Gabrielle Liew: Wallpaper* Next Generation 2021

Our Next Generation 2021 showcase shines a light on 21 outstanding graduates from around the globe, Wallpaper’s pick of the best new talent in seven creative fields. Here, we profile National University of Singapore graduate Gabrielle Liew.

A project of an urban agriculture farm prototype that spans over seven kilometers. There are a lot of buildings of different sizes which are surrounded by trees.
(Image credit: TBC)
By Ellie Stathaki
last updated

‘As a child, I always enjoyed taking things apart and putting them together again, just to get to know all the inner workings and parts,’ says Gabrielle Liew. ‘Architecture is the same, being able to micro-analyse the workings of everything under the sun and put them together again in an unexpected way.’

The Singaporean recently graduated from her MArch course at the country’s National University with a highly praised final project that investigates global food production. ‘Despite urban agriculture being a widely discussed topic, I wanted to deconstruct it and twist it to create an extreme example of how we could achieve not just food self-sufficiency but also climate positivity for a country,’ she says. 

A portrait of Gabrielle Liew.

Gabrielle Liew. Dream collaborators: Kengo Kuma; SANAA

(Image credit: TBC)

Looking at the agricultural economy as both a victim of climate change as well as a culprit, Liew explores urban and architectural forms for a new infrastructure and system. Her design proposals span the micro and macro scale, using Singapore as a testbed for a model for global food production. ‘The climate-positive model not only tackles climate change and food security issues but also urban connectivity, land scarcity and quality of life,’ explains Liew.

The graduate feels passionate about social and environmental issues and believes that being involved in architecture gives her ‘a voice’ to make a difference. Liew is now working at the Singapore HQ of architecture studio Raglan Squire & Partners, and is looking forward to learning more about the daily life of working in the field.

A project of a farm. We see a pasture with cows walking freely, next to two vegetable gardens. Some cows that are closed via a fence are dying. Next to them, we see airplanes and trees that are cut down.

(Image credit: TBC)

A project of an disassembled environmentally safe farm prototype.

(Image credit: TBC)

A project of an assembled environmentally safe farm prototype.

(Image credit: TBC)

A project of an urban agriculture farm prototype that spans over seven kilometers.

(Image credit: TBC)

INFORMATION

issuu.com/gabrielleliew

Ellie Stathaki

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).

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