The majority of contemporary museum buildings are often categorically either a blank (boring) canvas for the presentation of art, or an iconic (spatially restrictive) shell. LKCNHM (Yes, in true-blue Singaporean style, the name is a 6-letter acronym) is a kind of hybrid: negotiating curatorial requirements for a nearly windowless blank box, with a visually arresting enclosure conceptually illustrative of the museum content.
urbanARCHnow was invited to take a exclusive behind the scenes tour of the recently completed building with the architect Mok Wei Wei and the exhibition designer from gsmprjct°, just prior to the museum’s opening on 28 April, perfectly timed to open during Singapore’s SG50 golden jubilee year of celebrations.
Local architect Mok Wei Wei (W Architects), has been responsible for several other landmark civic projects locally, including extensive renovations & additions to the Singapore National Museum & the stunning newly-completed Victoria Theatre & Concert Hall. I’ve been excited for quite a while to see how this building would turn out for quite a while, and finally had a chance on Saturday!
This remarkable building is the culmination of about 2.5 years of development, and stands prominently along the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) within the cultural precinct of the National University of Singapore (NUS). Standing outside his building against the dark beton-brut concrete facade, Mok Wei Wei explained that programmatic requirements for the preservation of the museum contents meant that the building had to be a nearly windowless monolithic block, which he then conceived as a kind of “allegory of a natural rock form, appearing as a naturally carved out rock formed geometry”.
Laura Miotto, LKCNHM’s exhibition designer from gsmprjct° explained that the interior design of this museum had to negotiate facts with aesthetics, and attempts to work in harmony with the architecture of the building. The minimalist displays throughout the gallery spaces are stunning, simply highlighting the beauty of each specimen within a series of thematically grouped informative exhibits. Throughout the galleries, intermingling with the stuffed, mounted, and otherwise preserved specimens are digital displays with subjects portrayed in motion, and even live animals, which Laura says help animate & bring to life to the otherwise still subjects of the galleries.
The Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, Southeast Asia’s first museum of natural history, inherits the legacy of the Raffles Collection, a vast assemblage of artifacts (over 150 years old!) with a focus on regional biodiversity. Despite this long history, the undeniable stars of the museum are Prince, Apollo and Twinky, three diplodocid sauropod dinosaur skeletons which are prominently displayed within the stunning atrium space of the museum.
One of the most interesting features of the buildings is a series of natural landscape elements on and around the building, recreating natural conditions in Singapore with features such as a cross-section through Singapore’s typical coastal profile and a freshwater mangrove which is visible through small angular openings from within the gallery spaces.
Most prominently, an angular slice in the building’s facade recreates vegetated cliff conditions common on some Singapore’s offshore islands. Only local species are used for planting, which Mok Wei Wei explained were quite difficult to source, as native plants are uncommonly used in landscaping.
Another successful aspect of the project is an ample contribution towards improving circulation and civic space within the NUS University Cultural Centre (UCC) complex (consisting of an auditorium, art museum, and music conservatory). The rock-like natural form of the building sits on an elevated plinth hosting a new public plaza space. This deck joins up seamlessly with the rest of the UCC, and W Architects has also redesigned the public spaces abutting the other cultural venues, turning a hot open courtyard into a useful public space with trees for shade. Sheltered connections are also provided seamlessly under the elevated plinth.
Thanks to Mok Wei Wei, W Architects, gsmprjct°, and the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum for a great tour of this cool building, and to Teo Zi Tong for allowing me to use some of his beautiful photos. If you are in Singapore, make sure to get your tickets to see the museum when it opens to the public!
Image by Jonathan Choe unless otherwise stated
