and Design and is a sought-after project manager and producer, with experience in the design, fabrication and general organisation of exhibitions both within and beyond Singapore.
#7
Twisted Vault
by Singapore Polytechnic
↗ Coach Lots
A special month-long installation
The Twisted Vault is the end-product of the Computational Design Module at Singapore Polytechnic with Industry Tutors from Type0 Architecture guiding the students through the process of Computational Design to Digital Fabrication. The workflow involved the discretization of a single doubly-curved surface geometry into 48 unique panels that were cut precisely according to a digital file using a CNC machine, the panels were then stitched together with rivets.
The design of the Pavilion was inspired by the simplicity of the catenary arch which is traditionally constructed with materials that perform well in compression, such as stone or brick. By drawing on the active bending properties of 2mm thick plywood which was the medium of choice in this module, a contemporary twist was given to the traditional arch. The inner surface transits to that of the exterior and provokes the visitor to think of the possibilities that new materials and construction techniques allow for today. The design is fabricated with Singapore Polytechnic’s Fablab and the Advanced Research and Computation Laboratory, a collaborative laboratory by Singapore Polytechnic’s School of Architecture And The Built Environment and Superstructure.
About the Designers
The School of Architecture and the Built Environment moulds students into professionals that are able to execute concepts and designs for a built environment that is conducive for quality living. From architecture to events management, we are the only school currently offering a comprehensive range of built environment programmes. Strong support for well-trained specialists are needed to design and maintain buildings and infrastructure projects to achieve the Singaporean identity and facilitate a vibrant lifestyle. With many built environment developments in the pipeline, there will be ample opportunities for graduates in the future.
Superstructure is a design to fabrication consultancy with a focus in computational design and design for manufacturing and assembly (DfMA). They bridge the gap between challenging design concepts and their physical realisations, expanding the possibilities beyond traditional techniques by implementing integrated workflows that address design intent, aesthetics, materiality, technical performance, and construction efficiency. Together with our in-house fabrication facilities and our network of industry partners, we serve a range of disciplines from art, architecture to industrial design.
Type0 is an architectural studio that operates across all typologies in Architecture. Four distinct Typologies have informed the production of Architecture; Orders of Nature, Processes of Production, Elements of the Historical City and Commons of the Dominant Type. Type0 sees these typologies neither as successive nor mutually exclusive paradigms of architectural thought. Instead, we seek the origins and union of these typologies to formulate and enrich our architectural language and narratives.
Danny Wicaksono
studiodasar
Indonesia
Danny Wicaksono completed his architectural education at Trisakti University, Jakarta, in 2006. In 2007 he worked for Adi Purnomo (mamostudio) and in 2010 he joined andramatin for a brief period. He founded studiodasar in 2014. In the past decade his works are not limited to designing buildings. He writes, curates architectural exhibitions, directing a design festival, and designing a masterplan for a better living space. He was also involved in the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, as two time Technical Reviewer in 2019 and 2022. Danny Wicaksono is a member of The International Committee for Architectural Critics (CICA) and now share his time residing in Bintaro and Tubaba, Indonesia.
Yuma Shinohara
Swiss Architecture Museum
Switzerland
Yuma Shinohara is a curator at the S AM Swiss Architecture Museum. Before joining the S AM, he held editorial and curatorial positions at Storefront for Art and Architecture, Ruby Press, the Academy of Arts Berlin, and the Canadian Centre for Architecture. At the S AM, Shinohara has curated the exhibition Make Do With Now (2022), co-curated the exhibitions Swim City (2019) and Beton (2021), and overseen the adaptation of Access of All (2021) in collaboration with the Architecture Museum of TU Munich and the Institute of Architecture of the University of Applied Arts Northwest Switzerland. He has lectured and served as visiting critic at institutions such as the EPFL, ETH Zurich, Bauhaus University Weimar, University of Waterloo, and the Architectural Institute of Japan. He graduated in comparative literature and society from Columbia University in New York.
Mio Tsuneyama
Studio mnm
Japan
Mio Tsuneyama is a Japanese architect and founder of Studio mnm. She began her study of architecture at Tokyo University of Science (TUS), Japan and completed at École Polytechnique Fédéral de Lausanne (EPFL) in 2008 as Swiss Government International Scholarships student, where she taught as a visiting professor in 2022-2023. She worked as an architect at HHF Architects in Basel after her study until she went back to Tokyo to start her own practice Studio mnm in 2012.
