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GR.iD

Spark

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Bronze
Stairs - Studio Zeros
Entrance - Studio Zeros
Stairs - Studio Zeros

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Comments
Innovation
Functionality
Creativity
Eco-Social Impact
Total
JURY VOTES
Multi-Brand Store
5.64
6.46
5.91
5.44
5.86
David Kulen
David Kulen Creative Director at Powerplant
6
7
7
3
5.75
Filip Milovanovic
Filip Milovanovic Design Director at Yabu Pushelberg
This project focuses on energizing...
6.5
7
4
7
6.13
Ludmila Machado
Ludmila Machado Founder at Aurora Design
5.6
7
5.5
5
5.78
Luca Macri
Luca Macri Partner at Lamatilde
5.5
7
6
4.5
5.75
Michelle Smith
Michelle Smith Associate Designer at M Moser Associates
7
6
7
4
6
Mark Timo
Mark Timo Founder at De Interieur Club
6
6
6
6
6
Weiping Lin
Weiping Lin Founder and Design Director at Lin Wei Ping Design Consulting
6
6
6
5
5.75
Terry Xu
Terry Xu Chief Designer at Masanori Design Studio
5
7
6
4
5.5
Apoorva Shroff
Apoorva Shroff Founder at lyth Design
6.34
6.26
6.58
6.74
6.48
Drew Gilbert
Drew Gilbert Design Manager at OBMI
5.54
7.14
6.02
5.22
5.98
Liyu Xue
Liyu Xue Founder and Creative Director at Staay
8
7
7
8
7.5
Llisa Demetrios
Llisa Demetrios Chief Curator at The Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity
6
7
7
5
6.25
Marcel Häusler
Marcel Häusler Creative Director at Karl Anders
3
4
4
5
4
Alessandro Ranaldi
Alessandro Ranaldi Head of Workplace Consultancy at Foster and Partners
6
7
6.5
5.5
6.25
Juan Alberto Andrade
Juan Alberto Andrade Founder at Juan Alberto Andrade
6.57
6.9
7.4
6.9
6.94
Yuan Jiang
Yuan Jiang Cofounder at Soda
3
6
4
5
4.5
Isabelle Kievenheim
Isabelle Kievenheim Head of Store Development at & Other Stories H&M Group
6
7
7
7
6.75
Yuanman Huang
Yuanman Huang Cofounder and Creative Designer at GS Design
3.5
5
3.39
5
4.22
Location
Designer
Client
GAW Capital and Manful Wings
Floor area
10000 ㎡
Completion
2023
Social Media
Instagram
Finishes
Finishes
Lighting
Lighting
Lighting
Lighting

SPARK has transformed GRiD by retrofitting a 1980s shopping mall into a youth-focused education, recreation, and sports centre. Located in the arts and civic district of Singapore, GRID now connects to its community through its new flagship corner shops, graphics, and upgraded access, mirroring the vibrant shops, restaurants, and art schools in the vicinity.

The design brief was formed in tandem with the client to resolve the challenges of a changing market. Issues included unleasable deep shops with "hidden" frontage, difficult-to-navigate circulation, "secret" entrances, and an unengaged presence with the youthful vicinity. The new program will include a school, restaurants, dancing studios, spectator sports, and F&B. SPARK was engaged as an architect, interior designer, wayfinding, and branding designer to establish this building as an engaging, energetic extension to the campus. Our vision was a place for youth and the young at heart to express themselves, learn, have fun, and hang out. We were inspired by the memory of the gaming arcades that occupied the building in the 1980s. That, along with analog graphics, street signage, and road markings, formed the graphic and colour palette of GRiD.

The mall's main access was an atrium surrounded by corridors and blank walls. SPARK saw the opportunity of moving unleasable area from the deeper, low-rental zones of the mall into this corner, creating new multilevel high-rental-value spaces. This colourful "flagship" corner with its alfresco dining terraces, super graphics signage, neon lights, and restaurants presents a new welcoming image to the street and reinforces the project branding. A new social staircase and informal performance space are integrated with this new corner, allowing access to the basement, previously only accessible from the interiors.

Street signages and road marking graphics on the floor, wall, and ceiling lead visitors from the entrances into the interiors. Flexible leasing zones and a new atrium looking down into a spectator sports space in the basement create new sightlines and a variety of spaces for activities, including weekend pop-up stalls, exhibitions, and marketing events. The tenancy mix and community involvement contribute to the positive youthful energy of GRiD. Some tenants include an indoor skateboarding park, dance studios, themed cafes, and a martial arts school. A 10-meter-tall art wall painted by the neighbouring art school students, complements the graphic and colours in the interiors.

SPARK is part of the Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN), a supporter of Retro-first, prioritizing positive reuse rather than wholesale demolition and reconstruction. We have built a reputation on the innovative transformation of buildings and have won many awards for our work, including the transformation of Clarke Quay in Singapore and Starhill Gallery in Kuala Lumpur.