Architecture

Restoring St James Power Station, one brick at a time

The conservation building is one of this year’s architectural heritage award winners

Density, resilience and self-sufficiency can be planned for in tandem. The writers make a case for reinstating the production of food, energy and water closer to where people live. Above is a 2013 proposal for Tengah Green by design agency WOHA.

When the gates close – designing the resilient city

Each crisis – including the current conflict in the Middle East – has shown how global supply chains buckle. Will Singapore rethink its urban planning and design?

The iconic rainbow blocks of Rochor Centre were demolished in 2018 to 2019 to make way for the North-South Corridor.
ARTS

20 photos that show how dramatically Singapore has changed in two decades

Top architectural photographer Darren Soh revisits 20 years of documenting the city’s vanishing landscapes

The Shanghai Municipal History Museum at the base of the Oriental Pearl Tower, a tribute to modernity built in the 1990s, celebrates the city as a melting pot.

‘City of parasites’ or ‘glamorous metropolis’? China’s cosmopolitan contradiction

Some of Shanghai’s Art Deco architectural jewels have survived, helped by a growing recognition of their value as an important part of the city’s unique character

The once-disused horse stables at the Perak Turf Club in Malaysia have been repurposed into the Ipoh Stables Market, a nostalgic modern marketplace.
BRUNCH

Turning stables and schools into lifestyle hubs: Malaysia reimagines its old spaces

Rising construction costs and changing tastes are pushing developers to reinvent existing buildings

Matou House explores the use of a new architectural wraparound for an old house.
DESIGN

How to tastefully expand a house’s living space on a ‘modest’ budget

This home is also an architect’s version of adapting an old property for contemporary use

Chilean architect Smiljan Radic said he was particularly interested "in projects that have shifted" the way he understands his own work.

A Chilean master of modest design wins architecture’s top prize

Smiljan Radic’s projects also carry an environmentally conscious message by repurposing buildings

A custom-built, double-volume bookshelf is a centrepiece in the home.
DESIGN

Brazilian soul on Singaporean soil: A 30-year-old home reimagined

This semi-detached house in Siglap brings contemporary design into an old superstructure

Kengo Kuma's exhibition is a manifesto for architecture grounded in humility, ecology and time.
ARTS & DESIGN

Kengo Kuma opens major architecture exhibition in Singapore

The Japanese architect makes the case for Asian architectural values in a world in crisis

The best views from the house are at the back.
DESIGN

Re-imagined spaces: How a simple change in layout transformed this entire house

Other design surprises abound in this semi-detached home