01
The Art of Innovation
Engaging the Senses
02
Creative Transformation
Creating a world of possibilities
03
Shared Curiosity
Collaborative by design
04
Pushing Boundaries
The only constant is change
05
Setting our Sights High
Designing statement pieces
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01 The Art of Innovation
At a New Horizon
A Vision to be Different
An Imaginative Company
02 Creative Transformation
Design Moments that Matter
Turning Spaces Inside Out
Going Beyond Face Value
03 Shared Curiosity
Setting a New Benchmark
Realising a Creative Vision Together
A Landscape of Imagination
04 Pushing Boundaries
Designing for the Future
Designing for Continuity
Designing for Digital
05 Setting our Sights High
Advocating & Championing Design Globally
Design Education
The Workplace of Tomorrow
1976 - 2021
Time Traveler
A Story in Five Acts
Pathfinder
Launch Events
Creative Partners
from Singapore to Singaporean:

The Bicentennial

Experience

"You're never going to learn something as profoundly as when it's purely out of curiosity."
Christoper Nolan

Timed Traveler

Enclosed within Fort Canning Centre, the Time Experience arena encompasses the visitor gallery where most of The Bicentennial immersive one-hour experience for the public was achieved. It also accommodated the heritage centre for operational staff and performers behind-the-scenes of the live experience.  The visitor journey begins in the Atrium.
The Atrium – a mixed multimedia installation showing Singapore’s natural weather cycle deliberately seen in reverse, a stand still moment to the natural rhythm of people and events coming and going, preparing audiences for an immersive time capsule that they are about to experience. Built within a two-storey height space, a rain sculpture was built for an effect of water droplets flowing upwards, of travelling back in history as we explore what was Singapore two hundred years ago.

A story in
Five Acts

Split into five acts spread over two levels of the Fort Canning Centre, the hour-long experience reaches back over a thousand years in time.
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Each act was conceptualised as a unique, exhilarating dive into Singapore’s past. Designed to resonate with visitors of all ages, the storytelling tone was intended to foster a participatory atmosphere and break the fourth wall, so that visitors would feelmore like eyewitnesses, rather than simply passive observers.
Split into five acts spread over two levels of the Fort Canning Centre, the hour-long experience reaches back over a thousand years in time.
‍
Each act was conceptualised as a unique, exhilarating dive into Singapore’s past. Designed to resonate with visitors of all ages, the storytelling tone was intended to foster a participatory atmosphere and break the fourth wall, so that visitors would feelmore like eyewitnesses, rather than simply passive observers.
Act 1: Prelude - 500 Years in a Single Take
The audience is taken back in time to when the island was originally discovered. A theatrical performance staged on a moving travellator told the story of key characters arriving from different lands onto a common shore.
Act 2: 1817 - Taking a bird’s eye view next
Through the Eyes of Nature, reimagines the sight that greeted Sir Stamford Raffles, the man recognised to have founded Singapore. Multimedia walls surrounding the audience in a room defied dimensions, bringing early sceneries of the island as a land of opportunity.
Act 3: 1900
Increasing interactivity in the space, the motion in Act 3: 1900 employs a spinning rotunda, immersing visitors in the rapid transformation of the country in its urbanisation. Each pause in the spin reveals an artefact, fusing digital effects and tangible display.
Act 4: 1942
A transition to Act 4: 1942 highlighted darker times in war as visitors face a sombre atmosphere created through tunnels dramatized by cracked walls and ceiling with the use of lighting and projection for intentionally disruptive pathways.
Act 5: 1968
The Rain Room created a sense of homecoming, as the showers pouring down ties the journey neatly to the Atrium, reaching completion. Moving visitors from the depths of despair to solidarity in occasions, the significant weather is tied to important moments like the nation’s first Independence Day and the funeral of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Connecting audience through the multi-sensory storyline, the final moment captures a new-found belonging to the land.

Pathfinder

Besides the indoor gallery showcase, we built The Open Pavilion amidst the outdoor setting of Fort Canning Park, estimating 200 steps of pedestal stairs, a year for each calculated progress of the country.
With art installations situated at different zones of Fort Canning, a free and easy experience allows open exploration of each symbolic artefact or impressionable artwork curated with National Gallery of Singapore.

Launch events

The launch of the Singapore Bicentennial hallmark took place on 28 January 2019 at the Asian Civilisations Museum.
Part of the programme included a short ceremonial segment featuring 50 community representatives, each holding a customised lantern with four bulbs, for a total of 200 lights to symbolise the bicentennial.

Called “light-bearers", they represent a microcosm of the diverse groups that are involved in various bicentennial-related activities – ranging from the ethnic groups, schools, religious institutions, societies and various self-help and volunteer groups. With the showcase two years in the making, working with all creative partners and supporting supplier, we perfected production, collaboration, and consolidated a common history for all to participate in. The Bicentennial Experience opened to public from 1st June to 15th September 2019 and was officially launched by President Halimah Yacob.

Creative Partners

It was a true collaboration like no other. The experience was only made possible with the unmistakeable passion from fellow creative minds.
  • Experience & Museum Designers – MET Studio
  • Pavilion Architect – Randy Chan & Zarch
  • Multimedia Partner – Anomalyst
  • Film Partner – Zhao Wei Films
Next:
Tencent