Lester Lim | CV & Architecture Portfolio IV

Apt blk 438A Sengkang West Ave #04-339

Singapore 791438 +65 81825754

lester_lim@mymail.sutd.edu.sg @leslimstudio (instagram)

EXPERIENCE EDUCATION AND AWARDS

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER

Ong&Ong | Feb 2022 - Present

Project Typologies:

Transit (MRT Stations), Research and Academia (Co-teaching), Publications and Graphic Design

Job Scope & Responsibilities:

Worked in a tight-knit team to produced winnning tender submissions for MRT station projects, including design, construction and authority submissions. Also proposed, planned and co-taught Core and Option studios under the Architecture and Sustainable Design course in SUTD, before moving into producing publication works to consolidate the design work and insights from the studio. Learned valuable coordination and managing experience working with various partners for both academia and industry projects.

JUNIOR ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER

WY-TO Architects | May 2019 - Aug 2019

Project List: Le Faubourg Citoyen (Mixed-use Residential) NParks Seedbank (gallery interiors/exhibtion) ilight 2019 proposal (Installation)

Responsibilities: Worked closely with the managing director to produce design proposals and development, on top of producing construction drawings and graphics. Gained valuable managing experience through meetings with clients, contractors and manufacturers both in France and Singapore, as well as overseeing the fabrication and installation of gallery features.

ARCHITECTURAL INTERN

Spark Architects | Sep 2020 - April 2021

Project Typologies:

Commercial/Mixed-Use, Hospitality, Retail, Adaptive Reuse, Masterplanning

Responsibilities: Worked with an international team, covering research, conceptual and schematic designs as well as model-making for projects of multiple typologies. This included mixed-use, hospitality, commercial, adaptive re-use and sports complex projects across Asia.

MASTERS IN ARCHITECTURE

Architecture and Sustainable Design Singapore University of Technology and Design | 2020 - Dec 2021

Scholarships and Awards: Asia Young Designer Award - Silver 2022 Master of Architecture Thesis Award - Social Innovation 2021 Board of Architects award - Top in Masters 2022 INDE. Awards - Shortlist 2022

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE

Architecture and Sustainable Design

Singapore University of Technology and Design | May 2017 - Aug 2020

Scholarships and Awards:

SUTD Honours List 2019/2020

ASD Core Design Certificate of Merit 2020 Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple Scholarship 2020

BCA International Building Design Competition 2020 (merit) TAK Study Award 2019

ACADEMIA AND EXTERNAL PROJECTS

Designer & Graduate Helper

Asst Prof. Jackson Tan, MCCY | Youth-Topia | Nov 2020 - April 2021

Designed and Co-coordinated the fabrication of the “Stomping Ground” installation held at the Scape Youth Park. Liaised with graffiti artists to collaborate with us on the installation, as part of the project’s vision.

Graduate Helper

Asst Prof. Peter Ortner | HDB ‘future of living’ virtual exhibit | Sep 2020

Coordinating 3D models across studios and creating masterplan renderings for the virutal exhibit

Teaching Assistant

Core Studio III & Digital Design Fab Jan 2020 - April 2021

Preparation of teaching materials, conducting lectures and giving design consultation for student studio

Design Team

Prof. Michael Buidig | MapleTree | February 2020 - May 2020

Designing a bench with recycled wood and carbon fibre for MapleTree Holdings

SOFTWARE SKILLS

Lumion

Adobe Illustrator Adobe Photoshop Adobe Indesign Adobe Premier Pro

INTERESTS

Graphic Design Music Films Sketching

LANGUAGE SKILLS

CONTENTS

ARCHITECTURAL PROJECTS

PACKARD ESTATES

GOSEONG FILM STRIP

COMMUNE-NICATE STOMPING GROUND

GRAPHIC PROJECTS

AAI PUBLICATION

TECHNOLOGY OF THE FUTURE

The automobile of the past will be obsolete, And is being replaced with new, clean autonomous vehicles providing safer travel alternatives. Detroit, known as the motorcity for its historical role in automotive production, is now one of the frontliners for Autonomous vehicle development as well.

This drastically changes the way we live and move, forcing us to rethink how humans and architecture can interface and evolve with this new technology. There are existing architectural projects exploring the new conditions that can be afforded, from autonomous living, to drive up spaces, travelling spaces, and economical usage. These advancements all gives us grounds to rethink the way we build our cities and spaces.

FOR PROBLEMS FROM THE PAST

When it comes to living in America, we think of the suburbs, which is fraught with urban and sustainability issues. It has come to represent the endless, problematic growth and sprawl model of development in American cities, as well as political and social issues.

