Building Blocks

Introduce yourself and tell us more about what you do for work!
I’m Scott and I’m a practising architect of 15 years, but I’ve been working as a freelance consultant over the past two years. Currently, I’m working as a set designer at the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA). It’s my side hustle, basically.

Cool! What exactly are you working on at SIFA?
I’m working on an installation titled Umbilical, so basically I’m doing theatre sets lah. I designed the suspended set for the show, which is a collaboration between three artists, each working in different mediums of visual, sound, and performance. They each have their own separate platforms, so for me, it’s about trying to make sure that these platforms mesh together and allow the audience to travel below them.

So essentially you help artists bring their visions to life. Outside of work, do you create any art of your own?
Yeah, those would my architecture stuff. My own works are the ones that are built, which are either semi-detached terraces or bungalows—usually landed houses lah. If you’re talking about traditional art projects, I do create artwork for myself and my friends, but I never exhibit or anything lah, it’s just a personal interest.

Well if you ask us, architecture is basically like giant artwork! What are some buildings that you’ve worked on?
I’ve worked on a few houses in Telok Kurau and East Coast, including one particularly prominent one near the park connector. It lights up at night like a lantern, which I think is quite cute. The design is essentially a series of four stacked boxes, with light and ventilation coming through slits that aren’t immediately visible from the outside. But once you’re inside, the effect is beautiful—the entire house glows from within, filling the space with a warm, bright ambiance.

That sounds lovely! We’ll have to go see it for ourselves. How do you think your architectural background has informed your side hustle as a set designer?
Well I’m used to contractors’ bullshit, so I know when they’re trying to pull a fast one lah. The rest of the set design work is mostly straightforward since they’re just temporary structures, so they tend to be lightweight and simpler to put together. It’s not rocket science, but I guess my architecture background still helps a bit in terms of the assembly and all.

Seems like you’ve had your fair share of experiences dealing with difficult contractors, huh?
Yeah, one example is for this project at SIFA, the contractors brought in plywood when I specifically asked for solid wood. I don’t mind if the material is structurally sound, but this set is going to be up for two weeks, and plywood typically only holds up for a day or two at most. It’s little things like this that, if I don’t catch early, will fall back on me if anything were to happen with the set.