Blue Alert

Climate change holds true as one of the important issues of our generation but why aren’t Singaporeans doing much about it? I discovered that Singapore could be in a state of denial towards climate change as we are neither directly affected nor witnessing the catastrophes first hand. By incorporating climate change with something familiar that hints at an emergency, Blue Alert brings climate change to its audience through virtual reality while educating them about the severity of their actions through a scenario-driven card game.

Blue Alert

Blue Alert is an educational card game based on things that Singaporean enjoys (Blue card) but prompts you to destroy it (Alert card) due to our behaviour and climate change - talking about reverse psychology. This in hopes to influence the players lifestyle and decision making when it comes to climate issues - which we are late to act upon.

Blue Alert

Blue Alert

Blue Alert

Check out this project and many more through my online portfolio. Thanks for viewing.

Humanity Washed Ashore.

A civilisation forced to abandon their home by the government and to seek asylum elsewhere. Hundreds of Rohingya refugees who are attempting to escape desperate conditions in their hometown remain stuck at sea. Even in these desperate times, the refugees' entry is being denied in countries. While some refugees are able to make it onto land, unfortunately, many wash ashore. 'Sarnar' is a typeface designed around the idea of micro-expressionism around the eye area. It is a typeface that translates human expressions into a semiotic. The semiotics are constructed and layered to compound meaning, just as how we learn to read expressions and emotions. The typeface, 'Sarnar', is designed to raise awareness of the plight and sufferings of the refugees stuck in the sea. Emotion is an innate human language. Governments tend to lack empathy in favour of economic and political gain. This seemingly abstract typeface is designed to elicit emotional response & encourage emotional decoding to understand the conditions these refugees are going through, in hopes of stirring up empathy from people.

Humanity Washed Ashore.

Guidebook.

Humanity Washed Ashore.

Artefact of communication.

Humanity Washed Ashore.

Artefact of communication.

Humanity Washed Ashore.

Overview

Plastic's Not Cheap.

Everyone knows that plastic bags are choking our planet. However, here in Singapore, many still expect supermarkets to provide plastic bags for the convenience of transporting home the goods. As plastic bags are free in supermarkets, many fail to see the consequence of plastic pollution. To persuade Singaporeans to change their behaviour, we have got to make the audience reconsider the value of free plastic bags and the cost it has on the future. 'Plastic is not cheap. It costs our future' is a campaign designed towards adults with kids. The campaign consists of a series of posters to raise awareness of the danger and consequences of using plastic excessively. It uses the play of famous and catchy nursery rhymes for the basis of the headlines. The poster art direction design encapsulates the consequences to the future generation if we continue the habit of using excessive plastic bags. The poster forces the audience to question what their price in the future is, and forces the agency back to them. The placement of the posters will be at areas where families usually hang out - bus stops near schools, playground, beach and parks.

Plastic's Not Cheap.

Plastic's Not Cheap.

Gaslight.

Gaslight is to manipulate (someone) by psychological means into doubting their sanity. With the majority of the world’s population already on social media, many of us may be unknowing victims of gaslight. Society invents a spuriously complex logic to change people whose conduct is beyond their mainstream. With the continued rise of using social media, many of us are naive into being conformed into adopting the socially acceptable form of opinions and thoughts. This magazine encourages the audience to form their morals. Always to be aware of the information received and to equip themselves with knowledge of being gaslighted into society’s norm. The magazine takes the audience on the journey of being gaslighted. It starts with the article on lying is a huge mistake, and honesty is the best policy. It then proceeds to the middle, where it suggests that maybe being truthful all the time is not healthy. The magazine ends with a suggestion that lying is okay and it encourages creativity in doing so.

IN YOUR FACE

IN YOUR FACE is an installation work that aims to send a message to individuals who are carelessly and thoughtlessly using plastic. It seeks to question old habits and hopefully get everyone to do their part in reducing plastic use. In order for us to fix the problem, we have to acknowledge that we are not doing enough and we have to amp up our efforts. Start saying no to excessive plastic use, especially when we shop.

DON'T ASK

Excessive plastic use is a global problem that has plagued the modern world for a few decades now. While media coverage on this issue is at an all time high, changing mindsets still proves to be a challenge, especially when certain societies are so deep-set in their ways. To create ONE identity and to bring all organisations to work together to create a nation-wide campaign to tackle plastic problems in Singapore. To bring about a collective realisation among Singaporeans on the severity of our plastic use. It is our responsibility to take charge of plastic matters. We have to keep reminding ourselves to ‘DON’T ASK’ for plastic bags.

ODD GENESIS

In year 2219, A man-made Virus was released to the atmosphere through heavy industrialisations. M.O.B virus confined exclusively or largely to biomes, however, posed the formidable problem of finding a susceptible human infection and cause death. For-Profit company ODD GENESIS has monopoly over food sources. Ferro Subsistence cure, provides all seven nutrients on a daily basis to help build our bodies and maintain health.

CHAIRNNEL

Reveals some very good insights into what a chair can represent - how it can be a metaphor for aspects of being human or for states of the human condition. To highlight our basic need to give and receive compassion in all its various forms and to create a centerpiece which communicates the idea of compassion and evoke a response and reflection of our basic aspects as a human being.

There is No Wrong Body

As social media becomes the main form of media consumptions for most teenagers, many teenagers have left the social media’s feed feeling bad about themselves. With much emphasis on evaluating how people look, it has associated the teenagers with how they feel about their own bodies. They have to live through the unrealistic views of other people’s lives and peer pressure. My project centers on teenagers who have the need to fit in and worrying for not following the society's body goals. This is because of how they are being socially isolated, therefore leading them to try to conform to the society’s standard of normal. The idea of how appearance can form impressions especially body sizes.

There is No Wrong Body

It's a self-help book that shows how different body sizes are being appreciated across different cultures and countries. The illustrations are made to be more organic and natural. This book boost the teenagers’ self esteem and is personalize to each individuals as it allows them to write and reflect on their daily personal thoughts through the given activities in the book and at the same time, with the help of the illustration, encourage them to push on. At the end of the day, is there even a wrong body? My main message is to let the teenagers understand that there is no wrong way in having body. You do not need to conform.

