Places Of The Heart: Architect Ong Ker-Shing goes ‘mind-wandering’ in S’pore’s urban green pockets

Who: Ms Ong Ker-Shing, 49, co-founded Lekker Architects in 2014 with her American husband, Dr Joshua Comaroff, 51, a permanent resident. She is a Singapore-registered architect and an Associate Professor of Practice at the National University of Singapore’s Department of Architecture. She earned her master’s degrees in architecture and landscape architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design in the United States.

Among her firm’s many design awards is the prestigious Design of the Year, which Lekker won twice at the President’s Design Award Singapore. The first was in 2015 for pre-school The Caterpillar’s Cove. The second was in 2023 for Hack Care: Tips And Tricks For A Dementia-Friendly Home, a sensitively produced 244-page toolkit for caregivers.

Ms Ong also sits on the advisory board of the Preservation of Sites and Monuments, under the National Heritage Board.

“I almost went to medical school because I wanted to be a healer. I chose being an architect because I love creating spaces, though I have wondered if this meant forsaking a life’s calling for promoting health and well-being.

But, at almost 50, reflecting on my portfolio of work, I realise I have been doing that all along by designing spaces that heal.

Which is why the focus of this series, Places Of The Heart, is particularly meaningful as my husband Joshua and I are both in the business of designing projects that touch the heart.

We started Lekker Architects about a decade ago to be able to combine social science and design research for evidence-based projects that focus on elevating the well-being of those who use our designs.

We are working on a range of projects, including the new St Joseph’s Institution International Preschool in Holland Road and a sensory space for Changi Airport.

With a hectic work schedule, I am constantly on the lookout for a breath of fresh air, to clear my mind.

I find that one of the most effective ways to unwind is to take a leisurely walk.

This started a few years ago when Joshua suggested that instead of rushing to the office on Monday mornings, we should try “walking meetings” to kick off a new work week.

We had read that walking is quite effective for inducing a state of “mind-wandering”, which helps one to reflect and be immersed in creative thoughts.

After a few of these walking sessions, we found that we were much more able to come up with exciting ideas and approaches to our work than when sitting down and staring at each other across a conference table.

I also enjoy walking by myself. The same mind-wandering effect works when I’m alone with my thoughts.

During these walks, I am particularly drawn to spaces that feel hidden, that allow a sense of discovery.

I don’t like to walk along the road or within a park. These days, I enjoy exploring the informal paths and connectors in the Holland Road area where I live.

These walkways are usually a little bit wilder, and the lack of landscaping allows for organic growth of groundcover.

Grass, wildflowers and hardy shrubs tend to sprout up wherever the conditions are right, and when there is less maintenance than in a public park or park connector.

Together, these fragments of paths, green buffers, maintenance accessways, drainage reserves and community gardens make up an informal network that allows for unexpected routes and connections within the dense urban fabric of apartment blocks and clusters of landed homes.

These spaces also allow me to change my routine so that each time I walk, the experience is slightly different.

This makes me more aware of my surroundings and allows for serendipitous discoveries, such as connections and proximities in the built environment, that would not be apparent when travelling along a road.

A good example is the Malaysia-Singapore pipeline, an infrastructural system carefully engineered, but not imagined for the human experience. It is rare to be in an environment in Singapore where people’s experience is not part of urban design.

Sometimes, there are unexpected gradient changes along the pipeline, where it is not easy to walk. Or I have to cross roads and walk a bit before finding an entrance to another fragment of a hidden path. Often, the paths are between or behind residential properties.

They offer unexpected views of buildings mainly designed to be seen from a particular vantage point, such as from the main road. It is always fun and surprising when I get the opportunity to look at buildings from a less ‘considered’ perspective.

I try to seek out new ways of seeing the world around me as much as possible. One can easily develop this habit by literally stepping off the beaten path or changing up one’s routine.

I am also inspired by the symbolic layer of this conscious practice of constantly seeking out unexpected pathways. If you don’t look for them, you don’t see them. But if you keep an open mind, there is always an opportunity to find delight.

Recently, I started an education platform called The Great Yes that is designed to expose people to different wellness modalities – such as nutrition, energy healing and spatial design – to empower them to take charge of their own health and happiness.

The Great Yes is a concept introduced by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche in the 1880s. It is an affirmative attitude, an embrace of not only the positive but also the negative aspects of life. Together, these elements make up the fullness of our experiences as people.

The learnings from our upcoming The Great Yes online platform (

www.thegreatyes.life

) will complement the work we do at Lekker.

We want to create more spaces for health that will allow people to see how their physical environment can be leveraged to support their overall wellness.”