Open Studio highlights quiet material richness in Singapore school hall transformation
Singapore-based Open Studio exclusively reveals how it turned New Bahru Hall, a 1960s school hall, into a pickleball court, juxtaposing its original teak panelling and mosaic flooring with galvanised-steel details.
New Bahru Hall was transformed as part of the renovation of a breeze-block-clad former school into a shopping and dining location that also has serviced apartments.
Working for hospitality firm The Lo & Behold Group, Open Studio turned the former school hall into a pickleball court that can also host live performances and cultural and artistic events.
Architects and Open Studio founders Lam Jun Nan and Jax Tan wanted to preserve and highlight the space's original features.
To draw attention to these features, the studio updated and repaired existing materials, which it then complemented with contrasting new elements.
"The hall retained a quiet material richness, particularly in its deep-stained teak panelling and ecru mosaic flooring," Open Studio said.
"Existing teak panelling and mosaic flooring were carefully retained, repaired, and upgraded, with acoustic improvements introduced discreetly behind the finishes," Tan told Dezeen.
"New elements such as widened doors and custom lighting were executed in galvanised stainless steel, chosen for durability and its weathering ability to patina naturally alongside the original materials."
Tan and Nan researched both the overall architecture of the 1969 building and the original configuration of the hall ahead of the restoration, which focused on removing additions that had been added over many decades.
The architects left traces of wear, such as staple marks in the timber and floor repairs, visible to underline the history of New Bahru Hall.
Open Studio also removed timber cladding around the hall's columns to reveal the original concrete structure, and took partitions and grilles off the clerestory windows to open up the space.
While the architects mostly refrained from adding new interventions to the hall, they did add a new waffle ceiling that was designed to accommodate today's technical requirements while referencing the original modernist architecture.
"The waffle ceiling was introduced to re-establish visual order and clarify the proportions of the hall while enhancing acoustic performance," Tan said.
"It adds architectural rhythm to an otherwise plain ceiling plane without competing with the original structure."
New lighting, specially designed by Open Studio for the space, was also added. The pendant lights comprise a quartet of four square metal lights and create a decorative symmetric pattern in the ceiling.
"The pendant lights were shaped directly by their multi-functional requirements, accommodating different lighting modes for varied uses," Tan said.
"Their simple geometric form follows modernist principles, allowing them to support the space without visual excess."
The response to the restoration has been "really positive," Tan said.
"There's a real sense of awe – people immediately recognise the nostalgia of a school hall, but are surprised by how refined and contemporary it feels today," The Lo & Behold Group CMO Tania Chan added.
Open Studio was shortlisted in the residential interior (small) category of Dezeen Awards last year.
The photography is by Offvices.
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