It is built on the concept of mass produced homes, like how cars were produced, in sprawling pieces of land zoned purely for residential usage, built upon a vicious cycle of automobile depency, caused by the post-war industry and baby boom. The urban and social characteristics of the suburbs has been long entrenched in the American way of life, represented here by Levittown, one of the pioneering suburban model of development created by William Levitt in the late 50s. It features sprawling, single family homes made affordable via cheap mass production and attractive mortgage loans, driving masses of Americans to purchase these homes. It was the American dream to have your own piece of property and yard, along with a car in these car-centric developments. These suburbs are often characterised by big box stores, with even larger parking lots to accommodate the cars .

The wider metroplitan area is riddled with vacant property as most of Detroit’s population have fled to the wider suburbs. Public transit in the city is only available in the downtown area, with the wider parts relying heavily on cars to get around. For a sprawling, hollow city like Detroit suffering from limited resources, Density is destiny for the sake of the efficient allocation of resources and safety.

Trip Planning Self-driving vehicles plan their route by accessing maps, traffic data, road and weather conditions, toll information, and more. They continuously refresh all that data throughout the trip, in real time, via an internet connection.

Co-Driver In the trunk of the vehicle lies the brains of the operation: the computer that processes all this data through algorithms and converts it into driving decisions (when to stop, back up, accelerate, slow down, change lanes, and more). It is a very powerful computer, akin to a mobile, multi-server data centre.

Panoramic Vision A mini dome mounted on the car houses a LIDAR unit to help the vehicle “see.” Using laser beams rather than radar waves, LIDAR generates dynamic, three-dime sional imagery for as far as 60 metres in every direction. The mini-dome also contains video cameras that recognize traffic lights, signage, pedestrians, and cyclists.

AI-Eyes A system called “computer vision” processes the combined data from the LIDAR, radar, and camera systems to identify street users; classify them as pedestrians, vehicles, or cyclists; anticipate their movements; incorporate road rules; and make driving decisions.

Feeling Feet Existing vehicle GPS systems are typically accurate within one or two metres; a self-driving car requires greater precision than that. Its position estimators, moun ed on wheels, can count tire revolutions and sense lateral movements. This data is layered atop detailed digital maps that include road grades, speed bumps, and curb-cut locations to determine the car’s exact position.

Lessons learned and shared All this data is cumulative, just like years of driving experience. As the car encounters and navigates new or unusual situations, it learns from them for the next time — and shares this learning with every car in its fleet.

Information source: Sidewalk Labs MIDP Vol. 2: Mobility

Eyes on the ground Front-and ear-mounted radar units determine the exact distances between the vehicle and other moving objects. Additio al cameras and LIDAR sensors can also be mounted low on the vehicle.

TOP RIGHT

Composite Urban Artifact drawing, representing the American Dream of Suburbia- depicting scene of Levittown, stereotypical depictions of 1950s suburban life and common big-box stores

BOTTOM RIGHT

Composite Urban Artifact drawing, depicting the infamous Packard Plant in Detroit, with its history of automobile history on the left and possible future of manufacturing autonomous homes in the future

Diagrams by Author

Manufacturing Identity: Can we transform what was a factory for cars into one for the production and inhabitation of mobile homes?

The American Dream of Suburbia: Mass Production, Urban Sprawl & Oversized car-centric developments

DESIGNING FOR OPTIMISED MOBILITY

Woonerf: Living Streets

Streets and highways today reflect a century of investment in auto-oriented infrastructure that has failed to provide reliable or safe urban mobility

To understand some common practices and guidelines that have been set out for Autonomous Urbanism, a literature review was conducted on Sidewalk Lab’s MIDP and NACTO’s Blueprint for Autonomous Urbanism, and relevant research isights have been charted out in this chapter.

The main principles for deployment and design for autonomous and electric vehicles include designing for safety, data-driven decision making and using technology as a tool.

Flush curbs with vehicle speeds at bicycle pace, pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles interact semalessly by using separated but flush lanes

Reinforcing Safety

Movable street furniture can be used to reinforce safe site zones in a mixed curbless environment

Low-Speed access

Self-Driving Vehicles should travel at cycling speeds to ensure accessibility and comfort for pedestrians

Mobility infrastructure

To support mobility, infrastructures like bike sharing, charging facilities should be in place.

Play Streets

Residential streets are primarily for residents to enjoy, and street amenities like heated pavement and movable furniture can help activate these informal frontyards into shops, gathering spaces, fairs etc.

