It is easy to conclude to demolish but knocking down our urban heritage, in all forms, is unsustainable. SPARK advocates extending the life of existing buildings, to provide an opportunity to achieve significant embodied carbon savings than rebuilding.
Through collaborative efforts with the client, Manful Wings Pte Ltd, owned by, Gaw Capital Partners, and the consultant team, existing systems are kept, improved, and integrated with the new ideas, giving life to the old and not eliminating them for the sake of renewal.
The principal design gesture is the transformation of the building’s corner, into a “beacon” attractor, reinvented from a humdrum experience into a vibrant, digital generation friendly canvas for content creators, and experience seekers.
The new ‘social stair’, at this new corner, is also a place to relax, watch outdoor screenings or live performances, in a naturally ventilated triple volume space, set to become an important part of the arts district urban grain; whilst providing direct access to the basement, new food street and social spaces. Formerly hidden “food joints” relocated to the transformed corner, increases visibility to and from the building, with al-fresco dining on multiple levels, now made more relevant by social distancing conventions.
GRiD, situated in the Arts District, sandwiched between the relatively new School of the Arts and older generation of malls, is a great example of a sensitive transformation of an old building into a youth and education focussed hub, and demonstrates what should be the norm rather than the exception in Singapore!
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