There is No Wrong Body

This was an initial direction for the project. The idea was to create interactive walls at busy walkways. During golden hour or at any point of time when the sun cast shadows of the people on the wall, together with the illustration drawn on the walls, people are able to see the complete illustrations. They are part of the shadow play.

Together

Aging population for baby boomers are growing and as people grow older, they become less self-sufficient in terms of taking care of their own health and general day-to-day needs and obligations. More often or not, the children or grandchildren have to step up to take care of them because there is not enough medical care to support them. However, there is a greater concern for the children or grandchildren on juggling their daily lives and caring for the elderly. There are so many medical information for the elderly and sometimes they tend to overlook the emotional wellbeing of the elderly.Together is a medical app that promotes the preciousness of togetherness and bonding. The objective of this app is to provide a platform to remind people the need of constant interaction between them and their loved one in order to motivate them when going through chronic illnesses. Spend some time with them. Family members are able to document medical records in case of medical emergencies. Through this app, the elderly are empowered for their own medical and it acts as an invitation for conversations.

The Admiral's Beard

Men sometimes struggle with the way media portrays about masculinity and boldness. It becomes a pressure for them too, as society wants to uplift those values. Masculinity and boldness can be the cause of so many broken hearts and unsatiated desires. The thoughts to the construction of masculinity in everyday life can be draining and also reducing one’s self-esteem. Based on the literature of Treasure Island, The Admiral’s Beard is a hypothetical barbershop that brings out the ‘pirate’ in you. It centers on the idea of bringing out the adventurous and boldness in you. Adapting the personalities of the characters in the literature, the shop strives to gives you personality in order for you to continue with the bumpy road of life. It is a place for you to boost your inner strength and boldness, to give you that extra help.

Mark

We live in a society where we gaze in disbelief at the people who are the most passionate and fiery enthusiasts in collecting things. Sometimes these people live with mounds of unimaginable things that we question the motives behind the collection. We are a natural seeker in one-way or another. We seek and collect in any form. There are no goods of fixed value. They are valuable as long as people value them. Being a collector requires an emotional connection to these items. As the world moves to become more modern, collecting items become more and more attractive. These items offer a retreat back to simpler times when such products may no longer be produced. Mark is a magazine on collecting. Mark aims to highlight why one simply need to collect and keep things. In this issue, we cover on collecting Air Sickness Bag where majority sees it as waste product but to this community, they are little icons of the sky.

Mark

We may not realize that our motivation in collecting can be influence from a lot of different factors. One of such is our cultural background and how we are raised. Part of the magazine’s content talks about how one’s cultural background influence us in collecting things.

The Fisherman and His Soul

The Fisherman and His Soul is a short story (6209 words) written by Oscar Wilde. It features a young fisherman and his yearning for a mermaid, his obsession drove him to commit unholy and unthinkable actions. Upon reading the story, it is apparent that the main cause of the story’s tragedy was due to the actions of the stubborn priest in the story. The priest then is one of the core parts of the story. In this revised version, I attempted to retell the story in the point of view of the priest, the story accompanied by a set of hand-drawn illustrations.

Phase Plastic Out

A habit becomes an addiction when we continue to engage in an activity despite knowing the adverse consequences of it. Comparably, people are using plastic whilst understanding the impact of plastic usage on the world and themselves. The difference, however, is that they don’t recognise their plastic dependence as a form of addiction, but rather a necessity. In my research and observation, I came across a few uncles carrying a newspaper roll in a single plastic bag. I found that they do so as to not dirty their hands. If only plastic leaves a mark as a newspaper does, it would be less popular. I then connected these with self-abuse, abuse, then addiction - all of which is obvious visually, and heavily stigmatised by society. My project, therefore, aims to liken our plastic reliance to other severe forms of addiction such as drugs, in the form of a campaign to stop plastic use.

Gravity's Spiral - One and the same

To point a finger at the self (myself) - to uncomfortably yet essentially deny denial, I believe, is a step closer towards human flourishing. This is a personal project aimed at visualising and reflecting and interpreting my daily occurrence. One and the same: Someone preached that the problem with social media and the digital world is that it creates an antisocial world. Well, for me, I rate his statement a “maybe, but not really”. Regardless of device or tech, we still tend to be immersed in the self a lot. We are normally anti-social. However, biology states that we are normally social too. Maybe, momentary isolation is just a way of coping with the constant noise and stresses of our environments - perfectly fine, really. In his defence, he might be referring to the overindulgence of media - how normal consumption easily becomes an addiction.

Gravity's Spiral - The Assembly Men

I was watching a trending video of a man listlessly working at his customer service job., a fake smile plastered onto his face. This man me think about how manufactured the actions of people have become. How different are we from mass-produced items?

Gravity's Spiral - Curled up. (Acrylic paint on cardboard.)

I was watching a trending video of a man listlessly working at his customer service job., a fake smile plastered onto his face. This man me think about how manufactured the actions of people have become. How different are we from mass-produced items?

Wayfinding Project at SIT@Dover

This project aims to make SIT@DOVER a place of effortless navigation through wayfinding signages without compromising the appearance of its “SIT-DNA”. The signages have been designed to mimic the patterns of polarising light, which migratory birds depend on for a correct orientation towards their destination - it is a symbolism for SIT’s guidance of students that have travelled great lengths to get and complete their degree.

MIMICREE (MIMICRY)

Presented with a magazine brief, I was tasked to write the copy and design its graphics of a random topic. The topic I went for was about “mimicry”, the imitation of someone or something. The content is written about different subjects that touch on different aspects of copying, and I have illustrated and collaged visuals according to the written content, stringing them into a proper magazine.

Sauchie Hall Road

Sauchie Hall Road

Sauchiehall Road (Shao-Chee-Hall) Sauchiehall Road expresses an emotional experience I had on the first day of school in Glasgow. It was a feeling of complete lost and loneliness as I navigated the streets of Glasgow wandering and with no familiarity or knowing where I am. The utter confusion and feeling of up being down, the streets all merging into one as I threw myself in the direction of the unfamiliar.

