How
[re:act] started out in mid 2005. Sernhong, one of the founders, was traveling in Eastern Europe where he met some architecture groups such as Expeditio and Platform 9.81. He was also involved in mAAN where he met several other strong passionate young activist-like architects-to-be who wish to make a meaningful impact for their communities through what they love to do—- architecture.
During his travels, he was inspired, wrote a manifesto and emailed out to a few like-minded friends. Upon his return, they all met the NUS architecture department where they shared their thoughts and passion about creating a dynamic platform for meaningful, impactful ways of exploring architecture, especially in the areas of outreach in order to gain more understanding and collaboration from the public, policy-makers and related fields.
During the sharing, Janita and Sernhong presented a film documentary they did, as well as a photo-travelogue exhibition(Small Eyes Big Picture) they organised in 2004 with four others. Kenghua also shared a YEP (Youth Expedition Project) which he led.
What we realised is that, there are so many potential impacts we can make within our capabilities as an architect. Furthermore, the scope of the roles of the architect is something we wish to expand. There are so many funding avenues, and the society is opening up to accept new ideas, experimental approaches.
So… why not “enlarge the tent”? Yes, we started from there… 3yrs on, we are still meeting, with more enthusiasts, supported with sponsors, projects, and much more!