Maxwell Light-up Aug . 24 . 2022

As part of the closing of Venice Architecture Biennale Homecoming Exhibition that was held at the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) from April to July, we fought to do something at Maxwell Food Centre due to its prominent reputation, close proximity to the exhibition and to celebrate hawker culture (in line with the theme of the exhibition). The event itelf spanned 2 days, Friday 8th July - Saturday 9th July. It was held for 3 hours at the food center. Due to material constraints, we selected the row of tables facing the main road to have perceived darkness from the night sky and create a different visual of the hawker environment for people passing by.

Hawker centers are far and many in Singapore. We put out a survey to the members of the public to take. We see that more than 58% of respondents actually dine at hawker centres multiple times a week. It is part of the regular routine of the average Singapore resident.

Ambient light was mostly contributed by signage and stall lighting, which made it impossible to modify or turn off due to concern on the impact of business for the stallowners. However, we discovered that the colour rendition of the exisiting environment was very low. Providing a fixture that with higher CRI made a big difference in the mood and the visuals of food.

There were mostly positive feedback, with select individuals that were very passionate about extending this study to other hawker centres for more members of the public to have the opportunity to experience the setup.

We also had the privilege of having Professor Lai Chee Kien from NUS School of Architecture bring his exhibit down from the Venice Biennale Homecoming Exhibition to showcase at Maxwell as a educating marker on Singapore hawker culture for the public to peruse.

Photograph Credits to Alex Tang

Photograph Credits to Alex Tang