DOMESTIC CAPITAL:
Typological Experiments (I)
Studio Tutor
A/P Dr. Lilian Chee
Assisted by Lim Kun Yi James, Liyana Doneva
Level
NUS, M.Arch (1), AR5802
Type
Design Studio
Academic Year
2023/2024, Semester 2
Students
Cai Yujun, Chen Jiahao, Chong Cheng Hui, Isaac Lee Wei-En, Natalie Joan Lim, Shi Yu Jasmine, Zhang Xiao
Reviewers
Dr. Federico Ruberto, Co-founder/Partner, formAxioms; reMIX Studio; Senior Visiting Fellow, DOA
Ar. Wu Yen Yen, Founder/Director, Genome Architects; Adjunct Assistant Professor, DOA
Siddharta Perez, Curatorial Lead, NUS Museum
Lin Derong, Senior Architectural
Designer, FARM Architects
Image Credits: Chong Cheng Hui, 'Loose Threads' in Domestic Capital: Typological Experiments (I) (2024)
SELECTED WORKS
Roaming the Block
by Chen Jiahao
Roaming the Block is conceived around a 60-year-old HDB slab block, Block 50 in Bukit Ho Swee—an area marked by the historic fire of 1961—and currently features a unique configuration of exclusively single-bedroom apartments. Some of these units serve as rental flats, reflecting a diverse occupancy that encompasses both owner-occupied and rented living spaces. ‘The Roaming Block’ denotes a series of temporary infrastructural additions that establish a new public housing typology, fostering flexible room and block reconfigurations. The aim is to facilitate the creation of temporary event spaces for celebrating work, community, and the estate’s rapidly diminishing practices. To this end, the project positions itself within the temporal context of the Hungry Ghost Festival. It reimagines the activation of the old block by a new generation of occupants, the majority of whom work from home. The project envisions how an estate rich in sociocultural and historical significance can enliven the contemporary landscape of home-based work-life.
Loose Threads: Domestic Work as a Spectacle
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by Chong Cheng Hui
This project takes interest in the relationship between domestic work and gender roles, especially in cottage industries such as garment making. As these industries slowly fade due to capitalism, the project questions the reinvigoration of such skill sets through organic transactions and spectacle.
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The intervention seeks to reinvent domestic industries within the HDB estate through a system of rework and circular economy. The current design describes a garment and clothing upcycling Collective Hub where garment work and learning takes place in tandem for Singaporeans.
