Singapore’s independence – like that of many other places – has come at a high price. The city-state, in fact, has inherited from decolonization a series of issues: a devastated economy, ethnic and ideological clashes, a fragile national identity, and a great scarcity of natural resources. Every great political change – it is known – brings chaos.

It is this concept that inspired Nilcraftz’s design response to the international competition for the Singapore Founders’ Memorial. Zeng Zhibin, the founder of the firm, has in fact imagined a structure that recalls the country’s transition from chaos to order.

The project runs along an axis parallel to the east bank of Singapore’s Marina Bay. Along the axis, the space finds its organization, and the quality of the architectural elements changes from sculptural to structural. This design concept – from chaos to order – informs also the lighting, which changes from obscure to delicate, and the functional program, which transits from public and general to specific, with designated purposes. All these transitions aim to echo the national memory, following a principle similar to that of storytelling “show don’t tell”.