No, it's not the cry of local football fans disputing a referee's decision at a match but the possible reaction of people visiting the National Art Gallery when it opens in 2012.

Kelong or fisherman's platform is the winning hook behind a proposal by Taiwanese architectural firm Ho + Hou Studio Architects.

It is among three winners in stage two of an architectural design contest to transform City Hall and the former Supreme Court Building into the $320 million gallery.

Ho + Hou's proposal includes building a framework of tall columns in wood laminate which resemble the stilt structures of a kelong.

The other two winners are Studio Milou Architecture from France and Singapore-based firm Chan Sau Yan Associates.

Studio Milou's design involves a canopy that unites the two buildings at the roof level.

Chan Sau Yan Associates' design creates an extra storey on the roof of City Hall, which can be used as additional gallery space.

Each winning firm won $150,000. The announcement was made yesterday by Professor Tommy Koh, Singapore's Ambassador-at- large and chairman of the National Heritage Board.

The three firms were selected by an international jury panel from five finalists, with the other two being local firm DP Architects and Smart Design Studio from Australia.

The competition, which was launched in February, had drawn 111 entries from 29 countries worldwide.

In the first stage, five proposals were shortlisted in May. The names of the firms behind them were revealed only after the selection.

Members of the jury included Mrs Cheong-Chua Koon Hean, chief executive officer of the Urban Redeve- lopment Authority; Mr Jean- Francois Jarrige, president of the Guimet Musee National des Arts Asiatiques in France; and Dr Kenson Kwok, director of the Asian Civilisations Museum.

The National Art Gallery will have about 10,000 sq m to 12,000 sq m of space to showcase local, South-east Asian and international works.

An exhibition of proposals from the five finalists will be held at City Hall in October, and the public can give feedback on the designs and the gallery.

The jury's decision will be presented to the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, which will then decide on who to commission to design and build the art gallery.

An announcement on the final design will be made in the first quarter of next year.

taysc@sph.com.sg

3 DESIGNS THAT BALANCE APPEAL AND FUNCTION, SINGAPORE