Inspiriting Chinatown - The Living Room

This cutaway sectional perspective portrays a crucial building within the greater masterplan set to rejuvenate Singapore's Chinatown. Within this building, the arts of Cantonese opera, martial arts and lion dance are practised and showcased to the public. Rather than being just a performance space, the design celebrates the processes of preparation, education and interaction. Through promoting these free and organic processes of cultural discourse, the project is a fervent attempt to resist the death of our traditional art forms against the relentless modernisation.

Taking the second level (reserved for cantonese opera) as an example, the drawing depicts the 'behind-the-scenes'. Preparation begins from the pre-performance prayers and tedious make-up, to the elaborate costumes and headdresses, and finally to the practice of instruments, singing and acting.

Whilst encouraging greater outreach and cultural inheritance, the project also aims to enhance urban vibrancy and to reconstruct a cultural oasis within Singapore’s commercialised city center.