NOMU

NOMU – North of the Museum and University – is an adaptive re-use of an existing 1970s apartment block into a mixed-use development with shops, offices and residential apartments. By exposing the original concrete frame, the interplay of solid and selectively demolished voids serves to carve new, interesting volumes out of the existing structure.

The façade is wrapped in a gauze-like layer of silver screens which alternately conceal and reveal the underlying structure. Elements such as stairs and service enclosures are picked out in striking rust-red metal as functional “sculptures” that punctuate the old grid.

The project is notable for proposing that the commercial quantum be sleeved along Handy Road to enliven the street level. NOMU is an example of how obsolete inner-city structures can be utilised to make the city an exciting place to live and work.

Enabling Village

The Enabling Village is a demonstration of heartland rejuvenation through adaptive reuse of the old Bukit Merah Vocational Institute / Employment & Employability Institute (e2i) in Redhill. The site was previously fenced-in, inward-looking and did not contribute to the neighbourhood. The Masterplan conceives the Village as a new community heart and opens up the space as a park to connect people with disabilities, residents and public.

The design removes all physical barriers, extends linkages and creates a variety of shared spaces, gardens and amenities, breathing life between and within buildings. A simple robust palette of finishes and motifs was adopted as a kit-of-parts system to stitch together surfaces and spaces of the new and existing.

The porous and accessible nature of the Enabling Village creates an inclusive environment, integrating people with disabilities as equal in the community.

2019

  • ArcAsia Awards for Architecture - Mention

    Category D (Conservation Projects) category, awarded by Architects Regional Council Asia (ARCASIA)

2017

  • 2017 Design for Asia Award - Grand Award with Special Mention

    Awarded by Hong Kong Design Centre

2016

  • President's Design Award - Design of the Year

    Awarded by DesignSingapore Council and Urban Redevelopment Authority

  • 16th SIA Architectural Design Awards 2016 - Design Award

    Special Categories, awarded by the Singapore Institute of Architects

  • BCA Universal Design Award - Winner (Platinum)

    Awarded by Building and Construction Authority, Singapore