One Holland Village is a strong representation of how lifestyle-driven design can enhance comfort, community and engagement (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
How has Singapore’s built environment evolved with the times? Long anchored by space maximisation, cost efficiency and structural performance, urban design is increasingly driven by human-centric priorities. As lifestyles evolve and expectations for larger spaces grow, so will optimising environments to prioritise comfort, flexibility and emotional connection, reflecting a more nuanced approach to how people live, work and interact within the city.
This evolution was highlighted in the Knight Frank-Ipsos Quality of Life (QoL) Report 2025. Among 1,000 respondents polled, 26% cited emotional and mental well-being as a top indicator of quality living. At the same time, a strong preference for green spaces (78%), wellness and healthcare (65%), and fitness and sports facilities (57%) underscored a growing desire for comforting and socially engaging environments.
Emerging factors such as climate resilience, changing lifestyle preferences of younger generations and an ageing population are also calling for sustainable and inclusive planning — necessary to create adaptable environments that will address diverse needs, foster well-being and a sense of belonging.
Read also: Demand for retail space holds firm as rents see a modest 0.6% q-o-q increase
Things are moving in the right direction. Standout projects including progressive mixed-use developments and specially curated spaces have caught our eye: embracing innovative design elements and community-focused layouts, they rewrite the playbook on creative programming and community engagement within spaces.
Changing face of lifestyle destinations
One Holland Village (OHV) was first showcased as one of the case studies in our QoL Report, as its design ethos reflects preferences — wellness, convenience, inclusivity and access to greenery — highlighted in our data findings.
Communal seating areas amid OHV’s landscaped gardens (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
A strong representation of how lifestyle-driven design can enhance comfort, community and engagement, OHV is characterised by familiar proportions of a shophouse reinterpreted through terraced edges, and non-parallel shopfronts that can be personalised via awnings, outdoor seating and layered signage.
Prioritising openness and natural ventilation, OHV’s timber railings and greenery are a nod to the area’s heritage, while a mix of sheltered walkways and unsheltered paths evoke an alfresco feel. This outdoor-first approach proved resilient during the pandemic by addressing visitors’ comfort and safety. The Village Commons, a curated sky garden with seating and ambient music, complements these installations to encourage lingering and social interaction. Meanwhile, an adjoining office component features textured finishes within flexible and light-filled workspaces. The result? A dynamic streetscape that is contemporary, not formulaic.
Prioritising openness and natural ventilation, OHV’s timber railings and greenery are a nod to the area’s heritage (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
OHV’s design emerged from MKPL Architects’ winning proposal, following a rigorous competition among local and international firms. Its chairman, Siew Man Kok, describes the project as “a vibrant lifestyle destination that rethinks how people experience urban spaces”. He adds: “By designing with generosity and human scale, we wanted to create a place that feels open, inclusive and instinctively welcoming, where commercial success follows naturally from strong placemaking.”
New live-and-work typologies meet evolving needs
Teoh Hai Pin, director of multidisciplinary design practice DP Architects (DPA), echoes the importance of creating resilient and inclusive spaces, citing the firm’s latest project, Golden Mile Singapore (GMS) — comprising new residential tower Aurea and conserved building The Golden Mile (TGM) — as “a development that sets the tone for modern conservation, aimed at enhancing economic viability, liveability and relevance for a new generation”.
Read also: Freehold three-storey terraced house at Jalan Jintan up for auction at $6.9 mil
Working with conservation specialists Studio Lapis, DPA will transform an iconic brutalist creation into a cohesive urban live-work-play landmark integrating heritage and contemporary urban life. “Distinct from conventional mixed-use developments, GMS contributes to a broader shift in how adaptive reuse can contribute towards an urban development that prioritises long-term sustainability and social well-being,” Teoh adds.
In the spirit of progressive urbanism, Aurea’s take on contemporary urban living addresses today’s needs for liveability, sustainability and biophilic integration. Its design rethinks the spatial distribution of living environments — such as a generous balcony for larger units and maximised internal spaces for other unit types — in response to rising expectations of spatial quality and flexibility.
