Less visually striking than some of their other projects, one recently completed commission saw the architects tackle adaptive reuse. Open Studio was engaged by Lo & Behold Group to repair and restore the former Nan Chiau Secondary School hall at New Bahru, which is now used for large-scale events and exhibitions.
While the rest of the building had already been preserved or updated by multidisciplinary studio Farm in collaboration with design studio Nice Projects, the hall had not been touched until Open Studio was brought in. The process was akin to surgery: Tan and Lam removed unsightly elements – partitions, fittings and services added haphazardly by former tenants over the years – before reorganising everything “to reveal and complement its modernist bones”.
Lam elaborated: “Despite its age, the hall still had material charm, such as the deep-stained teak panelling and ecru mosaic floor, which the landlord admired and which we sought to preserve.” Rather than concealing imperfections, the architects left the “patchwork of repair on the floor and staple scars on the wood” as part of the hall’s shared memory.