Mio has built her career in the academic field since then as she taught at TUS as Assistant Professor and Junior Associate Professor since 2013. She also teaches at several private universities in Japan and has begun to teach as a guest professor at EPFL in 2022 and as Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia University.
Studio mnm’s most notable project is “House for Seven People” (2013), a renovation of the single family house into shared house which received a special mention as an exhibited project of Japanese Pavilion for national pavilion in the 15th International Architecture Exhibition, and “Holes in the House” (2017-), which she renovates while living there with her partner Fuminori Nosaku.
Nazmi Anuar
E9A
Malaysia
Nazmi Anuar is an architect and educator based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He is a partner at the architectural research practice E9A, a collaborator with the collective New Office and runs Normal Architecture in addition to his teaching post at the School of Architecture, Building and Design, Taylor’s University. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture from UPM and a Postgraduate Masters in Architecture and Urban Design from The Berlage, TU Delft. His first book Background Frame Platform was published by Suburbia Projects in 2021.
Charles Lai
aona architects
Hong Kong
Charles Lai is an architect (RIBA) and researcher in the history and conservation of Hong Kong and Asian modern architecture. He received his PhD degree in architectural history from the University of Hong Kong Department of Architecture, and diploma degree from the AA School of Architecture in London.
He currently teaches at the PolyU and the Lingnan University. Charles is also a member of the DOCOMOMO HK Chapter. Charles is founder and director of the architectural studio & heritage conservation consultancy, aona, and co-founder of a digital marketing and experience curatorial company Culture Lab. and focuses primarily on design, heritage conservation, research and curatorial works related to built heritage and architectural history. Charles also writes regularly for academic journals and columns. His research interests include the history of modern architecture in East and Southeast Asia, the material culture and history of Shanghai plaster, as well as the conservation of historical built heritages.
Yunhee Choi + Jinhong Jeon
BARE
South Korea
Yunhee Choi is a registered architect(UK) and has studied architecture at Cambridge University and the Architectural Association School of Architecture. She has practised at Doojin Hwang Architects(KR), Wilkinson Eyre Architects (UK) and Jason Bruges Studio (UK) where she was responsible for a number of public art and architecture projects. She was a Visiting Professor at Korea National University of Arts, Public City Architect of Seoul, and a co-curator of the Seoul Exhibition at the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2021. She is currently serving as Deputy Director for the inaugural exhibitions of The Korea National Museum of Urbanism and Architecture.
Jinhong Jeon graduated from Architectural Association School of Architecture (UK) and has worked at OMA (NL) and Space Group(KR) where he was involved in a wide range of international projects and competitions. He was an Adjunct Professor at Korea National University of Arts and a co-curator of the Seoul Exhibition at the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2021. He is currently serving as Deputy Director for the inaugural exhibitions of The Korea National Museum of Urbanism and Architecture.
Deanna Dzulkifli
Producer
Deanna is an independent producer working with a range of forms, from dance and performance art to visual arts and music. Recent producing work include Third Wheeling by Awkward Party with restaurant Artichoke for Singapore Art Week 2023. She has also held positions at ARTSG as Talks Manager, programme coordinator at Dance Nucleus and is currently the Company Manager of The Observatory.
Mok Cui Yin
Producer
Cui is an in(ter)dependent producer and facilitator who has produced for independent artists across arts disciplines, and for organisations including Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, The Substation, Asia Network for Dance, Dance Nucleus, NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore, Asian Film Archive, Arts House Limited, and the National Arts Council.
Hanif Ramadan
Curator
Hanif is an Indonesian architectural designer based in Jakarta and Singapore. He graduated with a Masters in Architecture and Urban Design at Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy, and gained experience as a professional architect in Jakarta, Tokyo, Milan, and Singapore. He is very much interested in architectural practice as a means of framework, cultural work, and research. Currently, he practices as an architect that responds from the smallest detail of architecture to the bigger scale of a complex environment.
