NUS Social Design Lab Initiative: Reframing Architecture as a Social Discipline

The Launch of NUS's Social Design Lab

The National University of Singapore (NUS) has taken a bold step in redefining the role of architecture in society through the establishment of the Social Design Lab (SoDL) within its Department of Architecture, part of the College of Design and Engineering (CDE). Launched in August 2025, this initiative marks a pivotal moment for higher education in Singapore, where architecture is increasingly viewed not just as building structures but as a vital social practice that shapes communities and human interactions. With Singapore's urban landscape dominated by high-density public housing—home to over 80% of its population—the lab addresses pressing needs for inclusive, resilient spaces amid land scarcity and demographic shifts.

SoDL emerged from a successful proposal by its co-founders, securing S$1.3 million in seed funding over three years. This financial backing underscores NUS's commitment to interdisciplinary research that bridges academia and real-world communities, fostering designs that prioritize equity, care, and collective well-being.

Meet the Visionary Co-Founders

At the helm of SoDL are Associate Professor Thomas Kong and Dean's Chair Associate Professor Lilian Chee, both esteemed faculty in the NUS Department of Architecture. Thomas Kong, holding a Master of Architecture (with Distinction) from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a Bachelor of Architecture (Honours) from NUS, brings expertise in socially responsible design. His personal studio, Chronotope, emphasizes prototyping ethical solutions through community partnerships.

Lilian Chee, a prolific writer, curator, and educator, specializes in architectural design and visual cultures. Author of Architecture and Affect: Precarious Spaces, she explores how spaces evoke emotions and social dynamics. As History Theory Criticism Research Cluster Leader, Chee's work has earned international acclaim, positioning her to lead SoDL's theoretical and practical explorations.

Their collaboration embodies CDE Dean Professor Teo Kie Leong's vision of the lab as a 'testing ground' for ideas dialogued with communities, practitioners, and the public, aligning with NUS Architecture's global top-10 QS ranking in Architecture & Built Environment 2026.

Core Pillars of the Social Design Lab

SoDL operates across four key domains: Community Building via co-design and participatory action research; Health and Wellbeing through inclusive environments; Care and Relationality by framing design as empathetic practice; and Equity and Inclusion to amplify marginalized voices. This framework decouples architecture from mere physicality, recognizing space as socially produced by diverse actors—users, non-experts, and professionals.

In land-scarce Singapore, where population density exceeds 8,000 people per square kilometer, such approaches are crucial. They promote maintenance and repair as civic intelligence, countering top-down urbanism with collaborative stewardship, much like Housing and Development Board (HDB) rejuvenation schemes that engage residents in town upgrades.

By nurturing civic-minded graduates, SoDL prepares students for roles in higher education faculty positions or university jobs focused on sustainable urbanism.

Inaugural Conference: Designing the Social

On February 5, 2026, SoDL hosted its flagship event, the 'Designing the Social' conference at NUS SDE3. This one-day gathering interrogated architecture's social dimensions—philosophical, material, spatial, and pedagogical—drawing international scholars and practitioners for two panels on shaping social relations through space.

The event highlighted proactive practices, fostering networks amid disagreements to spark innovations. Assoc Prof Kong noted it aimed not for singular solutions but collaborative insights, reflecting Singapore's shift toward participatory design in HDB projects like Remaking Our Heartland.

Attendees engaged with global case studies, underscoring architecture's potential to build belonging, care, and collectivity—timely for Singapore's aging society, where 1 in 4 residents will be 65+ by 2030.

The Assembling the Social Exhibition

Running concurrently from February 5 to March 8, 2026, at the NUS Architecture Gallery, 'Assembling the Social – Acts of Caring, Nurturing, Repairing and Imagining' showcased 12-14 multidisciplinary projects from art, design, architecture, and education. It emphasized how communities sustain, heal, and innovate spaces.

Highlights included Singapore's Tan Beng Kiang's HDB rejuvenation and Pulau Ubin drink stall restoration; Chicago's Sweet Water Foundation's Thought Barn (2017 community hub); London's Community Maintenance Club (2023 resident-led repairs); and local Casual Poet Library (2024 community-funded intellectual space). These exemplify reframing maintenance as collective care.

Real-World Case Studies Spotlighted

• Remaking Our Heartland: Assoc Prof Tan Beng Kiang's project upgrades older HDB towns, involving residents in rejuvenating communal areas for better social bonds.
• Participate in Design (PiD): A non-profit empowering public input in urban planning, shifting from top-down to collaborative processes.
• Thought Barn & Communiversity: Emmanuel Pratt's initiatives regenerate blighted Chicago neighborhoods through education and gathering spaces.
• Community Maintenance Club: Rosy Tam and Spike Chen's London effort treats repairs as social care in public housing.

These cases provide concrete examples for NUS students, demonstrating step-by-step co-design: identify community needs, co-create prototypes, iterate via feedback, and sustain through stewardship. Such methods align with Singapore's Loveable Singapore initiative, softening urban edges with emotional design elements.

Singapore's Urban Context and SoDL's Relevance

Singapore's public housing estates, managed by HDB, house 1.1 million households. Studies like the HDB-NUS collaboration reveal built environments fostering community bonding through shared spaces. SoDL tackles challenges like aging infrastructure and social isolation, promoting designs for active aging and cohesion—vital as HDB introduces Community Care Apartments for seniors.

In high-density settings, SoDL's focus on equity addresses inequalities, echoing global trends where architecture enhances social capital and physical activity. For aspiring architects, this translates to careers in higher education career advice on sustainable placemaking.

Educational Impacts and Student Opportunities

SoDL integrates into NUS's BA (Architecture) (Hons), M.Arch, and related programs, offering hands-on workshops and residencies. Students engage in real projects, building portfolios for higher ed jobs in academia or practice. Recent NUS Arch achievements—like top prizes at iNTA 2025 for climate-resilient design—highlight the department's prowess.

Through participatory methods, students learn to define social design (interdisciplinary practice prioritizing human relations), step-by-step: research stakeholders, prototype inclusively, evaluate impacts, refine iteratively. This prepares them for Singapore's evolving job market, where design contributes to social value per DesignSingapore studies.

Stakeholder Perspectives and Challenges

Dean Teo praises SoDL as a dialogue platform; Chee emphasizes empowerment beyond democratization. Kong highlights networks over solutions. Challenges include scaling participation in bureaucratic systems, but successes like Casual Poet Library—sustained 1.5 years via community funding—prove viability.

Critics note potential tensions between academic ideals and practical constraints, yet multi-perspective views—from NGOs to government—enrich discourse. In Singapore, this balances efficiency with humanity.

Photo by Walls.io on Unsplash

Future Outlook and Actionable Insights

SoDL plans expanded residencies, regional collaborations, and policy influence. For professionals, adopt co-design: engage communities early, measure social ROI via cohesion metrics. Students: pursue NUS programs, contribute to Rate My Professor for insights on faculty like Kong and Chee.

Explore Singapore university jobs or postdoc opportunities in design research. As NUS leads, SoDL positions Singapore as a social architecture hub.