Singapore Archifest pavilion ‘reclaims connectivity’ in an age of distance
2020 Archifest in Singapore prepares for a September launch and the virtual opening of its main pavilion space, entitled Reclaiming Connectivity and jointly created by ADDP Architects and OWIU Design
Singapore studio ADDP Architects and Los Angeles based OWIU Design have revealed their joint winning competition entry for a pavilion, which will be the centrepiece of this year's Archifest event in Singapore this September. The two firms scooped the first prize to create a temporary flagship structure for the show, which is organised annually by the Singapore Institute of Architects; only this year, unsurprisingly, due to current events surrounding the pandemic, the Southeast Asian country's celebration of architecture and the built environment will take place in the digital realm.
Responding to this, the winning team's concept drew on the ongoing global challenges and moulded its design to work with the format of virtual tours, ensuring the festival can still be accessible and present as ‘a platform to discuss, debate and dream about the possibilities surrounding architecture and the city of Singapore,' explain the organisers.
‘The pavilion will test new architectural ideas for post-Covid-19 design from its total prefab construction to its spatial layout, sustainable wooden material composition, functional tectonic glass design and light manipulation,' say the designers.
Entitled Reclaiming Connectivity, the structure features as its starting point OWIU Design Studio founding partner Amanda Gunawan’s photographic series on abstraction in the natural landscape. Blending these photographic prints on walls made of Light Emitting Surfaces glass, with spatial reflections on humanity’s innate need for connection, the design explores this yearning for togetherness that becomes even more prevalent in the current framework of international guidelines for social distancing. The designers propose creating private areas within public space as an alternative to isolation, illustrating their concept through timber, prefabricated arrangements within an open plan pavilion that offers glimpses of natural scenes.
The pavilion, which is designed to be physically built within 48 hours using prefabrication methods and 99 per cent sustainable FSC-certified timber, is still planned to appear in its physical form next year in the Singapore City gallery; but for now, it will be available to visit virtually from 25 September 2020 through the Archifest website.
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Silent running: Lightship’s AE.1 electric Travel Trailer makes its debut as the Cosmos Edition
All-American RV start-up Lightship has launched its first production edition, the AE.1 Cosmos Edition. We take a tour of this electrified home from home
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Dyne is a New York jewellery brand fusing fluid forms with futuristic flair
Dyne embraces striking materials and silhouettes for very modern jewellery
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Indian furniture brand SĀR Studio is putting Pune on the map with a new flagship and residency programme
SĀR Residence, a multi-use concept space, acts as an extension of the Indian furniture brand
By Laura May Todd Published
-
Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024: meet the practices
In the Wallpaper* Architects Directory 2024, our latest guide to exciting, emerging practices from around the world, 20 young studios show off their projects and passion
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
The Duho Pavilion by Limbo Accra immerses us into its Caribbean setting
The Duho Pavilion by Limbo Accra is a Cayman Islands landscape project that celebrates the Indigenous Caribbean Taino people
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A first look at Serpentine Pavilion 2024: ‘It really is an archipelago’
The Serpentine Pavilion 2024 opens its doors and we catch up with its architect, Minsuk Cho of Mass Studies, to talk about the design’s origins, concept and future travels
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Emerald Screen Pergola brings wonder and intrigue to an everyday setting in China
Designed by Wutopia Lab, Emerald Screen Pergola is a pavilion designed to inject ‘magical realism’ into the everyday, nodding to ancient Chinese practices
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Changi Airport’s Terminal 2 is a relaxing traveller experience that stimulates the senses
Changi Airport’s Terminal 2, designed by Boiffils Architecture, is an organic space inspired by Singapore's vegetation, forming a gateway into its garden city
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Orchid Pavilion channels Japanese philosophy for blossoming flowers in Puerto Escondido
Orchid Pavilion by CCA Centro de Colaboración Arquitectónica provides fitting shelter for flower conservation in Mexico's Casa Wabi
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Art Jameel pavilion in Dubai is a dome to fight climate doom
Art Jameel pavilion by Lebanese practice theOtherDada flags sustainability in Dubai, and opened to coincide with COP 28
By Nana Ama Owusu-Ansah Published
-
MPavilion 10 by Tadao Ando unveiled in Melbourne
MPavilion 10 by Tadao Ando opens to the public in Melbourne, marking the tenth edition of the Australian cultural attraction
By Elias Redstone Published