Aurea’s take on contemporary urban living addresses today’s needs for liveability, sustainability and biophilic integration (Photo: Far East Organization and Perennial Holdings)
Meanwhile, TGM’s loft mezzanine strata office design reflects a creative solution to overcoming existing structural limitations. By merging two floors, it offers an office typology ranging from 136 to 250 sq m (1,464 to 2,691 sq ft) — suitable for family and small to medium enterprises — while respecting the integrity of the building’s stepped façade.
TGM’s loft mezzanine strata office design is a creative solution to overcoming existing structural limitations (Picture: Far East Organization and Perennial Holdings)
Roohid Novinrooz of Conexus Studio, an award-winning interior design practice specialising in workplaces, applauds the approach. “TGM’s approach to office design sparks curiosity, which is usually diminished when everything is designed super-efficiently to maximise their return on investment,” he notes. “Efficiently designed office spaces hinder inspiration and engagement, which can affect occupier branding. I see the likes of architecture firms and boutique consultancies occupying TGM spaces … such companies don’t have a big footprint, but a wish to articulate a bold story about their business.”
Fostering community engagement through thoughtful design
Similarly, the face of community spaces is changing to enhance inclusivity and comfort. “When people feel comfortable and supported, meaningful interaction and community life can take root,” states Ong Ker-Shing, co-founder of local architectural firm Lekker Architects. “With an increase in community participation and interest-group workshops in recent years, empathetic spaces are being shaped for multiple users, accommodating the diverse ways people choose to inhabit and use them, and allowing room for interpretation.”
Her firm’s community space projects include Kindle Garden (Singapore’s first inclusive preschool that incorporates play furniture with physical therapy benefits for students with special needs), the Quiet Room at National Museum Singapore (the Republic’s first sensory space in a museum), and Calm Room, a sensory-friendly space at Changi Airport Terminal 2 for neurodivergent travellers. Prior to this, the firm had been commissioned to design a Quiet Room at the new Garage Museum in Moscow, Russia.
Read also: Three strata assets on the market for $16.9 mil
The Quiet Room at National Museum Singapore — the Republic’s first sensory space in a museum (Photo: KHOOGJ)
Ong explains: “Calm Room is a project initiated by Changi Airport Group as part of its efforts towards enhancing the travel experience for people with invisible needs. Space highlights include The Nest — a small, padded space with customisable, coloured lighting to encourage sensory calm, and The Forest — a nature-themed space with ‘biophilic windows’: digital projections with looped videos showcasing Singapore’s natural environment.”
The Calm Room is a sensory-friendly space at Changi Airport Terminal 2 for neurodivergent travellers (Photo: Accident)
Projects such as the Calm Room mirror the efforts of the team at Singapore-based practice Woha Architects, who firmly believe that greenery is a basic human need rather than a mere aesthetic tool. Its director, Chan Ee Mun, says biophilic design and carefully curated communal spaces play a critical role in enhancing quality of living in high-density environments. The firm’s projects feature plant species curated for resilience and biodiversity to create lush, immersive landscaping that mitigates urban heat while supporting mental wellness.
Humanising real estate for enhanced urban living
Equally important is the role of communal facilities as social condensers. Woha’s sky terraces, landscaped decks and semi-outdoor lounges are designed to support both interaction and retreat, accommodating evolving lifestyles shaped by hybrid work and multigenerational living. These generous shared spaces counterbalance increasingly compact private units, fostering social connection and a sense of belonging through adaptability and choice.
Adds Chan: “When we approach any project, be it in the residential sector or any other typology, it’s from a very urban perspective. Singapore is a fairly built-up urban environment, and our interest lies in how we can create living environments for the people that are well-integrated with the city and with nature. We see our buildings not as isolated developments, but as part of a larger, interconnected network that seamlessly integrates with its surroundings.”
Real estate design should more than shape how people live, work and play. It is an important conduit to creating adaptable, human-focused spaces that respond to climate, context and day-to-day needs. Resilience, ventilation and performance matter, but so does authenticity as conservation and adaptive reuse give buildings meaning beyond efficiency.
Good design can enhance daily life in different ways, whether it’s putting nature within arm’s reach or creating flexible spaces that evolve with their communities. The next generation of spaces will be defined by how well they adapt to real patterns of use and their ability to enrich everyday experiences.
A
Jason Chan, senior analyst, consultancy, at Knight Frank Singapore
See Also:
