The Architecture Experience – Singapore takes participants on a 7-day journey across the city-state of Singapore exploring projects on Urban Housing, Development, and Sustainability. The participants will get to study agencies and their holistic approach toward providing housing for all, the evolution of public housing, the transformation of urban areas, planning models used to create a sustainable environment with a high quality of life, and the change in the course towards green architecture.
The Pinnacle@Duxton
Image on top – Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
7
days
20
participants
1
City-state
What is The Architecture Experience - Singapore?
The best approach to growing as an architect is to learn from experiencing and observing. The Architecture Experience aims to do just that. Participants get to observe the evolution of urban housing and innovations in the field through site visits and interactions with agencies and document the learning in a themed narrative for later referencing. The Experience will be a seven-day long curated educational tour for up to twenty participants, across the city-state of Singapore.
These visits will focus on the evolution of public housing through the years and the current focus based on the current needs of creating a sustainable environment with a high quality of life, involving the community as stakeholders. All the while looking at sustainability as an underlying theme from the macro to the micro level. The visits also include observations of local-identity areas that are rejuvenated with new public spaces, upgraded streetscapes, or sensitive injection of new homes and amenities. Participants will also explore observation and documentation methods while focusing on urban housing and its development.
Itinerary
In the 7 days, participants will get to work on their own Capstone project in sync with their subjects in college or work. These projects will be relevant to the urban Indian landscape, with inspiration taken from places visited during this Experience.
ParkROYAL Hotel on Pickering by WOHA Architects. Image © William
Singapore
Evening arrival in Singapore.
Orientation on the structure of the tour visits and project. Finalisation of teams and the participants’ individual roles and responsibilities within the team will be defined.
Cultural visit: Chinatown neighborhood walk and exploration.
Topics of discussion: Understanding the historical context, heritage, and urban planning of Singapore.
Places to visit: URA City Gallery, Maxwell Hawker Centre, National Library of Singapore.
Cultural visit: Kampong Glam.
Topics of discussion: HDB’s approach to urban planning and public housing. Protected landscapes of the city.
Places to visit: The Pinnacle@Duxton, Henderson Wave, Marina Keppel Bay (Reflections), The Interlace (outside visit).
Cultural visit: Clarke Quay, Boat Quay.
Free Day.
Topics of discussion: Understanding the role of public transportation and connectivity in urban planning. Water and flood management techniques.
Places to visit: Singapore Mobility Gallery, Sustainable Singapore Gallery, Marina Barrage.
Cultural visit: Little India.
Topics of discussion: Building around natural resources and integration of green features in public areas.
Places to visit: NTU Campus visit, Helix Bridge, Esplanade + Art Science Museum + Marina Bay Sands (outside visits), Gardens by the Bay (dome visits not included).
Cultural visit: Garden Rhapsody (light and sound show) at Gardens by the Bay.
Topics of discussion: Energy efficient design strategies in public spaces.
Places to visit: The Jewel at Changi airport.
Culmination of the tour, brief on submission of Capstone project.
Departure to India or home country.
Day 7 is free for the participants to explore the city.
Cultural visits are not part of the itinerary but are recommended areas to shop and explore the city.
Upcoming batches
How Much Does It Cost?
INR 95,000 / $1,450
The price includes flights ex-Chennai, India (taxes extra). The price without flights is $1250. Please contact us if you are a student, for discounted pricing.
What does the cost include?
Domain Expert Guidance
Course Material
flights
hotels
local & airport transfers
breakfast & dinner
visas
entry fees
Our Partners
People
Rachita Bhonsle
MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology
Curator & Tour leader - The Architecture Experience
Atul Saraff
MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology
Curator & Tour leader - The Architecture Experience
Testimonials
(Participant - Singapore, January 2024)
(Participant - Singapore, February 2024)
(Participant, December 2019)
Sustainable Development Goals
All our Experiences are aimed at implementing and solving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the UN. Goal no. 17 ‘Partnerships for the Goals’ is key to our Experiences, since we work with a global team of experts to be able to add value to the learning of the participants. The Architecture Experience Singapore focuses on 3 of the Goals primarily.
Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
– Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being.
Goal 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
– By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing
– By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement
– By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters
Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
– By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
– Support developing countries to strengthen their scientific and technological capacity to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production
FAQs
– Students and fresh graduates from architecture colleges and related fields
– Young professionals from architecture, design and related fields who want to explore Urban Housing, Development, and Sustainability in Singapore
Young architects could benefit exponentially from observing architecture in a country which has a colonial past including starting points for nation-building post-independence with an intent to provide housing for all. Also observed is Singapore’s rapid success in overcoming its spatial and resource constraints and transforming itself from a third-world to a highly liveable first-world city-state today. Participants also get to observe newly rejuvenated housing districts (HDBs) in Singapore which retain the distinctive qualities of local identity areas through setting design guidelines for existing and new developments and retaining key elements.
Yes! This Experience will take up to 20 participants. These participants will be split into smaller teams to execute projects which are designed to give added value to their ongoing projects (school or live).
The Architecture Experience is designed with the intent of enhancing architectural understanding. To this end, a short capstone project is included as part of the experience. The participants will explore methods of observation and documentation while focusing on ideologies of Urban Housing, Development and Sustainability.
This Experience will focus on observing and learning about the importance of site sensitivity, different architectural techniques – active and passive, importance of material selection and other aspects vital to sustainable architecture, which are important tenets of contemporary and new age architecture, be it urban or non-urban.
Yes! From a logistics point of view, this price includes the cost of accommodation, flights, visas, breakfast and dinner, local and airport transfers, and entry fees where applicable.
“
A building can only be understood by moving around and through it, and by experiencing the modulation, and feel the spaces one moves through - from outside into verandah, then rooms, passages, courtyards. Architecture cannot be totally explained but must be experienced."
Geoffrey Bawa
Contact Us
Pagoda street, Chinatown
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