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canvas print on Operation Void Deck
Impressive blog. Thanks for writing
Conrad McKee on Wishing all our friends a Blessed Christmas!
Same to you
waiting room furniture on Operation Void Deck
Thanks for sharing this Joshua, good job.
Operation Void Deck
Joshua Teo on Thu, October 22, 2009
Ask anyone living in Singapore what they remember about their high rise mass housing apartment blocks and they are sure to tell you, the VOID DECKs. The Singapore housing landscape is filled with acres of these and it is also here that a rainbow of activities like chess, afternoon chats, beer-drinking sessions, impromptu soccer, skateboarding, funeral wakes, Malay weddings etc. can also be found. Given that the void deck has such intimate connections to our way life in Singapore, how would you re-design it given a chance to?
The Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA) presents Operation Void Deck – an open competition to design an architectural intervention at the void decks of public housing estates. The competition aims to generate unique, exciting ideas that could improve the quality of life for the residents, and show how architecture and design can impact society in meaningful ways. The site is at Block 51 Marine Terrace and ideas can range from a furniture installation to the remodeling of an area within or surrounding the void deck, all factoring in mind a construction budget of SGD 30,000. Entries should present a vision of how to encourage community interaction and improve the quality of life of the residents across generations, especially the elderly.
If you feel your creative juices starting to boil, download the competition brief today and start creating! You stand to win the top prize of SGD 3,000 and the chance to further develop your proposal with support from SIA, to be potentially built in early 2010!
The closing date for submissions is 12 noon, Monday 16 November 2009. You can download the competition brief here.
Announcements / Competitions / Events, News 9 comments
National Day Rally
Chong Keng Hua on Wed, August 19, 2009
I was quite surprised to hear that a volunteer project that Ngai Keong and I had done a couple of years back was shown by PM during the recent National Day Rally! (Obviously I didn’t tune in to watch it live =P) Somehow the works that we’ve done not only touched the people in overseas, and now it has returned to touch many more souls in Singapore! Here’s what PM said:
“Our youths have already been volunteering, fulfilling their ideals, venturing out helping people all around the region. Here you see them in Chiang Rai, in Northern Thailand, building a community hall. They are on the YEP (Youth Expedition Programme).”
Really reminds me of all those wonderful memory (both laughter & sweat). Here’s the original blog entry on the project:
Akha Way Expedition + Exhibition
Akha Way Expedition (awe!) is a youth expedition project in the region of Mae Yao, Chiang Rai, Thailand, from 7 December to 24 December 2004 (18 days). The aims of this project are two fold: firstly, it is to bring awareness of local culture and difficulties faced by local hill tribes to Singapore youths, which in turn helps to raise our awareness of cultural sustainability as well as community building back in our home context; and secondly, it is to equip the locals with an income-generating tool based on eco-tourism which can contribute to a self-sustaining economy.
The expedition team is organized as an independent group, made up of 1 leader, 1 facilitator and 25 participants from various disciplines and all walks of life. The project is a collaboration between the expedition team, Singapore International Foundation (SIF) and host organization – Mirror Art Group (MAG).
The project began in early 2004, with a reconnaissance trip made in May 2004 when we met our host and gathered information for the project. Many problems are faced by the hilltribe: poverty, lack of knowledge, poor adaptation to low land living, trafficking of women and children, not able to get Thai citizenship, little job opportunities, poor health care, etc. such that it has become a vicious cycle.
Several strategies are adopted by MAG together with the villagers in overcoming some of these difficulties, one of which being ecotourism. Different from the tourist industry that has already taken place at other regions run by external commercial groups, the idea here is to empower the villagers so that they can be self-sufficient in managing the tourist industry themselves as a way of income generation. In a way, this can also boost their confidence in preserving their culture and environment and presenting them to the outside worlds.
The definition of eco-tourism is thus unique in this case, i.e. the social aspects has become the main driving force for its sustainability, while nature and environmental aspects assuming a supporting role. As such, the expedition project aims to provide an understanding to the various social and cultural significance of the region, juxtaposed with the interest in nature, through the exercise of information gathering, planning, designing and finally delivering the outcome as a form of knowledge.
The expedition basically involves two primary projects: an ecotourism site survey for a group of villages in Mae Yao sub-district using Global Positioning System (GPS), and the building of a small-scale information centre at an Akha hilltribe village - Ban Apa. Through these projects Singapore youths collaborated with the local community and host organization in delivering both the information and the infrastructure that can serve as a reference to the development of ecotourism in this area. Through information gathering, planning and designing, the participants acquired greater awareness of the local culture and environment, while the actual expedition had provided them with first-hand experience in working and living (home-stay) with local community.