Sauchie Hall Road

I am Lost The idea of Lost is particularly relevant now in a time of unknowns. People would ask what will happen next? Hoping someone else will be able to answer that question and the truth is no one knows. How than can we take this lost as our next adventure? My work directs the viewer straight to the mirrors, they think they know what it is all about. It seems like a test on whether you know which image is real or not. There is more than it seems.

Sauchie Hall Road

Origin and process of project In creating this project, I drew upon my reflections and feelings throughout my trip to Glasgow. I asked myself, what stood out? I wrote how I felt and found that lost and found was what summed it best. It was my first big adventure alone, it seemed like any fairy tale but there was a reality. This is my 2nd iteration of the project. My first idea was to bring my viewers through a kaleidoscope experience but the craftmanship was not particularly good and did not convey the idea well enough, the suggestion was to make it a mirror maze so I experimented, I am working on creating a good cause of action with the project since it is really relevant now.

Fashion Without Bodies

Style is more of an attitude than the pieces of clothes you wear. It is about communicating your Identity, Ideals and Opinions. However, Fashion has always been closely associated with the chiseled jaws, the smoky eyes and the luscious lips of runway models. How do we shake off these cliché? I challenged myself to find an unorthodox way to portray fashion genres, and what could be more unexpected than food? With the varied nuances in dining behavior, it is akin to how we drape ourselves. Hence, I chose food photography to bring out the characteristic of fashion genre with a clever play of our favourite delicacies.

Fashion Without Bodies

Fashion Without Bodies

Fashion Without Bodies

The Language That Saved All Mankind

Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master. The Language That Saved All Mankind, looks into this reality. A Cybernetic Being from the future, arrives in the present on a mission. He must gift to humanity an encoded language that shall ensure their survival. He knows the great cataclysm is inevitable, but he does what he can. The key to the survival of his own race, depends on the humans as well. This is the defining chapter of our imminent history; Time-travel, Longevity and Comfort, all torn down by our own creation. The self-aware cyborgs hunted us down like rodents. We could hide, but not for long. Our desperate clamor for survival and struggles are carefully imprinted on cardboard, the only writing material we could get our hands on. We marked our meagre existence, using essence of our mother tongue; Sanskrit, Chinese, Hebrew and Thai. Like the Ten Commandments of eons past, we hope that we shall survive through our language.

The Language That Saved All Mankind

The Language That Saved All Mankind

The Language That Saved All Mankind

The Language That Saved All Mankind

The Language That Saved All Mankind

The Poker Game

Make mistakes or screw up, you learn. Jade courts with death, when he throws away his second chance. Jade has been with Malik's Geylang vice ring for years. Now as one of the most prominent drug barons, Jade has other ambitions. Tonight, he will have to answer for his lies. Will Jade see the day of light? Or will he pay the ultimate price? However not everybody is lucky enough to have the luxury to witness the sunrise. The consequences that follow up with the actions made would require you to pay the price. We do not always get a second chance, so cherish every given moment. Jade gets involved with Malik and his Gelyang crime gang. As Jade rose to become one of the most prominent drug dealer, his greed took over him -- a powerful drug dealer’s fate tied to an inescapable organized crime boss.

The Poker Game

The Poker Game

Mom, Where's My Pants?

The plastic waste problem has been a long running issue, and has exacerbated over the decades. Sadly, the methods of communicating the gravity of the issue has not adapted. Campaigns highlighting the threat of plastic waste on wildlife has remained a staple. Effective as they were, such images have become a cliché and the public has since become desensitized to them. Thus, my challenge is finding approaches of captivating the audience yet again. How will I garner attention? Satire is one way to invoke humor, a sensation that can be shared by both young and old. Awareness about the issue, is the first step towards making a change.

Mom, where's my pants?

The plastic waste problem has been a long running issue, and has exacerbated over the decades. Sadly, the methods of communicating the gravity of the issue has not adapted. Campaigns highlighting the threat of plastic waste on wildlife has remained a staple. Effective as they were, such images have become a cliché and the public has since become desensitized to them. Thus, my challenge is finding approaches of captivating the audience yet again. How will I garner attention? Satire is one way to invoke humor, a sensation that can be shared by both young and old. Awareness about the issue, is the first step towards making a change.

Know Your Government

The aim for this political zine is to encourage responsible voting during Singapore General Election, especially for young Singaporeans who are voting for the first time, they may not fully understand politics enough to make the wise choice of electing future government. To gain interest among young Singaporeans to understand politics, the theme of the zine is juxtaposed with Greek mythological figures to simplify complex information.

Know Your Government

Know Your Government

Know Your Government

Know Your Government

Know Your Government

Know Your Government

Know Your Government

Know Your Government

It's Not Okay

In Singapore, about 700 million kg of plastic waste is discarded every year. Less than 10% of the plastic usage were being recycled (WWF). Plastic was the largest category of waste disposed of in Singapore last year — 763,400 tons. Reality perception — “When truth is blurred by lies and misinformation, perception becomes reality and all is lost.” What people perceive is usually what they believe, and this is based on what they hear, see and think. The government in Singapore has yet to take serious action in reducing the Plastic usage in Singapore. However, I believe that the consumption of bubble tea is one of the culprit that contributes to this issue. Yet, Singaporeans fail to see / experience the fact that the usage of plastic is a factor to the environment. I’ve created a series of illustration that could be potential posters, as a reminder / awareness to Singaporeans that there is always an alternative. By bringing their personal mugs or bags could help to save lives.

It's Not Okay

It's Not Okay

Place-Non-Place

Introduction This exploratory painting represents the contrast in culture between Singapore and Glasgow in which I have experienced through this study exchange. This painting was inspired by a Scottish poem (Auld Lang Syne) written by Robert Burns.

Place-Non-Place

Concept - Chaos is a definition of what the world is today, and being a part of this world, we are often blinded by the hiccup that is placed right in front of us. How often can we acknowledge that we are conscious of our actions all the time, namely our experiences, the things we purchase and consume? In this project of Place – Non-Place, it’s a creation of my experience in Glasgow, the visual comprises of parts taken from the poem of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ and the words were assembled in an unsystematic order. I have come to realise that, chaos itself, might not actually be what we think it is. Being in a state of chaos is a feeling that one may feel perpetually under certain circumstances. It is not an unfamiliar feeling yet we still let ourselves immerse into that state. As I was sitting by the ledge in Glasgow, I’ve came to an understanding that, the unknown always appears to be LOUDER compared to my ordinary, that might be where the feeling of chaos is found.

