* DESIGN OF
THE YEAR 2012

Jury Citation

Building As A Body transformed with stylish visual impact the façade of the arts venue, The Substation, on Armenian Street. The extraordinary “subversion by intervention”, changed the ways art and architecture are viewed in relation to the historical street.

An architect and a fashion designer collaborated on the project. Working around building conservation regulations, the duo cleverly executed their idea in an inexpensive yet effective way. They explored materials and assembly methods on a limited budget. The results impressed the Jury.

This approach to design has the potential to influence and inspire further dialogue between existing buildings and temporary façades.

Nominator Citation

NOOR EFFENDY IBRAHIM
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
THE SUBSTATION, A HOME FOR THE ARTS

Building As A Body disrupts, provokes and unpacks through its design, the increasing banality of gentrification on Armenian Street. Creators Grace Tan and Randy Chan do this with the unabashed attempt at veiling one of the few remaining structures unwilling to give in to the wrath of urban development.

The Substation is committed to retaining a sense of its past — the fragility and delicateness — in order to remain a familiar, safe and welcoming space to the diverse cultural communities. This is, after all, home to all forms of artistic expressions. And a home must feel familiar to fully serve its purpose.

The artistic intervention is innovative and the familiar with the new, and suggests that something can change without losing its familiarity. It addresses and provokes audiences to rethink the negotiation of redesign while taking into account the sensitivities of collective and individual memories contain within physical spaces.

This artistic intervention is innovative and challenges the conventional perceptions of what constitutes installation art. Building As A Body’s intent to personify The Substation, and articulate the opposing yet inter-connecting themes of concealment and revelation, is conceived following conversations between architect Randy Chan and inter-disciplinary artist Grace Tan. The installation can be regarded an investigation into the history, function and overall presence of The Substation.

By concealing and hiding its façade with temporary structures such as the ubiquitous scaffolding, the installation questions the norms and turns convention on its head. Rather than shrouding the building in the hope of silencing the noise and protecting sensitive eyes from its partial construction, Building As A Body teases us with “wraps” and “falls”, letting sunlight and wind to participate in the unveiling.

Building As A Body is the perfect example of how one can respect and appreciate the memory of a national icon and institution, while seeing it in a whole new light.