As a continuation of our efforts in promoting the awareness of the regional culture as well as sustainability, an exhibition was held in September 2005 (three weeks) at the National Library in Orchard. Through this exhibition we hoped to raise the awareness of minority culture in this region – their lives, beliefs, struggles with modernization, etc., by sharing what we have learnt during the expedition. We would also like to promote ecotourism as an alternative way of traveling – a life-transforming experience that the travelers will be truly exposed to the authenticity of cultural and natural environment by living the way the local live. It is believed that with the income generated from this self-managed industry, the locals will be able to sustain their way of life without subscribing to modern lifestyles totally. Finally, we wish to share our ideas in sustainability of culture, such as in the case of architecture, through re-interpreting their culture and use of local materials. In a way, this has also brought some reflections on the sustainability of our own culture.
OPEN SOURCE
Janita Han on Thu, August 6, 2009
One of the most successful open source developments going on to date are developed by coders. the collective intelligence of coders worldwide are harnessed in the open source programming for all sorts of stuff from programmes to games to graphic libraries. it makes you wonder if it is possible for designers to collaborate like the geeks.
Our very first intern speaks up!
Joshua Teo on Mon, July 6, 2009
Over the last 2 months, re:ACT had the great pleasure of accepting Daniel as our very first intern! It was a great experience working together with this passionate and self-motivated young man. And as much as he would tell you about how much he has learnt, we too learned a great deal from him being with us. We had a blast hanging out with you Daniel! Well, we decided to get Daniel to share his experience with our readers, so read on to find out what it was like for him."The past two months spent with re:ACT can be described as nothing short of exhilarating. From preparing for workshops, meeting key people in the industry, helping to maintain the websites and blogs, it is almost a dream for a freshman like me who has not even started his formal journey in architecture school.
My journey as an intern at re:ACT began shortly after the CUBE Workshop in March 2009. Although I was holding a more supportive role in terms of logistics, I knew that there was something very different about this workshop from others that I had been exposed to. I thought to myself, the people who came up with this programme must really want to make a difference in the community by pushing young minds to brainstorm new ideas for a brand new master plan of the area. My curiosity led me to link up with Joshua, who opened the door for me to come in and learn the ropes.
Just like a fish out of water, I was thrown into an environment where I had little prior experience and everything seemed rather uncomfortable at first. My first few tasks were to set up a blog and do some basic designing, things which I knew I had to learn eventually, but at that point I had no clue how to execute. With much guidance and tutelage from Joshua, I managed to find my way round the various software and was decently successful in my first foray into the world of design.
With the arrival of Sernhong from Beijing, things started to pick up a notch. With the little office transforming into something akin to a Command Post, the daily objectives were set and all our energies were focused to the tasks at hand. The most thrilling part was the many meet-ups with various groups of people. From meeting key influencers in the local architecture scene such as William Lim and Tay Kheng Soon, to government organisations (URA, STB etc), as well as some of my future professors in NUS, it was a great privilege for someone like me to meet with so many key players in the industry.
It has indeed been a very eventful two months spent with re:ACT. I have learnt so much from the meetings with the various groups, as well as from Joshua, Sernhong and the rest of the re:ACT team. My knowledge of architecture has grown tremendously, and my interest in it has grown even more. It’s been an honour and great privilege for me to have this opportunity to learn, and I will continue to support re:ACT’s cause in the future!"
Updates to re:ACT’s Youtube Channel!
Daniel Lee on Fri, July 3, 2009
Videos from June's Really Ar? 3 - "It's I, It's You, It's We, who build Community" have all been uploaded to re:ACT's Youtube Channel. So if you did not manage to catch the last edition of Really Ar?, here is your chance! With engaging and inspiring presentations by our three speakers, Mr Yong Teck Meng, Ms Ong Swee Hong and Mr Khoo Peng Beng, as well as an exciting discussion session at the end, this is something that surely you would not want to miss.
Also, we have updated 2 more videos into re:ACT's Youtube Channel. First, the "Singapore Research Film", written and produced by Yu Sern Hong and Janita Han, seeks to explore what really makes a Singaporean. Do we as Singaporeans really have our own culture? Do we have our own Singaporean identity? As they explore the streets of Singapore and speak to members of the public on this issue, interesting ideals and opinions surface from people of all walks of life. To view this video, please click here.
Secondly, ''Seletar Airbase - Singapore's Secret Garden", a film written and produced by Li Xiuqi, speaks about the little known North-Eastern Airbase. With the area surrounding the base slated to be turned into an Aerospace Hub, Li ventures into this area of Singapore and discovers a hidden sanctuary tucked away in a corner of the country. With the peace and calm of the area only broken by the sound of children laughing and playing, Li brings us on an unforgettable journey away from the hustle and bustle of modern life. Click here to watch this video.
To view all of the videos on re:ACT's Youtube Channel, please click this link.
Architecture in Singapore and Asia, Film, News, Seletar Project, Showcase 0 comments
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