Rachel Fong
Curatorial Assistant
Fadhilah Nordin
Curator
Fadhilah is an M.Arch graduate from Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). She has since worked on a range of projects across different scales, from detailing a cabinet all the way to drawing broad lines that demarcate a future road. Fadhilah has a particular interest in patterns and behaviours, predicting and observing how single design interventions affect how people use and move through spaces. Outside of work, she is usually thinking of a new business idea or trying to make cycling her main mode of transport one day at a time.
Chew Yunqing
Curator
Yunqing is invested in architecture as a mode of theoretical inquiry to provoke human understanding. Her current top 5 interests include:
Lai Chee Kien
Chee Kien is a registered architect in Singapore, and researches on histories of art, architecture, settlements, urbanism and landscapes in Southeast Asia. Chee Kien’s works on architectural history are widely published in the region, earning his reputation as a leading voice in local architectural history and conservation. He has been sitting on the URA Conservation Advisory Panel since 2012.
Teo Yee Chin
Red Bean Architects
Singapore
Interface
Teo Yee Chin is a registered architect based in Singapore. He graduated with M. Arch from Harvard GSD in 2003 and BA(Arch) from NUS in 1999. He has taught architectural design at NUS and SUTD, and has published opinion articles in The Straits Times and various architectural journals. After working with various offices including William Lim Associates and Kay Ngee Tan Architects, he founded Red Bean Architects in 2009, a practice that seeks to foster spatial and historical continuity in the city. Notable works of the practice include the 2016 Singapore Pavilion at Venice Biennale, House X, Common Ground and Delta Sport Centre. Yee Chin has always believed in, and practised, writing as a creative tool to think with. In addition to contributing critical reviews to journals and the press, he was formerly Chief Editor of leading architectural journal The Singapore Architect. Concurrent with managing Red Bean Architects, he is now also a doctoral candidate in human geography at NUS, studying the production of rural space in Taiwan as part of a broader investigation into sustainability beyond the tidy frame of the city-state.
Sarah Ichioka
Desire Lines
Singapore
Process
Sarah Mineko Ichioka is an urbanist, strategist, curator and writer. She leads Desire Lines, a strategic consultancy for environmental, cultural, and social-impact initiatives and organizations. Her latest book, Flourish: Design Paradigms for Our Planetary Emergency, co-authored with Michael Pawlyn, proposes a bold set of regenerative design principles for addressing our compound environmental and social crises. Sarah has been recognized as a World Cities Summit Young Leader, one of the Global Public Interest Design 100, and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects. In previous roles she has explored the intersections of cities, society and ecology within leading international institutions of culture, policy and research, including as Director of The Architecture Foundation (UK). A recent Designing Cities for All Fellow at Pakhuis de Zwijger (Netherlands), Sarah currently serves on the advisory boards of the Klosters Forum (Switzerland) and Participate in Design (Singapore). Sarah’s critical writing has been published by Triennale di Milano, La Biennale di Venezia, Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture and the Serpentine Gallery. Her work has been featured in outlets including the Financial Times, Channel News Asia, BBC London and Bloomberg CityLab.
Craig Miller
Heatherwick Studio
United Kingdom
Interface
As Project Leader, Craig Miller has led some of Heatherwick Studio’s largest and most complex commissions. After joining in 2008, Miller spent five years in Hong Kong delivering the rejuvenation of Pacific Place. Returning to London, he then led a team on the 1,000 Trees project (Shanghai) and a new-build office for Google. More recently, he has played leading roles on the ongoing transformation of London’s Olympia Exhibition Centre, EDEN—a nature-infused residential tower in Singapore and Changi T5 (in collaboration with KPF). Having lived in Singapore for 4 years, Miller now leads the Shanghai studio – Heatherwick’s first permanent presence outside of London.
Freek Persyn
51N4E
Belgium
Adaptation
Freek Persyn is a co-founder of the office 51N4E, a spatial design practice focused on urban and social transformation. 51N4E works on a wide range of scales, from strategy to realization, and designs the built environment with an affinity for both the physical and the invisible dimensions of space. The work of 51N4E received the most attention for its adaptive reuse projects in Central Europe and for its intense engagement with Albania. Since 2019, Freek Persyn combines his partnership at 51N4E with the professorship of Architecture and Urban Transformation at the ETH Zürich.
