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.