Green Infrastructure

Trees, bioswales, and planters reduce stormwater runoff, while roviding shade and evaporative cooling for the neighbourhood

Pedestrian Priority Pedestrians rule the streets, and self-driving vehicles could be routed there by real-time navigation systems. Only Local traffic and deliveries permitted, limited at 10mph.

LEFT

Axonometric Diagrams on how dynamic shared streets could be crafted for Autonomous vehicles, created by Author. Referenced from Sidewalk Labs MIDP Vol.2: Mobility

RIGHT

Concept and Axonometric Diagrams explaining the design of Woonerfs, created by Author. Referenced from Hennepstraat, a Woonerf in Utrecht, Netherlands

The main neighbourhood street model for Packard Estates was inpired by the concept of safe shared streets from both Sidewalk labs and the Woonerf model.

The housing structure consists of a mix of vertically-stacked, 5 over 1 typology synced with the neo-suburban type. They are connected in a loop via the repeated hypercores, which hold both the housing and residential lifts, with recreational programs tucked underneath for easy access on both sides. Ample public space will be provided, and the repurposed plant will be used for commercial purposes like the big box stores that characterises suburbs, as well as for manufacturing the house units and extensions.

This idea draws on the Packard plant’s historic industrial identity and a manufacturing plant for automobiles, projecting it into the future as an infrastructure for manufacturing autonomous homes and vehicles. These themes of industrial production is eomthing both the American suburbs and automobiles share. They are both massproduced, sold in a catalogue and the modified by owners.

This project takes a modern approach to this theme, by allowing residents to design/modify their homes and mobile rooms via an app and place a build order for it, which will then be sent to the manufacturing branch of the plant, where both the homes and mobile pods are manufactured for seamless integration. The completed pieces and pods will be sent upwards via a funicular straight from the factory, to be piece together on their allocated 7 by 8m lot.

This forms new prototypologies that imagines how vehicles and homes can be seamlessly integrated and configured, with flexible modifiable options like roof and window types

FLEXIBLE SOCIAL SPACES

Apart from acting as a shared front yard for the homes, these long horizontal passageways, become social spaces like sidewalks or streets, rather than just circulation infrastructure. The insistent repetition of program calls for relief—for “spaces for doing nothing,” or rather, “spaces where anything can happen.” These spaces are essential for the social dynamic of buildings.

TOP LEFT

View from the upperdeck of mobile food store pods in the community courtyard

BOTTOM LEFT

View from along the street, facing the hanging mobile greenhouse pods

COMMUNAL LIVING

The community courtyard is designed as a central public space that will act as a market hall for the residents in the district, creating a more integrated social food place instead of the vast, banal fast food chain littered around the city. It features reconfigurable mobile food store pods that can be adapted to hold seating areas on the mezzanine level or green roofs.

The courtyard will also feature mobile greenhouses that hang off of the vertical superstructure. This was inspired by the increasingly popular agrihood movement in Detroit where Detroiters transform vacant lands into farms to produce fresh foods for the city, as well as the typical suburban imagery of tending to your personal garden/lawn. The provision of these mobile greenhouses inspire more residents to participate in the agricultural movement and grow fresh produce for the community too, as well as aid in the distribution of the produce, empowering the residents of Detroit that are trying combat the lack of fresh food supply in the city.

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY

Energy will be mainly derived via solar and hydro sources, captured by the pv canopies on the lower levels and tracking pv panels on the core roof. This helps to capture solar and hydroelectric power, as well as water supply, which wil be stored in batteries and water tanks, before being distributed via the integrated super structure to the homes and programs.

Reimagining the Packard plant as a place for both production and living transforms its identity from an abandoned industrial site, to an inhabitable infrastructure for the city, whilst tackling some of the many issues which plagues the city. This is a counterthesis to the American sprawl model of growth, in hopes of giving back the land to the environment instead of constantly taking more.

RIGHT Schematic diagram of the energy ecosystem prposed for Packard Estates, that harnesses natural energy and resources

GOSEONG FILM STRIP

REDEFINING TOURISM AND CROSS-BORDER RELATIONS

Tourism New Deal

Location: Gangwon Province, South Korea Instructor: Calvin Chua Partner: Lucas Ngiam Summer 2021 Option Studio III 14 weeks

The purpose of this studio was to rethink and redefine the future of tourism industry as a sustainable practice. One that moves away from a consumption model towards a contribution model, where tourism sustains and strengthens existing social, political and environmental conditions.

