Architectural Association alumnus Kevin Lim and his team embark on design journeys with their clients and consultants, as a collective experience to explore market demands, environment sustainability, design technology and socio-cultural landscapes with the hope of creating built environments that resonate with their design values.
The studio is currently showcasing five models at Palazzo Mora as part of Time Space Existence 2021 that span across Asia in Singapore, Japan, Thailand and India. The projects were conceived by investigating behavioural patterns of ‘Live, Work, Play, Eat and Learn’ and represent the studio’s unique spatial responses to each action. Reflecting the Asian urban and suburban context in which they are built, each architectural space boasts a certain sensitivity to local culture, materials and techniques such as bamboo and glulam.
Studio SKLIM affirms that ‘the most basic design solutions are intrinsic and able to conjure the most complex relationships with this simplicity. Understanding Materialities involves both Craft and Experimentation. We like to play with materials, understanding their sensitivities and sometimes pushing them beyond their boundaries. We identify local crafts and resources to possibly bring a context to our work, believing in this mutual learning process to produce for the future.’
We caught up with Kevin Lim, Principal of Studio SKLIM, to find out more about their approach and the concept behind their projects. Until 21 November, it is possible to view their installation and experience the insightful conceptualisation and thought-making process of each project to its final realisation.
Photo credits: Khoo Guo Jie
Could you tell us more about your studio credo?
The studio believes that design opportunities are inherent in every project and we unleash them through research of parameters not restricted to environmental data, typographical conditions, cultural peculiarities, and technological limits. Banality breeds creativity. Each of our projects stems from its own unique set of pragmatics and constraints. We believe that the most basic design solutions are intrinsic and able to conjure the most complex relationships with simplicity.
What do you think is the role of architect nowadays?
The role of the architect has transformed from the role of ‘Creator’ to ‘Collaborator’. In order to deal with the diversification and increased complexities of the architectural design and building construction process, new skillsets such as cultural sensitivity and emotional intelligence are as important as dexterity in parametric coding. As one of the unanimous leaders of the built environment, architects have to increasingly manage nuances and demonstrate empathy in order to get their ideas across and implemented successfully. The architectural practice should be urgently geared towards sustainable strategies and creating carbon neutral if not negative projects. Recently, our studio has also commenced our own material experimentations with bio-composites in hope of using them in the near future. Sustainability has become a responsibility for architects.
Rendering by Carve. Courtesy of Studio SKLIM
We would love to learn more about the concept behind your projects for this year’s edition of Time Space Existence. What led you to exhibit this specific installation?
Our studio showcases five vignettes of architectural spaces representing aspects of life through the thematic of ‘Live, Work, Play, Eat and Learn’. We wanted to demonstrate the impact that design could have in our everyday lives with focused design strategies. Each vignette gives a clear trajectorial insight from the conceptualisation, thought-making processes to the final realisation of each project. From a 28 m² compact café to a 7950 m² international school, the studio’s ethos transcends scale and is inculcated into the design process and final space.
How do your projects reflect the Asian urban and suburban context in which they are built?
The projects exhibited span across Asia in Singapore, Japan (Nagoya), Thailand (Bangkok) and India (Kolkata). The installation is reflective of the Asian urban/suburban context where there is a focus on multi-functional design elements, compact/condensed experiences and utilisation of local materials/techniques. Traditional and cultural spaces are sometimes reinterpreted with a new twist by giving relevance to modern lifestyles and context. An example of this is the new ‘Gurukhul’ concept of a biophilic learning environment situated in the communal spaces of Modern High International Baccalaureate School, Kolkata.
How do you relate with the notions of time, space and existence while creating and designing your projects?
Our projects hope to transcend time and space with our investigative approach to architectural design. We believe that projects should be timeless; designed to evolve and accommodate changes with time by having multi-faceted attributes. Engaging sustainability is one such way we have chosen to accommodate this evolution. A few of our projects explores this: Bamboo Umbrella Pavilions uses bamboo to provide sustainable shelters with incorporated rainwater filtering tanks for an adventure park. Hansha Reflection House utilises sustainable glulam timber structures to push boundaries of the cantilever while Modern High International Baccalaureate School is postulated to attain the gold mark in India’s green building standards.
Photo credits: Khoo Guo Jie
About Studio SKLIM
Studio SKLIM is an award winning design agency crafting bespoke interior and architectural spatial solutions. Based in Singapore with a presence in India, and operating globally. Studio SKLIM was founded in 2010 by Architectural Association alumnus Kevin Lim. Studio SKLIM is currently working on projects in the Asia-Pacific region which includes high-end residential/office/food & beverage interiors in Singapore and architectural projects in Kolkata, India. The projects in Kolkata include a SOHO building within an extended family residential home and an international school in an existing traditional campus. Studio SKLIM has recently also embarked on public space projects in Taif, Saudi Arabia.
The projects presented in Time Space Existence 2021
LIVE – Hansha Reflection House (Nagoya, Japan) Hansha Reflection House is a specific residence set to address the ephemeral moments of the surroundings with structural ingenuity and material sublimity.
WORK – 9-15-Deloitte Center for Edge (Singapore) 9 agile work zones amongst 15 office zones, wrapped by plywood shells for a compact office.
PLAY – Bamboo Umbrella Pavilions (Bangkok, Thailand) Bamboo pavilions inspired by Thai umbrellas provide sustainable shelters for an adventure park.
EAT– Voids Café (Singapore) Voids are treated as form in this micro cafe.
LEARN– Modern High International Baccalaureate School (Kolkata, India) ‘Light canyons’ sculpt carved voids and cantilevered platforms of an international school.
Photo credits: Studio SKLIM
Studio SKLIM at Palazzo Mora. Photo credits: Federico Vespignani
Studio SKLIM at Palazzo Mora. Photo credits: Federico Vespignani