Place-Non-Place

The Ways of Seeing

This project was created with a combination of Spark AR (Augmented Reality) and Cinema 4D. The concept is a reaction to how society has advanced into something so absurd with the use of the mechanical eye. Everything that can be seen on the internet in this day and age, might not be the actual truth. In fact, a captured moment by an individual could easily be manipulated. Hence, I’ve chosen the use of Augmented Reality and a metaphorical theme (alienation) to explain the message of what we see from our phones, does not always represent reality.

The Ways of Seeing

Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa, a publication that speaks of the imperfections of the world that can’t always be seen with the naked eye. Mona Lisa embraces the imperfections using art and literature from the history and the present times to disclose a positive spirit for its readers. In the first issue of Mona Lisa, it has discussed the different viewpoints and ideas about the nature of love by Plato (The Symposium).

Pareidolia

A psychological phenomenon involving a stimulus (an image or a sound) where in the mind perceives a familiar pattern where none exists called Pareidolia that allows human to perceive faces in places where they do not exist. These images have been taken around Chinatown, Singapore and it forms a similar style and colour to create a typeface.

Good Grief

Good Grief is a mobile app that explores an alternative way of facing one’s mortality by learning the impermanence of life and that death is not an isolated event. The app examines ways a digital tool would redefine current practices and attitude towards commemoration and legacy. Through pre-planning exercises, it empowers one to live fully by coming to terms with what they have at an early start and guides one at the later stages, making a good grief for all.

Good Grief

The 3 main categories of the app are the planning, memories making and grieving phases. This feature let one start a living will and pre-pay a funeral over time.

Good Grief

The app landing page prompt viewers to download.

Good Grief

The posters are copy focused with an indirect expression of death. Dark humour is used to normalise and direct the viewers, particularly the young adults to be less serious about it by relating the app features to the context of millennials’ behaviours. These aim to invite them to start a culture of openness on a taboo topic and eventually spread the word to their older loved ones.

Good Grief

This project went through multiple iterations that started with a concept of providing a modern intuitive funeral service found lacking in the deathcare sector into a wholesome guiding tool. The visual style evolved from a dull palette into a balanced muted organic tone with animated euphemism images put together, allowing one to see two sides of the same coin, similar to the idea of death comes with life.

The Subversive Smile

The Subversive Smile explores the hidden smiles consumed in the capitalist world as the spectacle evolved. By decontextualising (divide) familiar images to form new visual metaphors (addition), it disrupts (minus) and reveals (plus) what we've overlooked. Using subtle visual manipulation and irony, it challenges viewers to rethink their consumption habits and question if we’ve been endlessly pulled into desires dictated by false images of happiness.

The Subversive Smile

We are attracted to the allure of smiles that romanticise instant gratification and fast consumption.

The Subversive Smile

(L) As the spectacle evolved with the rise of technology, social influencers on social media endlessly pull us into desires and images of false happiness. (R) The dark side of a happy meal’s allure that leads to obesity.

The Subversive Smile

The hidden side that consumers do not see behind fast fashion of exploited sweat shop workers. “Have a nice day” is the slogan of capitalism that reveals the irony.

The Subversive Smile

Politicians are known to conceal the truth with a smile. Using juxtaposition and subtle manipulation, it shows the hero turning into a villain.

Sorry for your Loss

Native languages find themselves slowly being replaced by hegemonic languages as globalisation and rapid migration have contributed to chronic attrition. If there are approximately 6,000 languages in the world, only a mere 4% of these languages are used by the majority of the global population. As a result, half of these 6,000 dialects are headed for extinction. Sorry for your Loss is an initiative which seeks to address and bring awareness to a global epidemic of losing one’s native tongue. The initiative is formatted into an exhibition where visitors can reminisce and reconnect with their lost language through various interactive displays; a space then becomes a cure. Each edition will explore different indigenous languages from around the world. This edition shines the light on Burmese Language – a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in officially by Burmese nationals in an attempt to reconnect the language with its native speakers.

Sorry for your Loss

Sorry for your Loss

Compound Interest

In the society of precarious, financial instability remains the primary source of anxiety and constraint for families from lower income households. Lacking adequate financial literacy, these households struggle to maintain a decent quality of life while battling through the imposed stigma of being branded as social deviants. These public interventions are promoted as ‘exceptional’ rather than ‘universal’ and often comes with a hefty consequence of a laborious application process only to be compensated with short-term monetary reliefs. Therefore, the chronic and unfulfilled needs of marginalised households are rarely resolved in a sustainable way. Compound Interest is an alternative educational programme designed to empower and refine financial literacy among youths from marginalised families. Adapting a non-hierarchical mode of learning, youths can choose to customise and stack their own curriculum. The programme dispenses personalised educational content to its subscribers through various platforms. In this self-sustaining model, the knowledge that youths have acquired through the programme can be redistributed back into their respective households. Accomplishment is therefore measured through cycles of intention, creation, reflection and sharing. The programme aims to rethink the experiences of low-income families as people with the capacity to learn and change, not as clients and recipients in dire need of help and charity.

Compound Interest

Compound Interest

The Hidden Cost

Plastic wastage is the responsibility of many. There are a lot of stakeholders involved: from consumers who mindlessly consume and hoard plastic bags to corporations who leverage on the cheap production of the plastic bags. Lured by its modest pricing and short-lived convenience, we have failed to account for the hidden cost of plastic bags: one that inflicts irreversible damage to our environment and wildlife. The Hidden Cost is a project which aims to expose the implications of plastic consumption by redesigning the current display of plastic bags. The project seeks to purpose an alternative approach to curb consumption through the alternation of everyday products – in this case, it is the appearance of the plastic bags. The design of the bag is kept minimal with a series of typographic messages which displays a “cost” upfront. These costs are derived from the pressing environmental and societal side effects of plastic wastage. The messages will claim the space previously occupied by the oversized logos of household brands. The newly designed plastic bags act as a visual reminder, projecting cumulative casualties of plastic waste driven by mass consumption. The projection will hopefully trigger consumer behaviour and provoke change.

