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Event | Report

Really Ar?

Walking up the steps of Night&Day bar at Selegie, no one had much idea what to expect of the first Really Ar? sharing session organised by Really Architecture.

Really Architecture is a group of visionary architecture enthusiasts based in Singapore who are concerned with the development of architecture in the Asian region. Really Ar? is another addition to the list of activities that they have organised including their recently concluded “Design My Place Workshop” and the “Architect in a Bottle” talks.While ideas-sharing session had been a regular event within the members of Really Architecture and Really Ar? marks the first attempt to open up this sharing session to a larger audience.

Attended by young(er) architects, the event was a cosy affair with drinks going at a one-for-one special courtesy of Night and Day bar ,co-owned by Singapore architect, Randy Chan of Zong Architects, helping to add to the cozy mood.

The event saw 4 presenters showing off a variety of projects, all of whom talked about their projects each with their own style and with a different focus. The diversity of the projects and approaches to this thing we call “Architecture” was evident with projects ranging from documentation of architecture to thesis projects, to competition entries and last but not least, built works.

Kicking off the event was 5ft Creatives where we screened the pilot episode of the FFW Video Series: Architecture Studio where we featured FARMWORK.In what is planned to be a 10-part series featuring various architecture offices, the FFW video series aims to document the creative processes and also feature the various personalities who shape our built environment. 5ft Creatives also expressed their belief that such documentation would add to the understanding of our very own architectural fraternity and also open up the possibility of us looking at Singapore’s architectural practices in a different light.

Really Ar? also saw Mr Tham Wai Hon presenting his recently concluded thesis project which revolves around exploring the possibilities of re-programming the existing Malaysian Railway Line land which cuts through various parts of Singapore. This highly contentious strip of Malaysian-owned land in Singapore territory has been at the root of much political disputes between the 2 countries and Wai Hon’s project attempted to approach this strip of land through the lenses of architecture, masterplanning and community-living ideas. His analysis of plans by Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority to re-plan the area contrasted with the masterplan that he was proposing in terms of how one deals with the historical layer of a major infrastructural relic.

Also at the event were Zong Architects and Linghao Architects who presented their works to the crowd.
Linghao Architect’s presented a recently concluded project with the usual dose of site photos and analysis before concluding with images of the completed project.

Meanwhile, Mr Wong Ker How of Zong Architects attempted to show the various possibilities that are open to us in rethinking the way we think and design our built environment with his presentation entitled, “Finding New Grounds”. He shared his personal exploratory works which included a trip down the streets of Shanghai and also an exploration of image manipulation which then led to some form of manifestation in Zong Architect’s submission to the recently concluded Marina South Housing Competition.

Really Ar? then concluded with a Q&A session which wasn’t as lively as it could have been and if Really Ar? is going to be a truly fruitful event with ideas being sparked off and discussed, then audience participation is something that will need to improve in future sessions. The culture of speaking up and questioning with a burning desire to learn and understand is perhaps non-existent in the fraternity now but events such as Really Ar? is definitely a step in the correct direction in nurturing such practice.

As the night drew to an end and the audience starts to leave the bar, one can’t help but feel happy that such events are now in place and if it continues to evolve and mature, then Really Ar? will be an event that architects and other enthusiasts of the built environment will be marking in their calendar.

Adib is the co-founder of 5ft Creatives and a designer at Farmwork. He likes to walk on the FiveFootWay.