Revival Of Cityscapes

Iconic US design firm The Jerde Partnership makes its move into Singapore, with home-grown architect Kenneth Ho returning after two decades to steer its course through South-east Asia.

When people think of what an architect does, most think about the designing of a single building. But California-based architectural and multi-disciplinary design firm The Jerde Partnership has always set its sights on the bigger picture since its founding in 1977 by American architect Jon Jerde.

“We’ve always called it ‘placemaking’,” says Kenneth Ho, 48, design principal of Jerde. He moved to Singapore late last year to oversee the opening and operations of this latest Asian outpost of the firm, which already has a presence in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul. “The idea for us is that all of our projects are never hermetically sealed. They are always indelibly connected to the urban fabric of the city itself.”

Its seminal 1985 project Horton Plaza in San Diego is the perfect example of what he means. At that time, most retail malls looked the same – boxy and boring. Horton Plaza blew everyone’s expectations away with its striped loggia, crooked corners, zigzag storefronts, and uniquely located staircases. “The goal was to break up that ‘box’, open it to the outside, and give people a place to gather,” says Ho. It also proved to be an urban catalyst for the rejuvenation of the nearby Gaslamp Quarter, which went from a rundown district into a bustling neighbourhood.

That project set the macro vision of the firm, as Jerde found itself increasingly called upon to not only design buildings, but entire cityscapes as well, in a bid to reverse human flow and revive downtowns all across America and then around the world. This resulted in projects like Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles, Canal City Hakata in Fukuoka, and Roppongi Hills in Tokyo.