THE SOCIAL NETWORK

Designed to stand out from its conventional neighbours, GRID is a youth-focused mall in Singapore that serves as a social and experiential destination for the digital-savvy generation

At the heart of Singapore’s Selegie Arts District is a youth-focused mall and education hub, sandwiched between the School of the Arts (SOTA) and several time-worn shopping malls. GRiD is a great example of vibrant retrofitting of an existing building that extends its community relevance through positive reuse rather than wholesale demolition and re-construction. It serves as the next chapter in SPARK’s narrative of innovative transformation of buildings such as Clarke Quay and Starhill Gallery. The metamorphosis of GRiD’s street corner into a “beacon” and attractor, while housing an increased quantum of high revenue-generating F+B units is SPARK’s signature gesture. It is a cultural “nod” to the night-time luminosity of the local shophouses.

A new ‘social stair’, a key component of the dynamic new corner is located opposite SOTA, driving footfall to food joints in the basement. The stair is a place to relax with friends, watch onscreen shows or enjoy live performances by GRiD’s arts-focused tenants. The corner shops and social stairs have become a vibrant, digital generation-friendly, Instagrammer canvas for content creators and experience seekers. The GRiD has been deliberately designed to stand out from its neighbours. The energy of the exterior is carried into the interior spaces, redolent of a post-industrial aesthetic with neon lights and supersized utilitarian graphics.

DESIGN DESCRIPTION