In partnership with the Gangwon Development Initiative, exhibiting at the Venice Biennale 2021 Korean Pavilion, we will envision the future of post-pandemic tourism through the context of Gangwon, a divided province on the Korean peninsula for the past 70 years. Despite its division, Gangwon province has also been the site of experimentation for diplomatic reproachment since the late 1990s. Tourism was used as the tool for this experimentation, where dedicated resorts were built for South Korean tourists to visit Northern Gangwon province. However, the experiment has been stalled due to wider geopolitical tensions.

As noted by several analysts, one reason for these failures can be attributed to the focus on centrally planned large-

scale tourism zones and infrastructure projects that are acutely exposed to the pressures of domestic politics and international geopolitics. A new model of development is sorely needed, one that relies on smaller scale, decentralised urban interventions that enables exchanges and dialogues between visitors.

Therefore, the central interest of this studio is to design new forms of tourism architecture. Can tourism be the stimulus for post-pandemic economy recovery and a diplomatic restart for a troubled region? How do we design smallerscale tourism infrastructure for dialogues and exchanges for peacebuilding?

This proposal is inspired by the prevalence of television and film in the culture of both North and South Koreas, using this as a medium to flirt with the boundaries and transparency between the two sides. Ultimately, Goseong Film strip is a project that reimagines the border between North and South Korea.

SITE CONTEXT

The shaping of the project started out by an initial study of the various tourist attractions within the DMZ, and those that lay near the border. These attraction hold mainly 5 main types of programs - observatory, park, museum, village or Military installation.

Most of these peace attractions promote reunification and hopes for peace among both Koreas, but never seem to really facilitate conversation between the people from both sides. Rather, they all act as standalone islands, repeating the same message of hope to those who visit them while portraying North Korea as a form of entertainment through their lens.

Gangwon Province alone has at least 12 of these peace attractions. Understandably, their intended purpose could be limited due to the present geopolitical climate. Thus, this project aims to start a conversation of what more these peace parks could bring.

Fabric

As we studied Goseong’s development, the most striking thing that we noticed was the indiviuality of th peace attractions.

While travelling towards the 3 peace attractions, there is a sense of organic urban growth in a nearby town along the road networks.

In contrast, the controlled placements of each of these attractions evokes a strong presence of isolation as one visits them.

Existing Site condition - Goseong DMZ museum as a standalone “island” of attraction

Study of Goseong’s Urban

LEFT

Composite Urban Artifact drawing, representing the existing site conditions and attractions, as well as the Donghae-Bukbu rail line that connects North Korea (Kosung Station) to South Korea (Jejin Station)

Study of existing everyday elements - stairs, ramps etc, as compared to the monuments to which they support

DMZ Museum

Unification Observatory Tower

Unification Observatory Deck Korean War Exhibition Hall

Study of non-monumental everyday spaces in South Korea, which evolved from “Pimatgols”, which were side streets used by the commoners to avoid bowing to the noble-class back in the feudal era.

So far, these peace attractions so far have just been marketing the idea of reunification – and not used as spaces to bring both countries together. This project explores the possibility of moving past this passive approach through these peace attractions, and question: what if it was more active, by bringing some disorder, a little life, into these peace parks in the name of peace.

Goseong Film strip is envisioned as a production studio for film and TV shows - with both the South and the North Koreans becoming the cast and crew of the media, working and participating together through inter-Korean projects. What is common between the media of both Koreas, are its everyday streetscape – the backdrop to the various scenes in their own creative content. Furthermoresuch a proposal has the potential to appease both sides: by providing more locations for filming to SK’s burgeoning film industry, and possibly for the NK government to satisfy the public’s desire for South Korean content.

When looking at where the dmz museum is located, visitors are forced to only experience what is found within the museum and around its periphery. The experience itself, by nature, will lean heavily towards a South Korean identity. But we find that one can remove himself out of that narrative, in generic places such as commercial spaces, Or among public spaces and public infrastructure.

Thus we envision that while filming within Goseong film strip, it will not emphasize much of the peace attractions themselves, but the public spaces and elements.

We want to transform these symbols of hierarchy, into filming spaces where the appreciation/understanding of these peace park facilities are no longer understood as landmarks, but in their most distilled elements as stairs, ramps etc

The immediate benefit of Goseong Film strip applies to the inter-Korean production cast and crew, providing at least 1000 jobs and the required facilities for their production to take place. In addition, there is the knock-on effect of bringing more tourists into the site as they become fans of the programs. As a result, both North and South Korea will enjoy the increased revenue that is brought in by these recreational tourists, Koreans and International. These peace attractions and the area that they occupy become much more active and vibrant through Goseong Film Strip.