The Hidden Cost

Generis

Generis is a hybrid font created by combining two the unlikely typefaces – Futura and Kleist-fraktur. Futura is a geometric sans-serif typeface widely used during the Bauhaus movement while Kleist-fraktur is a blackletter typeface. Generis attempts to confront the tension between two distinct families of typeface by recreating a less rigid type in which the geometric contours meet the sharp display curves. It incorporates the geometric base of the Latin letterforms while preserving the calligraphic strokes of blackletter types. The integration of the san-serif softens the sharp edges and tones down the highly ornamented details of the blackletter. Generis is, therefore, a blend of Latin and German typestyles – two conflicting letterforms, culturally, politically and aesthetically. The result is a pleasing hybrid which inhabits the qualities of order and expression.

Generis

Space in Place

My idea of Space in Place in a Collage from

Place in Space

My idea of Place in Space in Collage form

A take of a Modern + Historical Reading Place

A Perspective view of Modern + Historical Reading Space

A take of a Modern + Historical Reading Place

Perspective view of Modern + Historical Reading Space

A take of a Modern + Historical Reading Place

Perspective view of Modern + Historical Reading Space

A Step to a better Reading Environment

Perspective View of a steps / reading space / Amphitheater

A Step to a better Reading Environment

Perspective View of a steps / reading space / Amphitheater

A Step to a better Reading Environment

Perspective View of a steps / reading space / Amphitheater

A Step to a better Reading Environment

Perspective View of a steps / reading space / Amphitheater

A New Housing Typology for Rental Flats

Strong community ties is capable of providing a form of social support and resource network. Despite its importance, it rarely exists in HDB flats today. This project aims to investigate a new typology for rental flats that incorporates the notion of community within the housing estate. It sought to improve the standard of living for lower income families and strive towards achieving self-empowerment to break away from the cycle of poverty.

Utopian Vision

Le Corbusier’s idea of “vertical garden city” in Unite d’Habitation focused on communal living for residents to shop, eat, play, live and gather together outside their private dwelling space. This integration of communal service into the housing model has further encouraged interaction to take place among inhabitants. Drawing reference to Unite d’Habitation, a utopian vision on the future of a community orientated rental flat is being projected in the form of a sectional elevation collage.

Reconfigured Layout Plan

As compared to the void deck, the corridor has a greater possibility that residents would linger around as it is more accessible from their units. However, the linear and narrow nature of the corridor in block 1 Jalan Kukoh is not the most efficient space for residents to gather in. As an attempt to bring in communal spaces that encourage prolonged interaction, the linear walkway is transformed into an enclosed space by deconstructing and rearranging the layout plan, eventually coming up with multiple iterations.

Breaking Away from Standardization

Referencing Habitat 67 where the units are interconnected and stacked on one another, it allowed for a private garden terrace to every unit and play area throughout the building for children. By breaking away from the standardized design of HDB, new possibilities of interaction are introduced. Therefore, taking two reconstructed levels and stacking above each other turning it into a single floor increases the chance of interaction by half.

Eyes on the Street

The concept of "Eyes on the Street" as a form of surveillance provides a safety measure as residents help to keep a lookout for one another. Breaking up solid walls and having screens allow residents to have visual or verbal contact. These are explored with different degrees of privacy. With screens at the feet level, it provide clues on the safety of residents without taking away their privacy.

Persona: Single elderly living alone

With safety as the main priority, the unit is designed with a communal herb garden that allows residents to be involved in nurturing the plants. While doing so, residents are able to ensure the safety of the elderly through verbal contact. To a certain degree, it also allows a glimpse into a small area of the room such that the privacy of the elderly is still present.

Privacy is a common issue face in large family. Curtains fitted in bunk bed allow children to be entitled to a small personal space. By staggering the beds, these children get a private play corner of their own, accessible from all four beds. An opening is created at an eye level of a child for children outside to invite them out to play.

Persona: Single mother, 4 children, 1 baby

The vertical screen frames the amount of area to be seen in the room to retain privacy for the other family members. However, it is sufficient for the baby cot to be visible for residents to help keep an eye on the baby while the mother attends to her other children. When the sofa bed is folded, the space transforms into a living room.

Persona: Parents and a teenager

From the conceptual models, the idea of encouraging interaction to occur through close proximity by blurring the boundaries between the private units and communal space is executed in this unit. A cohesive language with the usage of panels are extruded from the steps of the stairs to seating in the living room and further extruded to form platforms for residents' use in the communal space.

Overview

The concept of interfaces as a form of threshold between public and private domain is explored through different implementation throughout the housing model. It is integrated to work as a system that encourages residents to not only interact but also to connect with one another.

UOB Plaza installation

We commonly perceive boundary as a form of physical segregation, rather than as a state of mind. Using the construct of efficiency as a focus on this study, the physical intervention is designed disrupt the psychological boundary. The idea of boundary as a state of mind stems from the observation of people's behaviors during the course of their commute. In a journey, different events may occur, efficiency results in people being fixated on their next destination, often forgoing interacting with their surroundings, like an intangible imaginary boundary around an individual.

UOB Plaza installation

Much of these observations lay testament to Pierre Bourdieu's theory of Habitus, which mentions ingrained habits, skills and dispositions, the way that individuals perceive the social world around them and react to it. An intervention in the end brings about a platform of interaction to an open fast paced region. However this opens up a new question, must boundaries be blurred? or can they be balanced.

243 Joo Chiat Road

This project explores the notion of balance, using a shophouse unit at Joo Chiat Road to carry out this investigation. Joo Chiat has an interesting mix of contrasting functions under one roof, typically segregated by levels. Using existing functions of a bar, habitation and KTV, this project tries to build a reciprocal relationship by blurring the physically boundaries through an interconnection of the functions.

