Jonathan Chew
Hi, I’m Jonathan.
I have done a series of a project which showcases the pragmatic of design in Singapore which I have themed as “Disregard of Singapore’s Boundaries”.
As Singapore is economic centric, the projects are to investigate the apparent & obscure qualities of designing a space that may seem invaluable in Singapore as compared to efficiency and money.
My part series project investigates the different topics that Singaporean’s life revolve around.
Singapore Efficiency & Pragmatism
Singapore students are taught to be forward-thinking, problem solver and overachievers. It can be seen in how we were shown the former prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, on how his guidance over Singapore has led to it being as successful as it is today. This has led us, Singaporean students to strive for economical development as we were brought up in a country in which money holds value to us more than anything else.
With this, we can see that Singaporeans want to achieve money in an efficient manner and also have their own time to themselves. Time is money in Singapore, we tend to keep ourselves doing something that is to give ourselves “me-time” everywhere we go.
The idea of how we were educated has influenced design in Singapore. Singapore design tends to be very pragmatic and problem-solving. Even when in Singapore they are trying to show that the design mainly in architecture/interior space can be creative. But are still limited to certain creativity.
For myself as an aspiring designer, creativity is what I feel is free-form design. Space is a blank canvas and I create my design through being people-oriented of the space and allow the form to flow through the people.
Read more in my portfolio.
Disregard of Dead Spaces
This project is to investigate the emotional aspect of space to see if it can be used to create a design for people to release their emotions. By understanding the columbarium/cemetery spaces uses, the space users do not allow them to release their emotions fully due to the spatial qualities of the space. Using a void deck as a space to allow a user to release their emotions throughout it due to the idea of there being a lack of space in the future in Singapore.
There is a demand for Living Spaces over Dead Spaces that can be seen from how the government plans out the spaces allocated in Singapore. There are pros and cons to having more of each space. But the main purpose to solve this issue is not to view the pros and cons but to understand why was the spaces built in the first place and how we can integrate into our current lifestyle so that it will still exist even if the spaces does not.
Read more in my portfolio.
Disregard of Journey Experience
Singapore is a fast-paced country, as time is precious to us, we tend to take the more time-efficient route. Hence, we might miss out on an experience within a journey path that was already available at the present moment but we are not utilizing it due to it being a longer route to get to where we want to. Sometimes we have switched onto our “auto walking” mechanism which also prevents us from noticing these routes.
There is always an experience throughout the walking journey when we go from one destination to another. But we are too accustomed to this mundane feeling that we do not even notice it. We have this auto mechanism that allows us to walk without even the thought of it.
My aim is to look into the journey that we take from home to work and back. To see if there could be an experiential intervention that can happen to invoke this sense of normality.
Martin Heidegger is seen as the key person in the ontology study. He has a few different beliefs on his understanding of human’s existence. He highlighted the importance of thinking as an existential being. Thinking is to imagine yourself walking within the forest. There is eventually find the exit in the woods and it will never be a linear path but there are always ups and downs. The method of thinking felt interesting as we were to keep questioning the questions until there are no more questions to be questioned. This is because questioning will lead to more clarity in the source of the problem. Or in this case, the source of normality. Dissecting the normality even though it seems like a mindless question or observation.
By Questioning, we will be able to think and question like Heidegger and we could find something out of the normality that already seems normal to us.
By understanding “Being”, the term used by Heidegger, we will be able to understand more about our existence in this world. There are many made-up words in the book “Being & Time” by Heidegger. 12 Words such as “Being-in-time”, “Being-present”, “There-being” all suggest the importance of understanding one’s existence.
Read more in my portfolio.
Disregard of Functionality
Boundaries in Singapore are usually planned through Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), their motto is to allow Singapore to be a great city to live, work and play in.
However, as a Singaporean, I feel that the residential spaces in Singapore are planned well for safety, not for work or even play. From my experience as a resident of Singapore, I observe that Singaporeans do not keep to the boundaries set for them. This is interesting as it can be seen as their own freedom of boundary. Because in Singapore, we are all restricted in the things that we do. We are set within our housing space, our housing room. We look as if we have the freedom to choose what we want to live within. But the reality is that we are set between the walls, this is why I feel that the Singaporeans want to set their own boundaries in the public spaces.
We feel more comfortable in our own boundaries, different people’s comfort varies. But how can we as a designer design something when the boundaries vary? Should we just leave it as an empty piece of land and tell the users what this space is zoned for?
For this project, I’m trying to investigate the functionality of the spatial boundaries. To see if there could be a middle ground for the functionality and non-functional aspect of design.
Read more in my portfolio.