In order to facilitate the different layers of tourism, various programs are needed to support this new ecosystem such as accommodations, commercial and recreational spaces, offices for post productions

So, the difference between a traditional studio set and Goseong Film strip is how the various production facilities, amenities and accommodation are placed next to one another.

These transitions between programs, or realities, are made possible with the ring of infrastructure that supports the exterior façades and holds the internal programs. the infrastructure now becomes the threshold between the internal and external activities.

Masterplan

Each “island” of attractions will serve as a base for the “film strip” developments, catering to different outdoor set themes for different filming needs. For this project, we focused on developing the DMZ museum cluster.

INTERCHANGEABLE INTERNALS

Sound Stages

The primary Program of a film production studio, Goseong Film Strip features several sound stages of various sies at each of its three locations. Tehse sound stages can be adapted based on the eneds of the production crew, ranging from the creation of smaller interior sets, to a combination of green screens and practical sets. APart fromt eh circulation,the structural gridframe infrastructure provides additional spaces for supporting programs such as equipment storage, costume wardrobe and changing rooms.

Recreational Facilities

Introduction of recreational spaces and green spaces are meant to amplify the contrasting and juxtaposing realities within the film strips.

With the traditional filmsets being intensely urban by nature, natural spaces that are hidden by the external facades create a surreal contradiction when inhabitants enter into these spaces.

Functionally, recreational facilities of various scales are programmed within some of the lots to provide infromal spaces for both production crew members and tourists to enjoy.

Accommodations

There are situations whereby the cast and crew members are required to stay on site within the film strips in order to stay close to the schedules. A range o faccommodations are thus placed within the strips to provide a temporary place for rest and privacy. Common spaces within, such as the lobby and commissary, help facilitate inter-korean interactions, as well as the ring of strucural gridframe infrastructure that supports the external facade.

Some of the accommodations can also be used by various tourists that would come and visit the set - although priority will be given to production crew in the event there is a surge inn filming projects.

INFRASTRUCTURE FOR INTERACTION

The recreation of the pitmagol and its associated vibrant life is done through the combination of the production facilities and recreational programs with the various façade.

Through this vibrancy and shared experience, conversation between Koreans can happen without any association to either the south or north – just Korean.

Expanding from the fabricated reality of the street, the façade ring that wraps around the various facilities can support the activities that are happening along the pitmagols such as space to deploy film equipment at various vantage points, and also support the activities that are happening internally, becoming circulation spaces and areas that facilitate chance encounters.

There is this Juxtaposition of the fabricated reality of the street and the actual reality of the internal facilities. The main element of our project is this 2-4m wide inhabitable structural gridframe, that on one hand allows the exterior set facades to be cladded, and on the other hand, serve as an in-between space for sets and facilities.

Thus, the most important aspect of the building is not what’s inside or outside. But rather what’s in between – the space that will be used by all.

Through this project we hope it starts a conversation among those who visit, to be active in the decision for reunification

On the micro level, the infrastructure for the Outdoor sets forms this in-between space that enables conversation through informal, passive every-day interactions between both sides- something as simple as the act of borrowing a lighter, or sharing a smoke together.

As the inhabitants from the both sides pass each other through the daily use of this threshold, it breeds a familiarity with one another, even if it’s unspoken.

We envision the film strip to spur active conversation and interaction among the inhabitants - north or south. Their thoughts of each other shouldn’t be led by a certain narrative, but rather be done actively by the individual.

COMMUNE-NICATE

HOUSING AS A REHABILITATIVE MACHINE

Location: Polder Island off Singapore’s East Coast

Instructor: Christine Yogiarman

Collaborators: Benedict Tan (Planning and Concept phase) Spring 2020 Core Studio III 4 weeks on Masterplan, 8 weeks on Housing Proposal

In coordination with HDB’s 60th anniversary SUTD’s Core III Architecture studio is exploring the future of housing, asking how we will live in the next hundred years.

The studio builds a vision of the future of housing based on an understanding of the past, with one key historical fact driving our investigation: Singapore has been and will be a highdensity nation. The vision we create will be a next step in a bigger history of over-coming the difficulties of high-density urbanism to create thriving, vibrant, livable homes.

This studio also recognises the importance of urban context and neighborhood to the success of housing. A master-planning exercise has allowed us to imagine the neighborhood of the future, in the East of Singapore. Our site is on a proposed artificial polder island to the south of East Coast Park, within a larger masterplan developed by the ONG&ONG Architect in Residence Team led by Andrew Lee. Each studio is allocated a sub-precinct, with its own masterplan and studio projects.

Our studio’s masterplan is set on largely unfettered land with nature trails, allowing natural habitats to thrive. Main circulation would be on an elevated pedestrian network. Housing Narrative: By 2070, the continuation of meritocracy continues to be the fuel for a intensively competitve society. Coupled with the conformist nature of asian society, there are expectations that society places on every individual. Overwhelmed by these social expectations, they might reclude back to their homes as a protective mechanism against society. This project aims to be a rehabilitative tool that passively assimilates the individual back into society through food production. Food is a basic neccessity that one needs to survive and is also a common social acitivty. It is in a way something that brings people together. The architecture hopes that through these activities, confidence towards social activity is formed by becoming a valued member of society through interdependence of resources.

VARYING DEGREES OF SOCIAL INTERACTION

The rehabilitative process is incremental, and it is understood that this occurs at different paces for different indivduals. Thus, different scales of urban farming- from individual to estatelevel collective will require varying levels of social interaction, directly corresponding to the stages of rehabilitation. These urban farming areas would go from private-unit garden yards to shared public spaces, according to the scale of farming and interaction.

STAGE I: Gardening alone.

STAGE II: Shared garden with next-door neighbour and progresses to opening adjoining kitchens to have enhanced connections.

STAGE III: Connecting across cluster of 4-6 units for a larger community.

STAGE IV: Moving out into the 3D Public space, joining the productive urban agricultural process as a block

STAGE V: Distribution and sharing of these produce with the wider sub-precinct + giving back even further by facilitating the rehabilitation process for others.

LIVING UNITS

The floorplan shown above is a typical cluster of 4 units, with a mix of 3 different apartment typologies for greater integration amongst neighbours of different socio-economic background. The loft units feature bedrooms on the upper levels for privacy since the yard on the lower level would be shared between the 4 units in the event that they are rehabilitated.

PLAY ON PROPORTIONS

The balcony planting area is relatively large as compared to the interior area, because we want to encourage residents to spend more time outside to facilitate in the rehabilitation process.

The kitchens were designed to smaller so as to encourage the residents to open their kitchens up to one another and share their resources, thereby increasing social interaction and possibly fostering greater bond between neighbours.

TYPICAL LEVEL PLAN

level efficiency: 83% overall: 78%

STAGE IV to V - COMMUNE:

The space primarily involves double level green bridge that connects the shared garden yards to form a larger community garden that serves both productive and leisure purposes on each level. It will puncture the blocks, creating a vertical relationship between share spaces. These bridges connect with the split space in the blocks to create loops, which will drive the productive cycle of rehabilitative farming within the community.

This production line will ultimately exit at the ground level, to the pavillion where the produce will be shared with the community via farmer’s markets and farm-to-table eateries. The end result represents the end of the rehabilitation process of the residents, where they finally touch-base with the wider-precinct.

LOOP EXAMPLE

STOMPING GROUND

REDEFINING PUBLIC SPACE

Location: SCAPE Youth Park Instructor: Jackson Tan and Alex Sun

Organisations: NYC, MCCY Partner: Grace Sim Summer 2020 Option Studio II 14 weeks

The project’s vision is to create the “streets” for the youths, instead of keeping them off. Through discovering and understanding the site’s character and culture in the past, Stomping Ground seeks to revive the cultural essence of Singapore’s urban art scene and the other subcultures that revolve around it.

The term “stomping ground” refers to a place that is a favourite/habitual haunt for a group of people, which is what we envision for our project for the creatives who are involved in the urban scene. This will in turn create a thriving creative environment that will naturally attract the public to come and discover this space, learning and understanding about these alternative art forms that are often misunderstood as taboo culture.

Coincidentally, Stompin’ Ground is the name of a pioneer hardcore band in Singapore from the 90s, who are also closely tied to the underground scene in Singapore.

“Stomping Ground” was done as part of Studio Youth-Topia, one of the Sustainable Design Option Studio 2 from SUTD/ ASD Pillar, done in collaboration with the National youth Council (NYC) and Ministry of Culture , Community and Youth (MCCY) as part of the extension scheme to revitalise Singapore’s Orchard Road, called the Somerset Belt

It seeks to explore multi-dimensional issues of sustainable design through a variety of lenses and at diverse temporal and spatial scales. Issues of resource efficiency, resilience, material and typological innovation, micro-climatic and site affordances, life-cycles and metabolism, and many other critical issues will serve as the projective context in which students will develop critical design solutions for small, medium and large scale architectures and urban interventions. In Youth-Topia, students were tasked to speculate the possibilities of placemaking at Somerset Youth Park; with the

EXPERIENCING THE SITE

Sensory

The sensorial experience – sights and sounds which accompany the site, are varied; from brightly lit malls and live music, to the humble streetlamps and buzz of traffic, each contributing to the textures that give the Somerset area its character.