Momoyo Kaijima
Atelier Bow-Wow
Japan
Process
Momoyo Kaijima (b. 1969, Tokyo JP) graduated from the Faculty of Domestic Science at Japan Women’s University in 1991. She founded Atelier Bow-Wow with Yoshiharu Tsukamoto in 1992. In 1994, she received her master degree from the Tokyo Institute of Technology. During 1996–1997, she was a guest student with a scholarship from Switzerland at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (ETHZ). In 2000 she completed her post-graduate program at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. She served as an assistant professor at the Art and Design School of the University of Tsukuba since 2000, and as an associate professor from 2009 to 2022. In 2012 she received the RIBA International Fellowship. Since 2017 she has been serving as a Professor of Architectural Behaviorology at ETHZ. She taught at Harvard GSD (2003, 2016), guest professor at ETHZ (2005-07), as well as at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (2011-12), Rice University (2014-15), Delft University of Technology (2015-16), and Columbia University (2017). While engaging in design projects for houses, public buildings and station plazas, she has conducted numerous investigations of the city through architecture such as Made in Tokyo and Pet Architecture. She was the curator of Japan Pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. In 2022, she received the Wolf Prize Laureate in Architecture.
Dongwoo Yim
PRAUD
South Korea
Adaptation
Dongwoo is an architect, urbanist, writer, and educator. He is the co-founder and principal of PRAUD as well as assistant professor at Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Design in Hongik University. As an urbanist, his research focuses on revisiting urban production as a tool for developing a circular economy and sustainable social chain. Also, as an architect, Dongwoo explores typologies in architecture that not only examines contemporary architectural language but also creates urban phenomena in a collective manner. He is the award winner of Architectural League Prize 2013 and the participating artist to 2014 Venice Biennale Korean Pavilion, the Golden Lion winner. Dongwoo was the co-curator of Pyongyang Sallim in 2017 Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism, co-curator of the Cities exhibition in the 2019 SBAU, and the general co-curator of the Cities Exhibition in the 2019 SBAU, and the general director of Daegu Global Studio 2023. His publications include “AD Magazine: Productive Urbanism: The Meta Industrial City (Wiley)”, “A Language of Contemporary Architecture: An Index of Topology and Typology (Routledge)”, and “Unprecedented Pyongyang (Actar)” amongst others.
Betty Ng
COLLECTIVE
Hong Kong
Interface
Betty is the Founder and Director at COLLECTIVE, a RIBA Chartered Practice. She is a Registered Architect in the Netherlands, a RIBA Chartered Architect in the United Kingdom and an Associate member of the AIA, United States. Betty holds an M. Arch. Post Graduate Degree from Harvard University and a B. Arch. Professional Degree from Cornell University. Betty is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), co-teaching Master Architecture Design Studio with COLLECTIVE Directors Chi-Yan Chan and Juan Minguez. She is previously Visiting Professor of Architecture at the National University of Singapore, Adjunct Assistant Professor at CUHK advising Master Thesis, and Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong. She has also acted as External Examiner and Final Review Jury at RMIT, SUTD, NUS, CUHK and HKU. Prior to setting up COLLECTIVE, Betty was Design Director at OMA Rotterdam with Pritzker Prize Laureate Rem Koolhaas, she co-led the winning proposal for the Axel Springer Media Headquarters in Berlin, the Hermitage Museum Art Repository in St. Petersburg and the West Kowloon Cultural District Master Plan in Hong Kong among many projects.
Ma Yansong
MAD Architects
China
Keynote
Ma Yansong is recognized as an important voice in the new generation of architects. As the first Chinese architect to win an overseas landmark-building project, Ma is committed to developing futuristic, organic, and technologically-advanced designs that embody a contemporary interpretation of the Eastern affinity for nature. With a vision for the city of the future based in the spiritual and emotional needs of residents, he endeavors to create a balance between humanity, the city, and the environment. Founded MAD Architects in 2004 and how has offices in Beijing (China), Los Angeles (USA) and Rome (Italy), Ma leads design across various scales globally for different needs of social groups, such as urban complexes and infrastructures, museums and theaters, kindergarten, public housing. Parallel to his design practice, he has also been exploring with the public the cultural values of cities and architecture through exhibitions, publications and art works. In 2022, MAD Architects was recognized as “Best Cultural Firm” by Fast Company, and became the first architectural firm to win this award in China. From 2019 to 2021, Ma was awarded as “China’s Most Influential Designer” for three years by Architectural Digest. In 2016, he was honored as “Certification of Recognition” by City of Los Angeles. In 2010 he became he the first architect from China to receive a RIBA international fellowship. In 2006, he was awarded the “Young Architects Award” by the Architectural League of New York. Ma holds a Master’s Degree in Architecture from Yale University, and a Bachelor’s degree from the Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering and Architecture.
