Isabella Duffield

The void deck is the most common public space in Singapore and holds symbolic status as a mirror of everyday life and nation building. This ubiquitous typology occupies the ground floor of most public blocks, also known as HDB. It is characterised by its large structural pilotis which mark the boundary between the undercroft internal ‘void’ and the external space. As a state defined ‘neutral’ space, it was instrumental in promoting nationhood and national identity between the multi-ethnic population.

The focus of the project is on the existing objects within the void deck: their role in reinforcing regulations and supporting 'weak forms' of sociality. It is also through objects that residents subvert regulations and appropriate the void deck through a simple act of bringing down their own plastic chair or forming ‘living room’ corners.

In focusing on the objects, I question how these can negotiate between the residents, providing a support structure for existing and new collective forms to emerge.

I have designed a set of everyday objects to support everyday actions to shift the discourse from a 'neutral' narrative to one that encompasses more complexities, situations and protagonists in the domestic.