Gathering of Millenials

The SCAPE is the centre heart of the millennials’ gathering space which youth activities conducted throughout the years. The events include dance performances, music events, e-sports activities/training camp, which are popular among the millennials. Beside it, Cineleisure cater activities mostly for youth as well.

Attractors

313@somerset, 111@somerset act as the various crowd attractor with commercial and retails. Majority of the crowd includes adults (21 and above), both Singaporeans and tourists, while a handful of them are youth( 21 and above). The design intention is to divert the secured crowd at those malls to the Youth-park.

Potential

The site can be the gateway between commercial district and Youth-oriented district. With surrounding Youth oriented programmes and crowd attracting nodes, it is vital to introduce unique system that embodied youth culture and divert crowd to the site to rejuvenate the neglected area

2020 SUTD ASD Option Studio 2/3: Youth-Topia_Stage 02 Site Analysis

2020 SUTD ASD Option Studio 2/3: Youth-Topia_Stage 02 Site Analysis

GENIUS LOCI

This is a mapping of the features that stand out in the site, thereby forming the character of the place. They also appeal to certain senses more than the other, creating a multi-sensorial experience around the site.

GENIUS LOCI

GENIUS LOCI

ABOVE LEFT

Sound Mapping and Street Vitality

This is a mapping of the experiential journey from common circulations routes to the site. It is by no means an absolute representation of what one might see through the journey. The path was referenced from the study on main access and linkages of the site.

ABOVE RIGHT

Sensorial mapping of the Somerset Belt

LEFT

Activity and Visual permeability studies

RIGHT

Collage of visual journeys to the site

This is a mapping of the experiential journey from common circulations routes to the site. It is by no means an absolute representation of what one might see through the journey. The path was referenced from the study on main access and linkages of the site.

THE GRAFFITI STORY

Dissolving Culture

The origins of graffiti started in the 1990s and quickly gained popularity and attention among many youths in the past. Graffiti was amongst other popular youth gathering activities like dancing, skateboarding, eating, jamming, and painting. Sometimes, weekly gigs and events are initiated by the youths themselves. The Youth Park was a popular spot for holding these activities throughout the years, including a significant milestone when youths were allowed to paint on the Red Box building.

It was unfortunate that there were several graffiti-related incidents which sparked political tensions around the topic of vandalism. The dissolving graffiti culture is evident in recent years as more youths today had turned to digital cultures and social media for expression. There are potential benefits in reviving this art culture, even integrated with augmented reality, to allow youths to come together.

MASTERPLAN

Graffiti Belt

Within the site, there is a graffiti trail guiding them to a wide range of graffiti types. This trail has a strong potential to be further extended and developed to cultivate a strong youth scene in the Somerset region as it is strategically located between Scape and Somerset Skate Park which are popular spots for youth events, gatherings, and activities.

The project hopes to adopt a bottom-up approach culture with the youths as the starting point, providing them with a space to boldly be creative, and meet like-minded people. Complementing subcultures such as food, music, and sports would be integrated seamlessly to create a more diverse experience. The combination of profitgenerating and free public programs creates a self-sustaining system, complementing one another, economically and socially.

Layered History

Layers of graffiti on the walls of the Scape Youth Park

SITE RESPONSE + GRAFFITI TRIAL

These programs come together, strategically allocated at different regions mirroring and responding to its immediate surrounding contexts. The site thus absorbs programmatic energies externally and extends them towards itself, offering itself as a centralization space bridging multiple themes and forming interactions within and beyond the site.

Stomping Ground aims to bring out a holistic and all-rounded experience of the graffiti culture, similar to a graffiti hub, and offers different ways for people to express creativity and

share their stories. It breaks down graffiti art into various types such as stencils, blockbusters, stickers, and murals. Each of these graffiti types could interest people differently. Interesting riffs off traditonal graffiti include Up-cycling Paint Art, which involves painting over old unwanted material, and the Augmented Reality graffti experience, where the public can view their graffiti projected onto the surface of the Red Bus via an AR application on their phones

ARCHITECTURAL SPLINES

ENERGY WAVES

A series of splines arrayed across the site with varying heights and spatial qualities was designed architecturally which visually portray a hint of changes in energy and intensities at the site. Each of these splines was uniquely designed to cater to specific programs and then placed adjacent to one another, spanning across the site displaying a landscape of overlapping layers similar to the imagery of waves in an energy field.

