It seems fitting that an institution providing tertiary education in the arts should push the boundaries of creativity in architecture. That’s exactly what the LASALLE College of the Arts does.

Ingenious space
Students in LASALLE College of the Arts

Photo by LASALLE College of the Arts

Designed by Singapore-based RSP Architects, the campus is an ingenious exercise of reworking space. From the outside, visitors are confronted by a black monolithic exterior of stone and aluminium punctuated with irregularly-shaped windows.

This illusion of continuity disappears when visitors enter the building, with its six seven-storey-high buildings, linked by an atrium and sky bridges. In contrast to its exterior, the buildings here are stunningly graphic, with faceted glass walls and individual panels framed in black, each tilting at different angles.

Natural connections
‘Black Hole’ 2007 sculpture, by Bro Joseph McNally

Photo by LASALLE College of the Arts

The design was inspired by geology. Indeed, the cluster of sculpted blocks arranged around a central space conjures the image of a deep canyon, with the multiple linking corridors and sky bridges evoking a natural landscape. Light and air circulate freely among the buildings, creating a dynamic atmosphere of movement and energy.

This contemporary masterpiece has gained an unsurprising amount of attention in the world of architecture. It represented Singapore in the architectural section of the Venice Biennale in 2004 and has gone on to win another three awards: PUSH Award 2009, Singapore Institute of Architects; Building of the Year Award 2008, 9th Singapore Institute of Architect’s Design Awards; and President’s Design Award 2008.