No lab coats required: Singapore’s revamped science park transforms into playground for all

SINGAPORE – It does not feel at all like a science park where researchers in laboratory coats huddle.

On a recent Saturday, children were playing at The Canopy, an airy sheltered plaza with the look of a stylised, geometric “cathedral”, light streaming in from its high, open sides.  

On working days, professionals lounge with their laptops across the steps of its terrace amphitheatre under the 27m spruce roof. They may sip a latte at the 3,000 sq m all-weather plaza while considering an evening run at the nearby Kent Ridge Park, with complimentary coaching.

Can an innovation precinct be fun? How cool can science be?

By weaving towering timber architecture, spontaneous work-and-play experiences and fresh greenery into The Canopy within the revamped Singapore Science Park (SSP), owner CapitaLand is proving that a business park can appeal to tenants like research powerhouses Merck and Henkel as well as the incoming A*STAR, while welcoming a wider community of fresh-faced undergraduates, families and fun-seekers across its enclave – or the island.

This intentional shift from workplace to people-centric ecosystem is “placemaking” in action.

Placemaking turns space into place. It designs a destination for human connection, so people want to linger. It is rooted in the art of building community.

Marcus Lim, head of placemaking and flexible workspace at CapitaLand Development, distinguishes between the purpose-built infrastructure and the people-first experiences of a district.

“Infrastructure provides the foundation for building a successful innovation district,” he tells The Straits Times.

“Placemaking is the layer that creates the experiences to bring people together.”

This is especially important since innovation thrives on connection and exchange of ideas, he emphasises.

Why people linger

Linda Zhang, managing director of Merck Singapore, tells ST that SSP positions Merck close to scientific talent, customers, partners and research organisations in a milieu designed to “accelerate innovation”. 

SSP, which launched as a conventional campus in 1984, has expanded and revamped over the decades of Singapore’s research and development global ambitions.

The debut of its Geneo life sciences and innovation cluster in May 2026 marks a $1.4 billion milestone in the multi-year rejuvenation. 

Physically, Geneo groups five buildings together and is a work-live-play domain with labs, workspaces, retail and dining, wellness nodes like a yoga deck, bicycle parking spaces and sculptures. 

Designed as a “bleisure” (business and leisure) sanctuary, the 250-unit Citadines Science Park Singapore is a serviced residence with high-tech shared workspaces, a greenhouse concept and a cloud-mosaic infinity pool floor that mirrors the sky.

Cycling trails, gardens, a naturalistic stream and auto-irrigation fill the eco-landscape that makes up a third of the 64,000 sq m precinct. 

Designed by Serie + Multiply Consultants, the architecture of Geneo is climate-responsive. The building design – from the accordion facade to the U-shaped configuration – reduces heat gain and enhances natural ventilation. Geneo is linked underground seamlessly to Kent Ridge MRT station.

Now the crown jewel of SSP, the design of Geneo moves past real estate to act as an “ecosystem curator” for the 350-plus multinationals, companies and labs housed there.

Not a collection of workplaces

Experientially, beyond the dynamic work scene, Merck staff revel in the interconnectedness of these shared amenities, dining, wellness spaces and community experiences.

“These everyday touchpoints are important. A conversation over lunch, a walk through the precinct or participation in a community event can create opportunities for informal networking and social connection beyond individual companies,” Zhang points out.

“This helps make Singapore Science Park feel less like a traditional business park and more like an active community where people can connect, recharge and collaborate.”

Tenants like Merck enjoy an abundance of experiences that break the nine-to-five mould: lunch talks, live performances and frequent events like the Flavours Of Tomorrow festival (flavoursoftomorrow.sg), hilly runs and pop-ups galore.

“They also play an important role in making the park more than a collection of workplaces,” Zhang observes.

The signature Flavours Of Tomorrow is an alternative food festival showcasing eco-innovations like beanless coffee and cricket-protein snacks. Amid gastronomy giveaways and cooking demos, a boxing ring becomes a live pitch stage where food-tech start-ups go head-to-head to win over lunchtime crowds. A Gastronomy Giveaway food tasting event is planned for Sept 22.

Another recurrent placemaker: Geneo Epic Runs. Led by a professional coach, these Wednesday-evening boosters gather tenants, undergrads and local fitness buffs who trade workstations for the undulating nature trails of adjacent Kent Ridge Park. 

Always-on placemaking

At the heart of this sustained placemaking is Reinvention: Allplay (reinvention.sciencepark.com.sg), a three-month play festival that will morph week to week till Nov 22, so the season stays new for repeat visitors.

Presented by CapitaLand Development and curated by boutique creative agency OuterEdit, its idea of play for all ages is pivotal to Singapore and SSP. 

The festival is supported by national agency DesignSingapore Council, which designated SSP as a new design district, showing that business and creativity can share the same address.

The festive mix of free and ticketed activities transforms the business park into an immersive playground for visitors to discover wellness, creativity and connection.

The action imaginatively spans a community mural for free-spirited painting by anyone, playscape installations for climbing and exploring, play courts where games like pickleball are reinvented, 100 mechanical puzzles, 3D printing, design markets for local brands, live music and more.

Reinvention: Allplay is inspired by British education researcher Neville V. Scarfe’s quote: “The highest form of research is essentially play.”

Elaborating, Ryan Tan, founder and executive creative director of OuterEdit, tells ST that play leads to a “cultural pivot”.

“It points to how, in the future, the sense of play, cognitive divergence, problem-solving and the navigating of social challenges will become a skill that is needed in the next generation of the workforce.”

The spirit of play becomes much more than an activity. “It becomes a mindset, a capability and a precursor to innovative, objective, divergent thinking,” he reckons, linking play to the grand experiment that is SSP.

He then lands on a connection between pioneers and play.

“I’ve always been inspired by Singapore’s pioneering story and the courage it must have taken to imagine a country where there were no established answers or models to follow,” he says.

The new nation’s approaches to urban planning, public housing, education, healthcare, infrastructure and nature had to be imagined, tested and continually refined.

“What resonates with me is the inventive spirit behind them, the willingness to begin without knowing exactly where the journey would lead,” he reflects.

For him, the play festival is all about keeping that spirit of reinvention alive. Also, OuterEdit, through an ongoing partnership with SSP, continues to shape the innovation precinct into an inventive and vibrant venue through design-rich experiences.

For CapitaLand Development’s Lim, the play festival and placemaking overall will continue to reel in dividends.

“The value of placemaking lies in creating places where businesses and people want to be,” he says.

Companies today are looking beyond the four walls of their office space, he says. 

“The wider work environment – from amenities and green spaces to wellness and a sense of community – increasingly shapes the experience organisations can offer their employees,” he says.

“Ultimately, a successful innovation district should not only be where people come to work, but also where they come to experience community, connection and inspiration.”

He cites design highlights like the sunlit engineering marvel The Canopy, and also The Seed, a genomic garden for biological conservation and research, both spaces for people to gather, recharge and stay inspired.

Back at the “cathedral”, as evening descends, the professionals under its louvred timber canopy step outside after their all-work, all-play day.

As a living laboratory for human bonds, Geneo has flipped the script on what a business park can be. The line between work and play dissolves. Scientific breakthroughs may not start under a microscope.

They may just be sparked over a cup of beanless coffee, a run through the ridges or a moment of play.