Husband-and-wife architect duo win $20,000 for pop-up pavilion design

Results of a pop-up architectural pavilion competition has been announced, and Lekker Architects, a husband-and-wife team has won the $20,000. The model of their work is on show at the National Design Centre on Middle Road. -- ST PHOTO:&nbs
Results of a pop-up architectural pavilion competition has been announced, and Lekker Architects, a husband-and-wife team has won the $20,000. The model of their work is on show at the National Design Centre on Middle Road. -- ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
Results of a pop-up architectural pavilion competition has been announced, and Lekker Architects, a husband-and-wife team has won the $20,000. The model of their work is on show at the National Design Centre on Middle Road. -- ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
Results of a pop-up architectural pavilion competition has been announced, and Lekker Architects, a husband-and-wife team has won the $20,000. The model of their work is on show at the National Design Centre on Middle Road. -- ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN

A husband-and-wife architectural team has won the biggest architecture prize for a pop-up pavilion in Singapore.

Lekker Architects' co-founders Joshua Comaroff and Ong Ker-Shing won $20,000 earlier this evening for their winning submission at the inaugural OUE Artling ArchiPavilion Design Competition. The awards were presented at the National Design Centre in Middle Road.

Their 8,000 sq ft pavilion, called Soft Machine, features a structure with a custom-made, lightweight steel trusses and clear polycarbonate panels.

The duo, who worked together with their architectural assistant, Chen Shunann, and Yacine Bouvida of creative structural engineering practice Passage Projects, came up with three different configurations to show that the space can be changed in shape and size, much like an erector set.

Lekker Architects' pavilion is scheduled to be up by the Formula One season in September and slated to be located at The Lawn at Marina Bay. It will be used as an art gallery, and will house about 45 pieces, hung salon-style where they take up space from floor to ceiling. Inside, there is also a private VIP dining room, a champagne bar, a book corner and an auction room for a standing audience.

Ms Ong, 39 says: "We wanted to celebrate a structure that can suit different locations and needs. We don't know what kind of art will be shown there, or what it will be used for in future, so our design focused on creating a system, rather than a fixed form."

The competition was organised by The Artling, an online art gallery and art consultancy based here, which organised the event with the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA). Works by 28 firms were submitted.

The winning design was picked by a team of international judges, including lead advisory judge David Adjaye, the Ghanaian-British architect behind the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo, Norway, and The Artling's founder and director Talenia Phua Gajardo .

Aside from Lekker Architects, other companies received recognition for their work. Second-placed 23.5 Degree G-Architects won $10,000, while Loft Architects came in third and took home $5,000. Another five projects received an honourable mention and $1,000 each. The winning models and designs will on display at the National Design Centre until Friday.

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