Danny Wicaksono
studiodasar
Indonesia
Adaptation
Danny Wicaksono completed his architectural education at Trisakti University, Jakarta, in 2006. In 2007 he worked for Adi Purnomo (mamostudio) and in 2010 he joined andramatin for a brief period. He founded studiodasar in 2014. In the past decade his works are not limited to designing buildings. He writes, curates architectural exhibitions, directing a design festival, and designing a masterplan for a better living space. He was also involved in the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, as two time Technical Reviewer in 2019 and 2022. Danny Wicaksono is a member of The International Committee for Architectural Critics (CICA) and now share his time residing in Bintaro and Tubaba, Indonesia.
Andra Matin
andramatin
Indonesia
Process
Andra Matin – both the man and the firm, andramatin, are known for their clean and modern approach to architecture. The works of andramatin have been a constant reflection of contemporary take on traditional values, that are based on its context and its sensitivity to the environment. Aside from his architectural projects, Andra Matin is also one of the founders of Arsitek Muda Indonesia (AMI – eng: Young Architects of Indonesia), and has been a part of the progress in Indonesian architecture. He also has released books under a publication that opens up discussions about architecture, along with being a frequent lecturer at universities, seminars, and architectural events both in Indonesia and in international events. His latest installation titled Elevation has been granted a Special Mention Award at the 16th Venice Biennale, for its traditional sense and its contemporary take. Inspired by his great love of travel, Andra Matin continues to search out more knowledge and experiences, in order to further celebrate the architecture of Indonesia. In addition, one of their projects, Bandara Blimbingsari in Banyuwangi, was selected as one of the winners of Aga Khan Awards for Architecture in 2022.
Singapore Archifest 2023 takes to the city in a wide array of conferences, installations, workshops, talks, tours and more. This year, the festival centres around the Kampong Gelam Precinct that reveals the evolution of the Malay royalty grounds, while locating many modernist buildings awaiting rejuvenation, all forming an interim urban trace of Singapore’ national development. With Kampong Gelam as our site of experimentation and demonstration of the interim, Archifest activates the city like never before.
Aurelia Chan
Curator
Aurelia is an architectural designer with an affinity for small moments and big narratives in the city. With a particular interest in urban marginality and slum developments in the region, Aurelia performs informal inquiries into the leftover spaces of urban environments. In the day, Aurelia engages with architecture in diagrams, words and sunshine, and in the evening she explores theoretical manifestations of space and culture.
Chong Lingxiu
Curator
Lingxiu Chong (AADip, Assoc. AlA) is a Singaporean architectural designer and educator based in San Francisco. She studied at the Architectural Association in London, and proceeded to practice with a focus on adaptive re-use and conservation, with Collective Studio and Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in Asia, and Page & Turnbull in California. Lingxiu currently teaches at California College of the Arts and the Architectural Association, and works with like-minded individuals and organisations on projects of various formats to build community and culture.
Calvin Chua
Festival Director
Calvin Chua practices at the intersection of design, planning and advocacy. He runs Spatial Anatomy, a research-oriented design practice with an interest in urban adaptation and transformation. In parallel, Calvin teaches at SUTD and was most recently a Visiting Professor at the Korea National University of Arts. Complementing his practice, Calvin engages the wider design community through writing for international magazines and exhibiting at various international biennales, including Seoul and Venice. Recognised for his distinct approach to design practice, Calvin was an Asia 21 Next Generation Fellow in 2022 and a finalist for the Lisbon Triennale Debut Award 2022. A registered architect in the UK, Calvin graduated from the Architectural Association School of Architecture.