What ever happened to that architecture school project from university that you spent thousands of hours on? It’s probably sitting on a hard drive somewhere. But for 2016 Bartlett graduate Finbarr Fallon, his award-winning master’s thesis project ‘Subterranean Singapore’ is still getting viral attention and is even being exhibited this year at ArchiFest Singapore.
The project culminated in a spectacular video which gives a slightly dystopian glimpse into the large-scale underground urbanism of a future Singapore, complete with a megastructural master section, life support systems, high-end residential, and social issues. I’ve met Finbarr Fallon before and he graciously agreed to answer a few questions for ARCHIGARDENER on the project! Make sure to watch the video above and check out the interview below:
@archigardener:
As a Brit, what made you choose Singapore as a setting for your project, had you visited Singapore at the time? Is there anything in particular that makes Singapore the ideal location for this architectural fantasy?
@fin.barr:
I first visited Singapore in 1997 as a child. While I can’t say I remember much from that visit, the photos my parents took show how unreal the transformation of the city between then and my second visit in 2012 has been. The city has transformed so fast, with projects being successfully realized on a massive scale – Marina Bay area stands as one example.
As my partner is Singaporean, I had the chance to visit during university and be around to witness the SG50 celebrations. The strength of the narrative of Singapore having totally remade itself, both literally through reclamation and building higher and metaphorically as a global city, made me think – what is the next frontier for Singapore? How will Singapore reinvent itself again in the next 50 years? The government’s announcement of the Underground Masterplan also begs the question, what could the role of the underground as a new horizon of urban life be, and can it be transformed into a livable environment to address the needs of a continuously evolving country?
I think Singapore, more than any country in the world, has the ambition and potential to realize and implement such a masterplan. The nature of land ownership, government initiative and favorable ground conditions are all enabling factors.
@archigardener:
What made you decide to use film as such a major part of communicating the ideas of your project? Do you think that there the advantages/drawbacks to using this medium for architectural expression?
@fin.barr:
I was part of design Unit 24 at the Bartlett School of Architecture and as a studio the students explore the dialogue between film and architecture. I have always had a passion for creating film – so this studio was a natural choice for me and I greatly appreciated the freedom to create a narrative-driven architectural proposal through a filmic medium.
The advantage of film is the that one can use the camera movement, edit, sound, music and colour grading to enhance the experience of a space. For Subterranean Singapore 2065, this was critical to create the subterranean city as a heteropic environment, and to interweave the two concurrent narratives of the future city. It let me juxtaposeof the off-limits, subhuman spaces lived in by the workers with the state-sanctioned representations of the city. The film uses different visual strategies to create a distinct look to differentiate each strand, and this helps to curate the viewers’ experience and emotional response.
@archigardener:
This is obviously a speculative project, not a real-world proposal. What was your intent with this concept? (a real plausible future that we should aim for, a fantasy speculation, a warning for a dystopian future?)
@fin.barr:
The film was not created with any specific intent in mind –it was a coming together of speculations about different topics of interest. I am fascinated by underground space, and as cities around the world rapidly urbanize the need for more diverse subterranean spaces is increasing. Here in Singapore, with our oft-inhospitably hot and humid weather, we already lead very interior-centric lives focused on maximising thermal comfort. So the question I wanted to work through was how to get around the psychological barriers to living underground, and make it as good as or even more attractive than the world above. Given the recent haze and climate change uncertainty, going underground to hide in a well-executed, fully controllable environment could look increasingly attractive.
Right from the beginning my idea for the film was to capture the imaginations of a wide audience – whoever they were, regardless of their background be it in architecture or not. Many student projects are dull and lack fun, so I wanted to create a project of visual spectacle, which would inspire and appeal to everyone.
@archigardener:
What do you think is the most successful moment of the video?
@fin.barr:
I think the SG100 parade section is successful in satirically capturing the essence of Singapore’s very unique national day parades. I actually hope to see at least a few elements appear in parades of the future. I also enjoyed making the powerful imagery of the gold-spewing Merlion, as the ultimate symbol of a carefully constructed utopia, being exploded into fragments. As the government like to say ‘Not if, but when.’
@archigardener:
There are political undertones in your project. What were you trying to communicate with this, and how does it add to the overall concept?
@fin.barr:
The parts showing the successful underground city are a utopian vision, showing the end product and its happy inhabitants, because that is what people are invested in. Personally, I’m more interested in the making of this product and its inner workings (thus my interest in urban exploration within construction sites, sewers and tunnels in London). How will the colossal underground project be built, and how will it be maintained? In spite of the state’s Smart Nation and construction productivity agendas, it seems unlikely that the need for foreign labour will become obsolete soon.
While I have a keen interest in protest, currently protest has limited potential as a political resource here in Singapore. Hence, in the film, I chose to extrapolate a possible future where oppressed Others with limited opportunities have resorted first to protest – but failing that, have moved on to exploiting the interstitial spaces and systems of the subsurface city that they know so intimately. The consequent collapse of the whole system shows up the inherent instability of even the most carefully curated vision.
@archigardener:
The public reaction to your project, especially in Singapore, has been really cool. What has been the most exciting part of the reaction to ‘Subterranean Singapore’?
@fin.barr:
Since moving here I have been given the chance to share the work in detail with a few groups of people, including a group looking at liveability from the Prime Minister’s Office. I’m currently also hosting an exhibition as part of Archifest. I’m delighted the work has been so well received, and discussing the work with Singaporeans from the wider community and hearing their views has definitely been a highlight.
I also enjoy reading comments online – my personal favourite is one discussion on Reddit Singapore, where netizens were dismayed at the scene where a Microsoft ‘Pipes’ screensaver appears on a Mac computer. Aiyoh!
@archigardener:
Having lived in Singapore for around a year now, how have your perceptions changed since making the video? What’s your favourite part of living here?
@fin.barr:
I don’t think my perceptions have changed at all actually, I still stand by my vision of going underground for greater liveability. It’s interesting to see the underground passages beneath Orchard Road are often more popular than the surface streets, so I believe Singaporeans would definitely be open to the idea of a cooler subterranean space!
My favourite part of living here is definitely the pervasive urban greenery, it is implemented very well from a city planning point of view, spanning throughout parks and public spaces across so many high rise buildings. I hope that this prevalent sense of green is something that future-Singapore keeps, no matter where and what it becomes.
@archigardener:
Many thanks to Finn for the insightful interview, visit his website to find out more about this project.
