Is youth hub *Scape still cool?

SINGAPORE – It is Saturday evening in the city, and the place to be – if you still have the stomach for finger food and the back for backless benches – is the white-and-orange building at the intersection of Grange Road and Orchard Link. 

Drawn by the bright melodies of next-generation pop stars like Gracie Abrams and Chappell Roan, as well as the promise of a seat with no strings attached, gaggles of young people flock over in their slouchy calf boots.  

Some gravitate towards the outdoor swings clustered on the space nicknamed the “camping ground”, filming, live-streaming, snacking and just hanging out. 

On the third floor are the studious crowd, hunched diligently over their work or art on one of several free benches. Ascend another floor and meet the dancers and lightsaber duellers, battling it out before full-length mirrors. 

In some ways, *Scape looks like it always has, a melting pot of youth from all over Singapore, parking their passions in different corners of the shopping centre. The building was launched in 2010 as a retail-cum-community space to nurture the talents of the young.

The 16-year-old building reopened to the public in November 2025 after a two-year revamp to make it “bigger, better and bolder than ever before”, in the words of Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo. 

So, what does its Gen Z target audience think of the new and improved *Scape?

A light touch

At 41, *Scape’s acting executive director Ethen Ong does not claim to be able to read the minds of the young. And he has no intention of doing so. Gone are the days of top-down planning and – as invariably follows – scrambling for answers when the response does not pan out as expected. 

“That was the old *Scape,” he says. “In the new *Scape, you tell me what you want. Which programmes are able to draw a crowd? Which programmes can form communities? Let me know and I will provide you with spaces, with funding.” 

In short, the new management’s approach is “no longer deterministic”. Even the infrastructure of the space – from the profusion of mirrors to the power sockets tucked behind benches – is shaped by requests from young people. 

Concerts like Viva and Aurelia have materialised from e-mails Ong’s team received from enterprising teenagers. On-site festivals such as Konbini, a craft and fashion fair, have been conceptualised and executed with minimal input from *Scape. Even security guards have been told to step out of the way where possible. 

In the past, sleeping on a bench or charging your phone in public might have earned you a warning, but no more. “We told the security guards to let the youth do what they want, as long as it’s not against the law, as long as no one is being harmed,” says Ong.  

Even skateboarders are welcome, as long as appropriate safety precautions are taken, he adds. “To trust our youth means you need to be able to empower them for them to learn. It also means that our risk appetite must increase.”

This laissez-faire approach is literally imprinted on *Scape’s walls, lined with murals developed by budding artists under the Urban Art Residency programme. 

As part of this six-month programme, youth artists specialising in murals, public installations and other exhibition-based art are given the chance to hone their skills under the tutelage of local street art collective RSCLS. Socially conscious works tackling issues such as loneliness and cultural identity are especially encouraged.

For instance, artist Nusha Dakshyni explored her Malayalee heritage through a wall-length mural. The 26-year-old, who will begin a Master of Arts in South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore (NUS) in August, previously conducted research on migrant labour and wanted to find a way to weave those themes into her work.

“I realised that there were layers in the migrant struggle that I could also talk about in relation to my identity, and I thought that was really cool because it also made me reflect on myself, as well as what I want to achieve with my art,” she says.

“Historically, graffiti has always tackled socially driven topics, so we’re trying to see how we can extend that to more artworks and potentially present them outside of *Scape,” says Zane Motalif, 35, *Scape’s programmer for visual arts. 

“We try not to interfere as much,” he adds. “There are usually no topics off-limits.” 

Well, almost none.

Politics, unsurprisingly, is a bit of an iffy zone. “In Singapore, it’s a bit challenging. We do have a red line. I mean, as much as we want to address it, the red line is always there. So, while we try our best to push it slightly, we do have our boundaries,” he concedes, though he declines to elaborate on what these are.

Ong says the team does not vet every single piece of graffiti. “Sorry, we’ve got no time,” he quips. Instead, it relies on the street art community to regulate art on the three legal graffiti walls *Scape manages. 

For instance, the community took it upon itself to advise a young artist against painting a potentially sensitive symbol. “The fact that they could spot it, self-regulate it, rectify it and still update us – I think that’s the type of trust we want to have with our youth,” says Ong. 

For youth, by youth 

On May 27, a pop concert rages on at *Scape’s Ground Theatre. There is an unmistakably youthful buzz about the event, with most of its 700-strong audience decked out in Y2K reruns. Onstage, the emcee introduces one act by yelling “clock it”. Later, a song by British rock group Muse is prefaced with the caveat: “I’m not sure if y’all are familiar with this band.” 

The student bands bust out impressive dance moves and intergenerational crowd pleasers, from Sk8r Boi to Mr Brightside, as spectators bob their heads appreciatively. The longer the night wears on, the more uninhibited the crowd gets.

The nearly four-hour extravaganza, named Concert Altair, has been put together by a group of junior college (JC) and secondary school students who call themselves Project Iridescent. It was conceptualised in October 2025 with the intention of raising money for children’s charity Make-A-Wish Singapore.

Supporting their efforts are F&B and craft vendors like Matcha Mori, AcaiGuru, Joyefulbakes, Stitch in Hope and Hojichacrafts, each contributing a portion of its proceeds to the cause.

*Scape sponsored the venue for the concert and, for the most part, left the planning committee to its own devices. There was, however, one last-minute snag. 

In a bid to prevent rowdiness and injuries, new safety measures were introduced the day before the concert, including bag checks and barricades between the performers and the audience.

Eunoia JC student Zoey Wong, who is 17 and chairs the Concert Altair organising team, says: “While these measures were introduced very close to the event date, *Scape’s team guided us through the implementation process and worked closely with us to ensure the concert could proceed safely and smoothly.”

The event was a rousing success, with all 751 tickets sold and more than $25,000 raised in total. 

Also appreciative of *Scape’s hands-off approach are university students See Kaye and Nabeel Isidro. The 27-year-olds are the organisers of biannual pop-up Konbini, which celebrates Japanese fashion and alternative culture. Their fair for creatives, which drew 84 booths and more than 8,000 people, took place over the first weekend in June at *Scape.

Previous iterations were held at locations like a photo studio in Pasir Panjang and the Hive Lavender, a co-working space. With nearly twice the number of vendors this time, the couple wanted a bigger venue. 

*Scape, they add, also felt like a welcoming space for youth of all interests and inclinations. “When I came in for a gig with painted nails one time, I didn’t get any weird looks. This place feels much more lax,” says Nabeel.

Despite their embrace of alt culture, See and Nabeel are unfazed by *Scape’s links to the most mainstream of all organisations: the Government. As a charity with Institution of a Public Character status, *Scape is funded by public donations, corporate sponsors and government grants.

“This shows the Government is trying to become more accepting towards youth culture,” says Nabeel. 

See adds: “Being here, we get the sense that the Government does care about the arts. *Scape is giving us a space for our event and a grant, which is a relief. There’s always discourse around the profitability of the arts, but this is a good middle ground.” 

Food and footfall

In the spirit of being as young and hip as possible, *Scape is stocked with buzzy bites designed to catch the eye of social-media-savvy diners. Choices include shio pan from local bakery-cafe SuiTok and Dubai chewy cookie-topped frozen yogurt from Korean froyo brand Yoajung. 

If you are looking for a full meal, though, you will not find many options here. The vision for *Scape’s dining floor, according to Ong, is a food street. 

“We believe that the youth who come here are more transient, and if they do stay, they’re not looking for heavy meals,” he says. Plus, with limited floor space, the building can accommodate only so many restaurants. 

It is working for now, he adds, but the team is willing to reconsider its tenant mix based on patron preferences.

Those who spoke to The Straits Times were mostly ambivalent about *Scape’s offerings, though they had a few suggestions. 

“It would be good if there were more proper food options,” says 25-year-old game designer Beck Leong, whose office is at *Scape. “Right now, if you want a full meal, you have to go to Cineleisure.” 

Nanyang Technological University student Rhean Arnieqah, 20, comes to *Scape to study. She says she would also appreciate more halal-certified options. 

