Flow
Sector
Private/Public
Location
Keong Saik Road, Singapore
Year
2020-2021
Illustrations
Photoshop
Procreate
Autodesk Autocad
Project Background
LIVING where you work and play may not seem like the ideal balance in terms of escaping the grind, but it's a key plank of Singapore's vision for its central business district and since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
The government hopes to introduce a radical shift to move people to the city centre so that Singapore were to truly become a liveable global city.
One way to make it happen is to adopt co-living concepts in the city area, so that Singaporeans could also have the opportunity to live closer to their workplace.
Singapore has also been ramping up efforts to embrace its precious heritage — the arts.
In order to cultivate a supportive landscape for creative talents, Singapore government encourages creative talents to transform pocket of spaces in rejuvenating CBD areas as a state of art.
Allowing the artists or the art professional engagement with the public in CBD areas where they work, live and play, making arts an integral part of the lives of all Singaporeans.
Design Statement
To rekindle a fresh interest in classical music and inspire young individuals, opening them up to the beauty of this genre of music, which is not appreciated in today’s society due to the influence of pop music.
As Keong Saik Road is filled with diverse cultures, bringing in classical music to the area with it’s richly rooted Western cultures would blend in nicely.
The enclosed and quiet space of the site is suitable for the violinist’s work life to perform her violin pieces, with a place of retreat for audiences to listen and enjoy with tranquillity. The informal performance setting allows interactions between the performer and the audience. Contrast can be seen between the calmness of classical violin pieces and the bustling life at Keong Saik Road.
Rhythm is shown through form, inspired by beats in music. Unity and variety in terms of music, with unity achieved through repetition, and variety by musical contrast through changes in melodic rhythm throughout the classical piece
Design Concept
Inspiration for the concept is taken from the flow of a treble clef and the curves of a violin to create the form.
The entire structure is created to imitate a violin and created around musical performance of classical music.
Key elements include organic and fluid forms, both repetitive and varying, that create an engaging and enthralling experience as people move through the building.
Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed the process of this project. From creating a client profile and design concept, to building the physical white model and producing renders.
As someone who plays the violin, I thought about the needs of a violinist and the lack of representation of classical music. With this, it helped create my client profile that decided what spaces were required in the building.
I wanted a space for my client to work, live, and play in. While I wanted the main building to incorporate performance, it was also important to create spaces for life for the client, outside work.
These are some exploration sketches from my journal that brought me from my concept design to the final design of my building.
As one of the focuses of this building was to make it a fully sustainable design, many considerations were given for cross ventilation of wind, natural sunlight, greenery, and also rainwater collection within the building.
This resulted in spaces like a stage, music studio, workshop, and a violin display and testing area.
The idea was for the full-time violinist to provide performances in the morning and evening, while working in the workshop to make violins in the afternoon.
The violins would then be displayed and allowed to be tested and bought by visitors.
Using foam boards, bamboo sticks, and clear acrylic, the white model was created for this project.
2 shophouses were also made to showcase what visitors would see when they walk through the building, either from the front or back of the alleyway.
My model was also chosen to be displayed at the Singapore Sustainable Gallery for the Blueprints to a Green Future exhibition
