Called 20 Under 45: The Third Edition, an ongoing exhibition at the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) Centre - as well as an accompanying publication - is showcasing the works of 20 of the best architects registered in Singapore who are under the age of 45.
An initiative under the URA, this is the third edition of both the exhibition and publication. The inaugural edition was launched in 2004 and the second one was held in 2010.
The works display a strong sense of environmental and social consciousness, such as a community hub that integrates a host of civic, community, sports, arts and lifestyle facilities under one roof.
We profile three of the 20 architects from the latest batch of 20 Under 45, as well as their best works.
Rising architects (from left) Mr Seah Chee Huang, Mr Lawrence Ler and Ms Ong Ker Shing.
Photos: Courtesy of DP Architects, Alphonsus Chern, ST File.
1 SEAH CHEE HUANG, 42
Director in DP Architects
Good architecture is more than form, it can bring people together - that has been a principle guiding Mr Seah Chee Huang's socially minded projects for the past few years.
His works aim to connect communities, often by placing different communal spaces side by side. The multi-functional Our Tampines Hub is an example.
The development, which officially launched last year, is home to a hawker centre, a town square that doubles as a 5,000-seat football stadium and a rooftop jogging track.
Another of his projects which stresses social interaction is GoodLife! Makan, an open-concept kitchen in Marine Terrace that was repurposed from a void deck in 2015. Run by voluntary welfare organisation Montfort Care, the centre reaches out to seniors who live alone by encouraging them to share recipes, cook and eat together.
Bright interiors - with different colours to differentiate zones - as well as full-height glass doors, create an open and inviting compound.
Mr Seah says: "Architecture, when driven by clear purpose, can be a powerful vehicle to effect positive social changes, shape minds and behaviours, and purposefully impact the everyday life of our community."
The year-long Project Bus Stop, which Mr Seah both conceptualised and spearheaded, was one DP Architects’ smaller social responsibility initiatives.
It was a prototype bus stop at Jurong East Central with features such as free Wi-Fi, mobile phone charging points, bicycle parking and even a swing. The concept was developed in partnership with several government agencies.
Mr Seah says: "This project has demonstrated how through further imagination, daily sights, sounds and objects in our city can be transformed to enrich our social spaces and experiences."
2 LAWRENCE LER, 39
Associate director at RSP Architects
The Henderson Waves bridge, with its dramatic, undulating form, was the work of local architect Lawrence Ler when he was still a greenhorn.
The bridge, which was completed in March 2008, was co-designed in 2004 by Mr Ler, then a fresh graduate from the prestigious Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA) in London, and his tutor there, Mr George Liaropoulos-Legendre.
They had entered an international competition in collaboration with RSP Architects Planners & Engineers, which had given Mr Ler a scholarship to study at AA.
Their team eventually won the competition to build the bridge.
That was the "turning point" in his career, says Mr Ler, who is married with two children. "The project was very successful and it anchored my belief that I should be an architect for the people."
Designing to serve the community is a common enough claim for architects, but his resume walks the talk. His portfolio comprises community-centric spaces such as a school, a church and a nursing home.
One of his earliest projects is the eco-friendly ITE campus in Ang Mo Kio. Completed in 2012, the development houses the ITE Headquarters and ITE College Central.
The complex features a continuous overhead canopy, which shelters students and staff while allowing natural daylight in. Solar panels installed on the roofs generate electrical power. The campus also has a green wall that stands at 30m tall and covers 5,600 sq m. One of the largest installations of plants in Singapore, it serves as a heat buffer.
The building received the BCA Green Mark Platinum Award from the Building & Construction Authority, the highest honour for an environmentally friendly building here.
Inclusiveness was also part of the design ethos of the Church of the Transfiguration in Punggol, which Mr Ler and his team finished in March last year.
A landscaped public forecourt in front of the five-storey Catholic church allows people from the neighbourhood to enter. Its main sanctuary is raised a floor up to free up the ground plane, which creates a naturally ventilated and sheltered community space for gatherings and activities.
3 ONG KER SHING, 42
Director of Lekker Architects
In the three years that Lekker Architects has been in business, it has already built up an impressive resume.
Co-owned by husband-and-wife team Joshua Comaroff, 44, and Ong Ker Shing, it has won prestigious accolades including the President's Design Award in 2015, as well as the biggest architecture prize at the OUE Artling ArchiPavilion Design Competition. The latter is a competition organised by The Artling, a Singapore-based art consultancy, and the Singapore Institute of Architects.
Ms Ong, who graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2002, had a varied career before becoming a certified architect in 2011.
She has written books, run design store Strangelets (which has since closed), sells jars of chilli sauce under the label Two Rabbits Smoky Chilli with her brother, and also co-founded multi-disciplinary design consultancy Lekker Design with her husband before their co-ownership of Lekker Architects.
Perhaps because of her diverse interests, the firm's projects have great variety, ranging from a childcare centre in Singapore to a cemetery park in China.
Lekker's design for childcare centre The Caterpillar's Cove at Jurong East won the acclaimed President's Design Award in 2015. The centre features custom-designed furniture, spaces for imaginative play, an outdoor sandplay area and columns re-cast to resemble trees.
Another project in the educational realm is the Yale-NUS campus landscape, which, taking five years to complete, is "one of the largest and longest projects" the firm has undertaken to date, she says.
The brief was to create an identity for the campus through its landscape. "We were importing an American liberal arts college typology into South-east Asia," she says.
Their design was based on the idea of a campus in a garden and a campus of gardens, where each garden focuses on different plant types. The concept embodies the idea of freedom, growth and change.
This was originally written by Bryna Singh for The Straits Times.