Speech by 2M Indranee Rajah At The Opening of Archifest 2023

Sep 29, 2023

A very good evening to everyone. Thank you for inviting me to celebrate Archifest 2023 with all of you. 

Singapore’s built environment is renowned for its distinctiveness and dynamism.  As we plan for new developments to meet the needs and aspirations of Singaporeans, we must also remember our rich heritage and maximise the potential of our existing buildings. 

So, it is fitting that this year’s Archifest is held in Kampong Gelam, as its theme – “Interim: Acts of Adaptation” – invites us to investigate the potential of adaptive architecture.

The festivities and programmes in this historic area will provide you with an immersive experience on how architecture is embedded in our everyday lives.

This year’s Archifest features six unique “Urban Installations”, borne out of a collaboration between the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA), Kampong Gelam Alliance (KGA) and URA. These innovative installations capture our vibrant kampung spirit through creative storytelling methods and embody the spirit of adaptive architecture.

For example, take the “Dulang Dulang” installation, which has creatively repurposed vehicle parking lots into a new communal space for people to gather.

Importance of Public Spaces

Public spaces have become increasingly important and become extended living rooms where we can relax and connect with others. A well-curated public space can enlighten us about our neighbourhoods, inspire us with works of art or stories about places, and help us to foster stronger community ties.

So for example, we have the mural at Festival House, titled “A Particular Place” is a good example of this. Through historical maps and painted illustrations, the mural showcases the histories, identities and memories of Kampong Gelam.

Architects, urban designers, residents and community stakeholders all play important roles in shaping inclusive and inspiring public spaces with distinctive identities.

To facilitate your ideas, URA and HDB has a “Lively Places Fund”, which helped to co-fund the “Urban Installations” you see today, as part of the Kampong Gelam Alliance (KGA)’s Kampong Gelam Place Plan. We look forward to your ideas and working with you to turn your visions into reality.

Importance of Good Urban Design

Besides activating and revitalising our public spaces, architects and the Built Environment sector also play important roles in addressing environmental, cultural and social challenges through exceptional urban design.

For example, architects have developed creative and adaptive solutions to make our living environment cooler and more comfortable, make it easier for us to walk, cycle and get around, and help us connect to nature, our living heritage and culture, and to one another.

Bussorah Street is a good case in point. URA urban planners pedestrianised it in the 1990s to create a beautiful public space with the Sultan Mosque as its backdrop. Over the years, timed road closures have been introduced to create a more conducive public space for cultural activities.

These include traditional festivals, weekend markets, and regular community performances. These urban design and placemaking efforts have helped to inject vibrancy into the city and nurture a strong sense of place for cultural districts like Kampong Gelam.

I am pleased to share that URA has documented some of these urban design strategies in a series of guidebooks which were released earlier this month. These books reflect the collective efforts of the government, professionals and communities in strengthening our urban design capabilities. Browsing copies are available on-site at the Festival House for those interested to learn more about our urban design and adaptation strategies.

Rejuvenation and Adapting to Change 

This year’s Archifest theme of adaptation is also aligned with our continued efforts to partner the industry to rejuvenate our city to sustain a thriving economy and provide innovative spaces to meet the evolving needs of businesses and workers. A key thrust of these efforts is rejuvenating our industrial estates.

Agencies like JTC have worked closely with architects and planners on the rejuvenation of mature manufacturing and industrial estates, to incorporate more greenery and provide new recreational opportunities through urban design guidelines and adaptive reuse of existing buildings.

To explore new planning paradigms for our mature industrial estates, JTC sought blue-sky ideas from the architectural community to reimagine the future redevelopment of the Yishun and Kallang-Kolam Ayer Industrial estates. These creative proposals are exhibited at The URA Centre as part of JTC’s “Reimagining Singapore’s Industrial Landscape” exhibition, and snippets are also on display at the Festival House.

One idea being explored is the introduction of “transparent factories” – where the public will be able to have an immersive visitor experience viewing labs and production facilities first-hand.

Another idea is for our rejuvenated industrial estates to adopt technologies such as robotics, automation and digitalisation in Business-To-Customer interactions. These would offer opportunities to inject a more diverse mix of land uses around industrial estates and to tap on economic and social synergies with industrial land use.

URA will continue to collaborate with architects and Built Environment professionals in the upcoming Draft Master Plan exercise to brainstorm more innovative ideas that can cater to Singapore's future needs and aspirations.

Conclusion

I hope that architects like yourselves and the wider Built Environment sector will continue to partner the community to create comfortable, delightful and lovely public spaces through place activations like the one we get to experience today.

With that, I would like to thank the architects, designers, partners and curatorial team who have organised today’s Archifest, and I wish all of you an enjoyable evening. Thank you!