“The right to the city is far more than the individual liberty to access urban resources. It is a right to change ourselves by changing the city. It is, moreover, a common rather than an individual right since this transformation inevitably depends upon the exercise of a collective power to reshape the processes of urbanization. The freedom to make and remake our cities and ourselves is, I want to argue, one of the most precious yet most neglected of our human rights” 

– David Harvey, “The Right to the City”

The dynamic world calls for responsiveness; responsiveness in the city calls for a new system: a two-way conversation between people. In the Collab-oratory, residents are constantly learning, experimenting, growing, testing, evolving, and reinventing their environment. As such, all parts are moving and the city is constantly morphing as people make, do and learn.

As one resident studies algae walls, other might experiment with PTV integrated facade, self-build using recycled containers as materials, treat waste with microbial organisms, or analyse food production in urban farms. The dwellers constantly monitor and test, engaging with different technologies and changing parts as they learn. They adapt their environment for comfort, performance, identity and aesthetics — their realities are diverse, yet part of the collaborative cloud.

This is a call for everyone to be part of the conversation. It is not exclusive to professionals or academic researchers, but posits that everyone has a worthy skill. Technology becomes more commonplace and part of the everyday. The Collab-oratory redefines the notion of ‘work-live-play-learn’; there is opportunity for choice and voice while crafting a working and living environment. The manifesto is simple: thinking, sharing and collaborating with like-minded people. 


In collaboration with Isabella Ong, Serene Wong, Daniel Tan and Li Jingsi.

Awarded Honorable Mention and published in Vertical Cities Asia International Design Competition and Symposium 2015 “Everyone Contributes”.

Exhibited in “Rethinking our City for Singapore’s Next 50 Years” at the URA.