They were among a handful of visitors milling about on a Thursday afternoon. According to Leong, it is quieter on weekdays, coming alive only in the evenings and at weekends. 

At *Scape’s launch in November 2025, Neo said that the hope was to reach more than two million people each year through *Scape and the surrounding Somerset Belt. Though he declined to disclose exact figures, Ong says *Scape has done better than that figure. 

Even then, it has yet to court the sort of crowds that throng neighbouring shopping centres 313@somerset and Orchard Central at weekends.

Historically, foot traffic has proved a problem for *Scape. ST reported in October 2010 that the mall previously struggled to attract visitors and retain tenants.

“Footfall has been challenging and probably slower than what many new businesses initially hoped for,” says Valerie Chan, 28, founder of slushie kiosk Slushyah. “We’re still learning customer behaviours, refining our offerings and experimenting with promotions. It has definitely taught us that sustaining an independent F&B business requires patience and resilience beyond just having a good product.” 

SuiTok has also struggled with inconsistent footfall, according to marketing head Celine Soo, 26. “Weekends and event periods tend to be stronger, while weekdays can be more challenging.” 

However, she is optimistic that the situation will improve in time, considering the benefits that come with operating at *Scape, such as the chance to collaborate with other businesses. “It offers us an opportunity to establish a presence in a prime Orchard location that may otherwise be difficult for smaller local brands to access.”

A third place

Perhaps visitor numbers are too simplistic a metric of success. In Ong’s view, footfall alone does not justify *Scape’s existence. The young, he notes, yearn for community.  

A survey conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) in 2023 found that young people are more likely to report higher levels of social isolation, with respondents aged 21 to 34 racking up a higher loneliness score than their older counterparts. 

Another IPS study, released in 2026, reported that slightly more than one in 10 Singaporeans does not have close friendships.

“Especially after Covid, there has been a severe lack of spaces for people to express themselves,” says Ong. “It’s very hard to find a place in Orchard to sit and chill without spending a cent, so it’s even more important for us now to create that community space for the youth to come together.”

And come they have, knit together by shared interests. A group of riichi mahjong enthusiasts in their 20s and 30s meet at *Scape once a week. Previously, the club gathered at Nee Soon South Community Club or at members’ homes. 

While the club was initially worried *Scape would baulk at the mention of mahjong, it received the green light from the management, who allowed it to host free sessions on the premises. 

“Compared with the old community location, *Scape is much more accessible since it’s in the central district,” says SgRiichi member Aditi Venkatesh, 25, who works as a network ops centre engineer. “There is something to be said about how regular sessions help to keep everyone’s interest for the game and community going.” 

Teammate Jolynn Hong, a 23-year-old auditor, adds: “Coming to *Scape allows me to meet a wider variety of people from the riichi community other than university students, as other riichi club sessions are held in Singapore Management University or NUS.”

The dancers have also returned in droves. “We come here almost every day,” says retail assistant Rave Phua, 22.

It is a “second home” to dancers, equipped with everything they need, like mirrors and vending machines. And now that it has been renovated, it feels even more comfortable. “Last time, there was little shelter when we danced, but now there are fans and more shade, so it’s less hot,” Phua says. 

Such prime real estate, he adds, is rare. “It’s hard to find places in Singapore to dance these days. Even if we manage to find a space, sometimes management will block off the area when they see us.” 

Mirrors are a hot commodity here, and different communities occasionally jostle for space. But a little flexibility helps smooth things over. “If the top floor is occupied by dancers, we’ll train at the swings or on the second floor,” says lightsaber wielder and full-time national serviceman Muhammad Shah, 24.

*Scape has, in the past, been accused of suffering from an identity crisis. In still trying to be a platform for retail, entrepreneurship, art, media and sport all at once, is it doing too much?

Perhaps, admits Ong, but that is the whole point. 

“If I’m not everything, then I cannot be a youth space,” he says. “I need them to know that *Scape is a space where you can try everything and anything as long as it’s not against the law.” 

After all, this sense of possibility is built into its name. That is what its asterisk is for: This could be a foodscape or landscape or escape. Whatever you want it to be.