ExqMagJul18

dEsign,Architecture Exhibition
No More Free Space?
This question pervades Singapore’s pavilion at the 16th International
Architecture Exhibition
La Biennale di Venezia
Sale d’Armi, Arsenale
26 May – 25 November 2018
Lucky Shophouse by Chang Architects
“We restored an old book store
to become a residential house
and, instead of maximising its
built-up area, transformed the
concrete backyard into a singlestory
extension and a garden, thus
offering breathing spaces and green
spaces for the family to enjoy.”
Nearly six million people live in Singapore, a tiny island with an area of 720sqm.
No More Free Space? tells the story of how Singapore-based architects and urban
planners find creative ways to bring delightful free spaces to the city’s everyday life. This
connects to the overall theme of FREESPACE at this year’s International Architecture
Exhibition at La Biennale di Venezia.
The Singapore pavilion greets you with a cloud of luminescent handcrafted acrylic knots and
immerses you in the sights, sounds, smells and textures of Singapore. The creative freedom of
the mind turns constraints into possibilities.
Bringing a garden into the house, turning an old bookshop into beautiful liveable space,
connecting seniors with food and fun at a void space under a block of flats, incorporating
a natural pond and vegetable gardens into a hospital’s landscape to promote wellbeing,
transforming office space into a play den for children to learn via exploration and play.
These are part of 12 Singapore-based projects at the exhibition that showcase the creativity and
resourcefulness of the architects while borrowing natural resources such as light, air, greenery
and water. The projects show imagination, openness, discovery and resolution to offer answers
to the question No More Free Space?
The Singapore Pavilion is commissioned by the DesignSingapore Council (Dsg) of the Ministry of
Communications and Information, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), and curated
by the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) in collaboration with the National
University of Singapore’s Department of Architecture (NUS). The exhibition marks the country’s
sixth showcase at the International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, since 2004.
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