243 Joo Chiat Road

This project uses the idea that lights give preeminence to the active functions at a given time and vice versa. Forms used create different levels of privacy for various functions, whilst light and materials determine the degree of privacy. The denotation of shadows, light exposure over times of the day and form allow for allocating of functions, functions categorized according to their levels of privacy

243 Joo Chiat Road

In the space, activities of each function are exposed to one another. The KTV here can be seen in contrast to the bar, artificial lights from the KTV indicate its dominance in activity at night, while daylight of day reveals the bar open as an eatery and the active function of the moment.

243 Joo Chiat Road

Apart from lights to denote boundaries, forms and materials are important. Consistent materials that pertain to particular functions subtly indicate the domain of public and private. Difference in forms denote the difference in domains. The denser and more rigid forms indicate the habitation area, while more open areas denote the public areas. All of which are connected to each other in different ways. The question of balance in boundaries among functions may not solve immediate problems, but rather opens up avenues on boundaries and their intangibility, and how they can experiment with in the vast domain of interior design.

The Men's Mall

A collage of *SCAPE in its current condition. In our fast-paced city-state, economic development occurs an unprecedented rate. To keep up and increase density, the wasteful practice of replacing older buildings with new ones is considered the norm. Existing properties are also under constant pressure to renovate and upgrade to keep relevant. The purpose of this project is to speculate the possibilities of how under-utilised spaces in *SCAPE can be readaptedto give it a new breath of life.

The Men's Mall

Site map of *SCAPE and its surrounding in Orchard Road.

The Men's Mall

Process. Sketches and ideation of how the users will be moving through the space with swinging walls and display fixtures.

The Men's Mall

A diagram on layout studies that will be adopted in the Men’s Mall. (top) A maze layout has a fixed path and a maze of spaces for product displays. It also extends the distance users traveled in the store. (middle) A grid layout, most common in stores as it is very convenient and speedy. (bottom) Freeform layout facilitate in exploration and brings users to visit more parts in the store

The Men's Mall

Layout Plan of the Men’s Mall.

The Men's Mall

Interior of the high-end men’s fashion store. A tightly curated selection of products is displayed, encouraging customers to explore other parts of the store.

The Men's Mall

Interior of the high-end men’s fashion store. A tightly curated selection of products is displayed, encouraging customers to explore other parts of the store.

The Men's Mall

The Fashion Gallery is a flexible space that can be converted to suit various events such as workshops, seminars and product displays and aims to increase the awareness of the brand’s philosophy.

Itten X Aēsop

Initial collage showcasing the synergy between Swiss Colour theorist Johannes Itten and Melbourne’s health and beauty franchise Aēsop. The bold contrasting colours of Itten’s art works complements the colour scheme used by Aēsop.

Aēsop X Itten

Window design grounded by the principles and theories of Swiss Painter and Colour theorist Johannes Itten designed for Aēsop’s stores.

Axonometric Study

Site study diagram of Golden Mile Complex The intention for the structure was to create a lively environment and a vertical city in contrast to the homogenized cities. Golden Mile Complex comes from the concepts of the Linear Cities of architect Le Corbusier.

Impressions

Artistic impression of envisioned design concept of play space located in Golden Mile Complex.

Play Space Perspective (East Lobby)

A new play space located in the Golden Mile Complex, focusing on the effects of light and shadow where sun shades rotate anti-clock wise throughout the day.

Play Space Perspective (West Lobby)

The play space focuses on generating a space that caters for relaxation enabling users of the space to experience Live, Work and Play in the same building.

Reclaiming Spaces

Typical shop in Golden Mile Complex where shop spills out beyond boundaries while the tenant place make shift markers defining their own boundaries. A lawless spillage of shops creating a reclamation of space demonstrates The Right to the City concept developed by French sociologist Henri Lefebvre in 1968.

Accentuated Pipelines

Unique pipelines that forms character, identity and uniqueness to the Golden Mile Complex.

Unique Characteristics

The image shows shops spilling out of their de-marketed zones and unique floor tile patterns in relation to the accentuated pipelines across the atrium of the Golden Mile Complex.

Lawlessness

The image shows the plan in relation to the pipes added years after original construction running above unique floor tile patterns that cover the ground floor. Further demonstrating how shops spill out.

Creativity in Everyday Life

Project: Creativity in Everyday Life. The project intention is to allow the user to unveil their own sense of creativity. The project aim is to build an awareness that creativity is present in everyday life. Designing the circumstances for creativity to arise.

Creativity in Everyday Life

Conceptual models and sketches done to interpret the frameworks by practitioners (Bruno Munari, Johannes Itten and Tim Ingold) that motivated the study of Creativity in Everyday Life.

Creativity in Everyday Life

An exhibition showcasing the subtle presence of creativity in everyday life at home. Site: HDB Estate (Hougang Street 91 Block 909 Singapore) Taxonomy Poster: Exhibits of everyday household items in their settings and their multiple uses as created by the user.

Creativity in Everyday Life

Initial exploration of the exhibition - circulation and spatial planning. The site of the exhibition was suppose to be at Gilmann Barrack AFA Block 28.

Creativity in Everyday Life

The circulation and spatial planning were reorganised to the new site, the HDB Estate. A sense of unveiling in an inconvenient setting that allows the user a greater sense of curiosity in stimulation. A spontaneous reaction between the user and the exhibition. Evoke a higher catalyst for awareness.

Creativity in Everyday Life

Exhibition Design. Modules of the various different settings in a Home. The modules are fully interactive. Users may inhabit the space and interact with everything in the module. The interaction between the user, object and the space is a key part in evoking the sense of awareness in the presence of creativity in everyday life.

Creativity in Everyday Life

Exhibition Design. Highlighting the placement of the exhibits within the module space.

Creativity in Everyday Life

Creating from imagination rather than following instructions. This gives users the tools to create. Users are free to imagine, explore ideas and invent new things. Site: Kallang Rivergreen Building - Singapore. Taxonomy Poster: Understanding creativity in everyday life in the context of the workplace.

Creativity in Everyday Life

Perspective of intended spatial design - I. Building the workstation is intuitive and fun and resembles the direct creative output of work (precedent studies that were referenced are the Caroline Pratt Unit Blocks and Interslot by Rodger Limbrick).

