Dempsey Hill, an off-the-beaten-track lush green area in Singapore that’s arguably is best known abroad among the Comme des Garçons fanbase. Indeed, it’s right here where the brand’s alluring Dover Street Market outpost opened its doors seven years ago. But as of late, this ex-centric location has tremendously increased its pull factor by way of a newly opened culinary hub that’s simply called AIR. A casual restaurant, circular campus and cooking club rolled into one, this unique culinary venture is situated on a site which was once a nutmeg plantation in the mid-19th century, and then an army barrack complex until the 1990s. The hybrid venue sits on a spacious 4,000 sqm. (43,056 sq.ft.) plot and occupies what’s known as the CSC Dempsey Clubhouse, a fairly sizeable sports and leisure facility built in the 1970s for the city’s civil servants.
Interestingly, the complex officially has no cultural or historical significance, posing a challenge to OMA, the acclaimed Dutch architecture practice which was commissioned to design the premises. Taking the existing complex, including the lush surrounding nature, as leading components, a new 100-metre walkway was added, connecting the venue with one of the main parking lots. Organic in form, it evokes the natural topography, while loosely defining the expansive green space into two zones: the garden on one side and the lawn on the other. The two-storey clubhouse features a casual dining space facing on the ground floor which has been opened up and now offers extended terraces and pleasant views of the grounds.
An open kitchen sits at the back, allowing diners ample peeks of the action there. One floor up, glass replaces the original façade to create an indoor area overlooking the lawn. Here, a more intimate dining area can be found, in addition to a research space for experimentations on ingredients. The aforementioned cooking school is situated at the back. A newly added cylinder structure, both open and encased in glass, at the back of the clubhouse provides extra space, including staircases for guests and staff, a bar, a kitchen, and a machine room. All of the furnishings and fixtures at AIR have been designed by Catalan designer Andreu Carulla, using recycled timber and plastic bottles sourced from a former art installation, as well as styrofoam. These elements allude to AIR‘s modern ethos to discover the potential and beauty in what is often perceived as waste. © superfuture
AIR
25B Dempsey Road (Dempsey Hill)
Singapore 249918
Telephone +65 82281528
Wed-Fri 5.30pm-11pm
Sat-Sun 11.30am-3pm and 5pm-11pm
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