M6 Nut and Bolt with rubber gasket

3mm thk Perspex Water-Proofing Layer sealed with sillicone

Lock-in Joint with spring-loaded pins

5mm thk Perforated Aluminium Panels with shift-lock tabs

LED Strips with Diffuser Case

50mm Hollow Square ALuminium frame with 60mm x 8 mm openings

18mm thk perforated Marine-Grade Plywood Modular Shelving Unit

Artificial Turf

18mm thk Marine-Grade Plywood

CONSTRUCTION

Standard, modular structural modular elements were used in the module construction for easy procurement. The ergonomically sized components feature lock-in joints, making it convenient to assemble the modules by hand, without the need for high manpower and machinery.

Square Long Neck Floor Flange for 50mm Square Tubing 1:20 CONSTRUCTION DETAIL

Writer’s Alley Bar where many youths, be it skaters, dancers or graffiti artists would hang out weekly and find out about local gigs/ events.

Jamming Studio & Stage jamming studio by day, stage by night, the flexible space is fronted by a ‘flooding ground’ of landscaped steps, where crowds can sit and watch the show.

Mural Alley an homage to the OG graffiti wall where many local artists honed their craft, ground planes fold up like waves, forming new, taller surfaces for the artists to paint on.

Graffiti Ledges and AR Canvas graffiti ledges double up as standing tables for visitors to the Redbus café, which also serves as a surface for visitors to project graffiti into it via AR.

Open Lawn & Bouldering Zone a public garden next to open workshop modules which give the public a peek into the graffiti process, with bouldering walls on its outer surface.

Sustainable Art Display a space for community powered activations like “trash to art” programs, where discarded waste can be reused as a canvas for graffiti works, and displayed.

PHYSICAL PROTOTYPE

After the term, the project was chosen to have a physical prototype of it built for the public to test it out at the Scape Youth Park. We collaborated with local graffiti artist SlacSatu, founder of Blackbook studio and ZNC crew to paint the installations, as part of the proposal’s concept.

GRAPHIC PROJECTS

AAI PUBLICATION

A NARRATIVE FOR THE AI FUTURE OF ARCHITECTURE

Instructor: Immanuel Koh

Partner: Thet Naung Oo Summer 2020

Artifical Intelligence in Architectural Design 4 weeks

This project was based on pre-reading on “An Evolutionary Architecure” by John Frazer, which explores on themes of Artificial intelligence for the future of Architectural Design. It talks about machine learning, datasets and automated machines/computers to perform laborious tasks for Architects and designers.

Similarly, in our “publication”, we crafted a narrative where the future of AI-infused architectural design is so wellintegrated in our everyday lives that it does not manifest itself as one big computer, but cleverly concealed in our everyday appliances. This makes the brings us back to a more natural process of design, where we can sketch/build models and the computer scans and churns out the relevant 3d models and drawings for us. By performing the laborious tasks for us, it clears up the designer’s mind to focus on cognitive processes, rather than laborious, repetitive ones.

At the end of the publication is a satirical graphic series depicting the usage of these machines and the humourous output it can result in, where we end up in an age with computers so advanced that even a cat can become a highly lauded architect.

Each scene in the graphic montage was inspired by shots from different films, like Her(2013) and In the Mood For Love(2000).

NARRATIVE CRAFTING

In John Frazer’s Evolutionary Architecture, he theorizes an architectural machine that can help the architects to develop the concepts and ideas of architects into finished architectural products with the mundane processes such as drafting and modelling being wholly automated.

In his book, he also suggest that the role of architects will be changed in the way he works with the rise of new architceture machine. However, he did not give details how it will be. We decided to take on this thought exercise while looking through the lens of design, interface and also critique. We offer glimpses into the future roles of architect by imagining the architecture offices and how they will transform with the rise in prevalent usage of AI technology in the near future.

This will be presented as a series of speculated AI integrated products, imagining how they fit into the future architecture office and their implications on architecture domain.

The technology of the future is one that is muted and embedded into everyday products, sophistication in design has evolved beyond sleek devices that stands out from the surrounding. Instead seemingly normal appliances will be made ‘smart’ by integrating IOT technology and cloud based AI capabilities. With the embedded technology, the products are capable of doing much more than what it seems.

Her (2013), by Spike Jonze

In The Mood For Love (2000), by Wong Kar Wai

Inspiration from film scenes

FIN