Comma
Comma by Campus Imact is a youth centre retrofitted into a HDB void deck and shaped from a conversation with the community it serves: a porous third place between school and home, continually authored by the youths who use it.
Campus Impact Admiralty Grove is a youth centre retrofitted within the void deck of a HDB carpark in Woodlands. The client is a non-profit providing character-building programmes for youths from disadvantaged families.The project began with a question: what should a youth centre be?
The design started with a focus group bringing together Campus Impact’s stakeholders. Rather than presenting a scheme, FARM facilitated a conversation framed by the African proverb "it takes a village to raise a child." The session surfaced a clear positioning: the new centre should function as a third place between school and home — neither institutional nor domestic, but a porous environment where youths, families, volunteers, and residents could weave their own narratives into a shared identity.
In response, different zonal concepts were developed: a vibrant open plan, a learning- versus-chill-out division, and a laid-back atmosphere with tucked-away activity rooms.
The design started with a focus group bringing together Campus Impact’s stakeholders. Rather than presenting a scheme, FARM facilitated a conversation framed by the African proverb "it takes a village to raise a child." The session surfaced a clear positioning: the new centre should function as a third place between school and home — neither institutional nor domestic, but a porous environment where youths, families, volunteers, and residents could weave their own narratives into a shared identity.
In response, different zonal concepts were developed: a vibrant open plan, a learning- versus-chill-out division, and a laid-back atmosphere with tucked-away activity rooms.
Further workshops refined elements across the three into a hybrid scheme that the design then resolved against tight statutory constraints. A separate vision deck was produced to secure donor buy-in.
The completed centre opens onto the void deck through a Community Foyer that doubles as neighbourhood seating, where residents and users can drop by without entering. The pantry sits behind it, opening through an open counter so casual meals and gatherings spill into the same shared edge. Inside, a flexible main activity space accommodates tutoring, workshops, and exhibitions, anchored by a grand stair lined with bean bags that invites unstructured lingering. Three programme rooms support therapy and small-group sessions, tucked away without retreating from the main space. Custom partitions on wheels let staff and youths reshape the main space themselves, dividing it for parallel programmes or rolling away for community events. The result is a youth centre continually authored by its users.
The completed centre opens onto the void deck through a Community Foyer that doubles as neighbourhood seating, where residents and users can drop by without entering. The pantry sits behind it, opening through an open counter so casual meals and gatherings spill into the same shared edge. Inside, a flexible main activity space accommodates tutoring, workshops, and exhibitions, anchored by a grand stair lined with bean bags that invites unstructured lingering. Three programme rooms support therapy and small-group sessions, tucked away without retreating from the main space. Custom partitions on wheels let staff and youths reshape the main space themselves, dividing it for parallel programmes or rolling away for community events. The result is a youth centre continually authored by its users.
LOCATION
Admiralty Grove, Singapore
YEAR
Completed 2026
DISCIPLINE
ARCHITECTURE & INTERIOR
TYPOLOGY
PUBLIC SPACE & SCHOOL/WORKSHOP
SIZE (SQM)
270 sqm
TEAM
Peter Sim, Jaxe Pan, Tan Lijin, Sri Saravanan, Lin Derong
COLLABORATORS
Main Contractor: Homeworks Consultancy |
C&S Engineer: VEngineers Consultancy |
QS: AD CONSULTANTS |
Photographer: Chan Hao Ong