Creativity in Everyday Life

Perspective of intended spatial design - II

Environmental issues have been so much more important to me in recent years, and that has influenced the ways I approach the type of projects I want to do and how I want to execute them. For my Final Year Project, I wanted to explore the possibilities of how we can live with the least carbon footprint as possible. This will be done by tackling how HDBs can be reconfigured in order to be more self-reliant and self-sustainable. As we live through a strange time, through the COVID-19 pandemic, the notion of being more self-reliant and self-sustainable is more relevant than ever.

This collage was my way of expressing a ‘futuristic’ Singapore and how Archigram’s unbuilt projects could become a reality. My project was very inspired by Archigram and the theory of Rubanisation by Tay Kheng Soon. The idea of Plug-In City constantly evolving to meet the needs of people, and by having all the resources needed in one mega-machine – without harming the environment, was something that intrigued me. I wanted to combine those ideas, with the strategies of Rubanisation, to redefine how we live today so that we live with the least carbon footprint.

This is a series of materials made from waste. Gas, oil, consumerism, electricity, transportation and every other form of human activity, contributes to our carbon footprint. I asked myself, what if I could make my own spoon? Knowing that waste is a great carbon footprint contributor, I wanted to explore how household waste could be reused and made into something new, to kick-start the project. What if I made my own spoon using banana peels? That would mean I do not have to buy a new spoon - I do not contribute to consumerism and energy to produce a new spoon, and I get to reduce and reuse my waste, promoting a circular economy. 1. Milk + Vinegar 2. New-paper (made from waste paper) 3. New-clay (made from waste paper) 4. New-clay 5. Alternative Banana Peel Material 6. ABPM lamp shade 7. New-paper + ABPM 8. Slab of ABPM 9. New-paper 10. Weaving ABPM 11. New-paper + ABPM 12. Weaving ABPM with mesh

This neighbourhood is the site I chose as it already had a lot of existing amenities that I could work with to create a new masterplan. The analysis and masterplans done were based on the strategies of Rubanisation. My main objective was to ensure that no building was just purely residential, it had to be combined with another programming.

The diagrams of different configurations were a process of redistributing the existing amenities from the site, to one HDB building. Although this idea sounds like a Mixed Used Development, I was exploring an idea away from that typology, hence I decided on Diagram 6 as its configuration was most different from a MUD. I then translated this idea to a very draft collage to envision the type of spaces I wanted to have. To continue, I traced over the collages so that I could draw out how certain spaces could relate to one another. It was very important to sketch them so that they came together as one whole space. In order to redefine the way, we live, I chose to focus on a HDB building because it is the most common form of local housing.

What if HDB blocks had everything we needed? A pandemic-proof, zombie apocalypse-proof housing, because we would not need to leave our homes? My vision of a new HDB typology was to combine everything in a neighbourhood, into a singular block. Having urban farms are integral for residents to be able to grow their own food. This new typology is all about self-reliance, self-sustainability and a circular economy. This compilation shows the final iteration of the collage and how in reflects on a HDB from the site. The diagrams on the right show the circulation of the different spaces, programming and space planning.

To decrease carbon footprint, the principle of sharing is very important. For instance, not everyone cooks, hence, not everyone needs a kitchen. Layout explorations 1 and 2 were to explore the optimal potential of a HDB floor plate and how many bedrooms there could be by creating a central node of common areas. Traditional HDB units were eliminated for a floor to become one. With reference to my envisioned HDB typology, I decided to develop Level 9, which consisted of co-working spaces, farm, common areas and residential.

Inspired by Archigram’s Plug-In city and how it is able to adapt and change to the needs of its users, I wanted to incorporate this idea to the residential quarters by designing adaptable bedrooms. The bedrooms can be made bigger or smaller depending on the user. By having this flexibility, it lessens the likelihood of people having to move homes which in turn decreases the demand for new housing. Hence, this could possibly lessen buildings that need to be built and thus decreasing our carbon footprint.

This series of models is an ideation of furniture design. There is also potential to incorporate the earlier exploration of alternative materials, with the construction of the furniture.

This series of models is to explore the design of the common areas. I wanted to explore how people could come together, their co-existence in this new typology and their co-existence with nature. The idea was to create spaces without having to build solid walls, so that the spaces could be open and allow for natural ventilation to take place. By being more open, the common areas are also able to seamlessly connect with the other spaces.

Urban Mobility in Singapore

It seems that vehicles take precedence and acquire privileges in the form of transportation in Singapore. However, a far more affordable and environmentally friendly mode of transport like bicycles and PMDs has insufficient opportunities and relevance in our country. Singapore is still lacking in offering traveling alternatives for car-less commuters other than its existing high standard of public transport.

Urban Mobility Devices

Over the years, bicycles, PMDs (personal mobility devices) and e-scooters have been a new mode of transportation for a handful of individuals in Singapore. It does not merely serve as a form of transportation but also as an important asset for some users to perform their daily jobs. However, pedestrians are anxious and unpleased as how these devices cause public alarm over the risk that it put to others.

Reactions From The PMD Ban

A large number of individuals were upset after being informed of the PMD ban on shared pathways in Singapore. It seems that these users are not given the rights and access in moving around the city freely. Besides, there are plenty of solutions that can be executed to facilitate them. Thus, banning of the PMDs is not a final resolution.

Collage of Site Settings

Collage of different site settings – hawker centre, market, MRT station and cinema.

Diagram of Hawker Centre

Diagram of inhabitation – hawker centre

Visual 1

To make use of the double volume space in the existing site, a second level was designed to particularly accommodate cyclists who prefer dining in the hawker centre. It also includes a parking space for users to park their bicycles safely while they enjoy their meal.

Visual 2

Food stalls were designed with double openings so that one of each can be used to facilitate customers on foot and the other for cyclists or delivery riders. This will allow a better interaction between hawkers, customers and cyclists as it avoids the intersection of purchasing and collecting of food within one another.

Visual 3

To avoid any collision between a pedestrian and a cyclist, the implementation of zebra crossings can alert both individuals. Hence, arrows and signages on the double bicycle lanes play a major role in creating a safe and comprehensive pedestrian-cycling network. So do the choice of colours used to differentiate between various zones respectively.

