1000 Singapores l 12th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale Di Venezia

Vienna Biennale’s exhibit proves compact city-living works with a slice of Singapore Taking a 35-metred single, sample slice of Singapore’s densely populated heartlands, and cutting the island republic from the east to the west, 2 National University of Singapore (NUS) academics and 2 former NUS architecture graduates have made a compelling and provocative case of how sustainable the world population can be – if it is fashioned after the country’s housing and urban infrastructure. Design: The curatorial and design team comprises of NUS academics, Assistant Professor Erik G. L’Heureux, curator and designer, and Assistant Professor Florian Schaetz, curator and designer. And lead curator and designer, NUS alumnus Mr Khoo Peng Beng, a representative of Singapore Institute of Architects and part-time tutor at NUS Department of Architecture, along with his wife, also a NUS alumna Ms Belinda Huang, as curator. Together, the four were the drivers in design, curatorial work and execution of the project. In addition, the design team was supported by six freshly graduated and eight undergraduate students of Asst Prof L’Heureux and Asst Prof Schaetz’s design studio. Both academics also had the support of peers from the NUS Department of Architecture. Their work, culminated into an over 350-page compilation that features a series of photographs, 200 diagrams and drawings that complements the exhibition and features a wide contribution from the NUS Department of Architecture at large. The publication features works by Asst Prof L’Heureux, Asst Prof Schaetz, as well as essays and texts by Mr Khoo Peng Beng, Associate Professor Jörg Rekittke, Assistant Professor Lai Chee Kien, Assistant Professor Lilian Chee and Assistant Professor Erwin John Soriano Viray from NUS. Exhibition: Unveiled at the 12th International Architecture Exhibition, Le Biennale di Venezia on 26 August 2010 at the Singapore Pavilion, it is a dissection of Singapore at a scale of 1:1000 and showcases 83-per cent of the nation’s flat-dwelling population, 17-per cent of private residences and industry, and areas where factories, offices and shopping go hand in hand with infrastructure, water catchment areas and nature preserves. Titled as “1000 Singapores – A Model of the Compact City”, the exhibition comprises an impressive 35-metre architectural tube positioned in the entry courtyard and gallery within the ground floor gallery of the Istituto Provinciale per I’Infanzia in Venice, Italy. From the dramatic exterior courtyard to the historical interior, the architecture of the exhibit transforms from a rectangular profile of the entry into a symbolic house-shape facing the Venice canal. This tube profile wraps around the 35-metre Singapore slice of the nation. Model: Rendered as a white architectural model, the slice of Singapore illustrates the vast assortments of landscape, housing typologies, densities, and programmes that occupy the island with 1000 postcards displaying samples from the Singapore landscape positioned as complements to the model. Providing documented data, diagrams, and portraits, it works as an elaboration of the energy and thought behind such an urbanscape. Composed of 8 categories from world to nation to the HDB unit, the postcards provide the context of planning. The creation, planning and execution of the Singapore Pavilion for the Venice Biennale 12th International Architecture Exhibition in 2010 commenced in May and took four months to complete. The “physical slice” of Singapore’s intricately planned urban milieu was commissioned by DesignSingapore Council, the Singapore Institute of Architects, and the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. Please refer to www.1000singapores.com for more details.