Archifest 2023: How festival director Calvin Chua sees architecture as a platform for social change

Chua also credits much of his current design philosophy and approach to the formative education he received at the Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA) in London. “[Studying at] the AA was very refreshing because they viewed architecture more as a discipline, rather than as an industry,” shared Chua, who is also a 2022 Tatler Gen.T honouree. “Learning to look at architecture from a disciplinary perspective was extremely important because it helped me think of architecture beyond just design, and how one can be much more invested in bigger issues.”

This passion for using architecture as a platform to engage with political and social issues is evident from the scope and impact of Chua’s work. As the founder of Spatial Anatomy, a research-oriented design practice with a particular interest in urban adaptation and transformation, Chua has even done work in North Korea, where he ran several urban planning and development workshops with policymakers. Today, he is a leading global voice on inter-Korean relations and was most recently a visiting professor at the Korea National University of Arts.

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“In short, I view this as a national service, and I think it's an opportunity to contribute to the architectural discipline and profession in Singapore,” shares Chua about his role as festival director. “Archifest is a platform to try to connect architecture from both a disciplinary and practical approach, because if it's just pure theory and no application, then it doesn't fully benefit the industry itself. So as much as we are cognizant of the fact that we set this more theoretical framework of the ‘Interim’, the kind of workshops that we organise have a very practical application or pragmatic, industry-facing agenda.”

With over 80 events spread out over the month-long festival period, there is something for everyone to enjoy. Here, Chua gives his recommendations on five key highlights to check out at this year’s Archifest.

“The headline event every year is always the Archifest conference,” shares Chua. “This year we have 10 eminent local and global speakers to join us as we look at different aspects of how they respond to the Archifest theme of the ‘Interim’ in their own projects.”

This year, the Archifest Conference will feature a keynote speech by Ma Yansong, founder of MAD Architects, as well as panel discussions from internationally renowned designers the likes of Andra Matin, Betty Ng, Dongwoo Yim, and Momoyo Kaijima, to name a few. “The Archifest Conference is going to be much more conversational, rather than a one-way lecture,” says Chua.

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In past iterations of Archifest, the main pavilion is the centrepiece of the overall festival. Keeping in line with the theme of Interim, the pavilion concept is diffracted into six different Urban Installations designed by a diverse range of invited architects, designers, and artists, and will be installed across the historic district of Kampong Gelam.

“In the past, it's always been a single Archifest pavilion which is only there for a month-long period. This year, instead of having just one pavilion, we’ll have many insertions within the neighbourhood, and that's one way to activate the district through this placemaking effort,” explains Chua. “These installations will be there for a six-month long period, so it's not just during the Archifest period, but extends beyond that.”

In this brand new format introduced by Chua for this year’s Archifest, the AF Residency programme invites emerging international creatives to stay in Singapore over the Archifest period. Organised in collaboration with Figment, a co-living operator of boutique shophouses, these creatives will have the opportunity to live in historic shophouses and experience Archifest events.

“​​I feel it's important to bring in regional and global voices for an architectural festival to be relevant,” shares Chua. “We want to regionalise and internationalise Archifest by bringing these very interesting young practitioners to Singapore to be in conversation with our local architects.”

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The Archifest Incubator programme is a series of four design workshops with review panel sessions to enable designers, architects, and students to talk about pressing issues facing Singapore. “Some of the things we’ll be looking at is the future of agricultural spaces, intergenerational spaces, how to improve wayfinding for patients of healthcare facilities, and finally, building circularity for show flats,” explains Chua.

Each AF Incubator workshop will be led by an architect educator who will guide design students as they analyse and propose solutions for each of these unique issues. “Ultimately, the Incubators are meant to start conversations–how can we as designers and architects, deal with these pressing issues facing Singapore, through design?”

A staple of every Archifest, the Archifest Exhibition showcases a wide range of exhibitor works and projects from Singapore and around the region, including contributions from the Archifest curatorial team. Located at the Festival House at 45 Sultan Gate in the historic Kampong Gelam district, the Archifest Exhibition presents visitors with statements, doubts, and provocations surrounding the theme of Interim.

“The exhibition is an intimate space where you can have an overview of the multi-faceted way and different ways of defining the ‘Interim’,” says Chua. Highlights of the Archifest Exhibition include the Interim Cinema, which is co-curated with Shaw Tower and features works by The Projector and cinematographer Kevin Siyuan, as well as Building Building, a photography exhibition by Fabian Ong.

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