Visual 4

Cyclists can utilize the ramp that brings them to their dedicated eating space while non-cyclists have the entire ground level to dine in the hawker centre comfortably.

Visual 5

Food stalls were also designed in a fluid form as to display the flexibility of movement and interaction between pedestrians and cyclists in the hawker centre. Thus, each stall owns a distinct form of space.

Wandering to Dwell

The Dwelling - Located at 8b Canton St above the convenience store, Seven Eleven, the living room was designed accordingly to the preferences of eating instant foods that both inhabitants cultivated whilst they were wandering in Glasgow. For example, the living room boasts of an unconventional kitchen with a sit-down hotpot experience. This is so that the inhabitants would be able to get their instant food from Seven Eleven.

An elaborate floor plan recalling the activities that happened in Ada and Kelly’s accommodation in Glasgow. The map revealed certain habits cultivated from their wandering in Glasgow. For example, the kitchen was always in use as the food in Glasgow was expensive. This resulted in both the inhabitants going to TESCO supermarket frequently to purchase instant foods.

This section is a work in progress to translate these wandering experiences into a dwelling. According to Witold Rybczynski’s ‘The Most Beautiful House’ in the world, the entrance is a key component in setting the tone of the dwelling. Hence it was considered that the inhabitants can enter their dwelling through Seven Eleven to create a certain porosity to the living arrangement.

The wandering experience also extends beyond Glasgow. Based on the experience of a visit to St. Andrew’s Cathedral, the bathroom was designed in a way to facilitate reflection and pondering by including a prayer area as well as a shelf for scripture to encourage the meditation of the psalms. Meditation and prayer are acts that allow the inhabitant to truly dwell.

Based on wandering through the magazine Apartmento issue #24, it was realised that a house is a collection of all things and experiences. Hence, the bedroom was designed for the many items and clothes that were collected as a result of travelling. There is also a seat by the window to allow the inhabitant to look out onto the streets and wander vicariously.

Ada was inspired by Japan’s tiny homes where a young couple bathed under the sunlight. She also loved how the layout of the couple’s tiny home was open. There is also a ladder incorporated for Ada to climb up to the roof and wander visually through the scenery of the Singapore River. An opening on the wall beside her bed was designed to allow both Ada and Kelly to interact whilst still having the privacy of their own rooms.

So Close but So Far

SO CLOSE BUT SO FAR - This project is a speed dating laundromat and bar that is a continuation of the dwelling. It was found that wandering continues as we meet new people - we are the vessels in which our experiences are contained.  However, in light of the COVID 19 pandemic, this response looks at how people might still love without touching each other.

Inspired largely by Hippie Modernism, collages were made in an attempt to translate the visual aesthetic that closely simulated one on drugs, as well as the concept of not being able to touch each other.

The participant will first: 1) Order a drink from the enclosed bar at a safe distance from each other. 2) Proceed to engage in the different systems that would allow interaction without physical touch. 3) Couples can proceed to the enclosed kissing booths. 4) Designated areas for the speed dating hosts to have a view of the entire bar to facilitate the rotation of couples.

First impressions count. Inspired by the fish tank scene in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ as well as ‘A Minute of Silence’ by Marina Abramovic, the aquarium seats offer speed dating participants to interact without touching. It does this through a visually heightened experience.

From entertainment to salvation, the former Venus Theatre in Singapore

In 1983, the Venus theatre in Singapore’s west went through a metamorphosis by adaptive reuse after the cinema suffered economically. In 1985, the Church of Our Saviour became its new occupant. Today, the church continues to operate in the community, struggling to stay relevant. This project aims to create a greater connection to the community through a multi functional, therapeutic space bringing people together whilst being relevant to the current context.

Breathe

This collage shows how the project proposes to open up the enclosed space, bringing people together and breathing new life into an old building. The site happens to be strategically located along the Queenstown MRT and Queenstown Secondary School. Because of its favourable location, the church adapted the space to fit the needs of the youth who can use the site’s facilities for quick foosball games, water break, resting spot and meeting point. However, the main church auditorium remains untouched during the weekdays making this space underutilised.

Model Exploration

With a desire to open up the enclosed space, model explorations have been undertaken to break the buidling’s rigidity by adding alternate circulation, playing with volume height and width, yet celebrating the original structure, and taking both its interior and exterior activities into consideration. Some of Singapore’s buildings seem greatly influenced by Le Corbusier’s modernist, 1960s practice, especially his “Five points of architecture”. In the case of the Church of Our Saviour pilotis act as a primary support of the building.

Redefining the Church

While adaptive reuse gives a space new purpose, the church community was forced to dwell in a building that was not originally meant for its use. This photo montage hopes to represent how a church hall could look- drawing individuals into the holiness of God through considerations of form, materiality, zoning, light and shadow.

Forms, Light and Shadow

Martin Luther gave birth to the reformation and protestantism, changing Christianity through a rejection of ornamentation, the legacy of empire and majestic socio-spatial power. These model explorations look at the influence that materiality and light can have on atmospheres that may draw individual to sacredness. Taking influence from monolithic architecture where buildings were carved from a single piece of material, these models try to replicate a similar raw, intimate dwelling space.

The journey into the main sanctuary

To create a dynamic and versatile interior space that enhances the look and creates a timeless, classic feel, materials such as natural stone, in particular limestone, were used, as well as both elements of wood and glass. Lime stone is known to be strong and able to withstand abrasion. A tunnel was designed to play with depth, and a low ceiling creates a space that allows for individual contemplation.

Sanctuary

In reference to Peter Zumthor’s Bruder Klaus Field Chapel of which he says: “In order to design building with a sensuous connection to life, one must think in a way that goes beyond form and construction” this design was established from a foundation of two contrasting materials: rock and light. With minimal ornamentation, this design hopes to bring people atmospherically into an experience of holiness.

Interior Space

This image shows the exploration undertaken, to captures both materiality, form and texture in render.

Space for the community

This project looks into creating a dual functional design, i.e. two programmes that operate at the same time in the same space. The first floor caters to a public crowd, while the upper floor caters to the existing Church of Our Saviour community. This design hopes to revitalised and be relevant to current community activities in the face of urbanisation.