Major food-focused project by OMA opens in Singapore

In Dempsey Hill, a prestigious area in Singapore situated on a green hill northwest of the city center, OMA created a new circular campus centered around dining by restoring an old military barracks from the British colonial era and a two-story modernist building added in 1971, in the post-independence period of the young city-state. No longer serving a military function, the complex was converted into a sports club for civil service employees until 1975, and from then on was only sporadically occupied until it was acquired by Indonesian entrepreneur Ronald Akili—the owner of the Potato Head lifestyle brand, with which OMA has collaborated for decades, and who indeed commissioned the firm to renovate it.

The AIR Circular Campus and Cooking Club, as the 40,000-square-foot complex has been renamed, aims to raise visitors' awareness of the positive value of circularity related to the food supply chain that ends up on their plates. It brings together a range of food-centric functions: a restaurant, open kitchen, outdoor bar, cooking club, and fermentation lab, all overlooking a lawn and an agricultural space with a compost shed. Although local authorities had approved the complete demolition of the building, which had deteriorated severely due to the humid climate, Potato Head’s sustainable approach opted for reuse. Most of the structure was therefore preserved, and the space was simply opened up to allow better airflow. The project essentially involved restoration and reorientation work, with a few small but significant adjustments to better integrate the building into its surroundings.