As Singapore continues to evolve into an increasingly dense and technologically advanced metropolis, architect Randy Chan is proposing a radical shift in urban planning philosophy. Rather than focusing solely on efficiency and smart technology, Chan argues that the concept of "care" should be the fundamental principle guiding all architectural and urban design decisions in the city-state.
Chan, the 55-year-old principal of Zarch Collaboratives, founded his firm in 1999 on what was then considered a revolutionary multi-disciplinary approach. "It was a crazy idea back then to have this approach, because architecture was quite siloed as a discipline. Thank goodness the world has moved towards a more collaborative fashion," Chan explained. His unconventional thinking has led him to work across architecture, conservation, art, and curation, positioning him uniquely to identify care as a crucial but overlooked element in urban design.
"Care is an attitude that I wish every designer will have. It should be at the forefront of anything that we do," Chan emphasized. His philosophy extends beyond abstract concepts to practical applications, as he uses architecture as a tool to create meaningful spaces that foster human connection and community well-being.
Chan's concern for Singapore's urban future stems from his observations of life in the highly urbanized environment. He notes that in a city that celebrates hyper-efficiency, residents are constantly busy, leading to increased feelings of alienation, loneliness, and wariness toward one another – issues that were exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The rapid pace of development, which often favors demolition over conservation, compounds these problems by erasing collective memories and historical connections.
"It sends a shock to your body that a neighborhood you're familiar with for 30 years is gone," Chan observed. He warns that such rapid changes could condition future generations into indifference as a protective mechanism against loss. "We might feel that this place could be gone and there's nothing we can do about it," he added, highlighting the risk of people becoming emotionally detached from their surroundings.
On a personal level, Chan recalls how his parents used Hokkien phrases that translated to "come to my house and sit" or "have you eaten" as forms of greeting that expressed genuine care. These traditional gestures of connection have been lost to younger generations and eroded by modern life's relentless pace. Chan finds this loss unfathomable and hopes to rebuild the city with similar spontaneity for human connection.
The architect's pivotal moment came after curating "Design For Care" at Marina Central, a key event of Singapore Design Week 2025 organized by the DesignSingapore Council in September. When invited to pitch a concept for the precinct, care emerged as a natural response to contemporary challenges. The centerpiece was the Care Pavilion, featuring nearly 1,000 Unica stools – the same type commonly found in Singapore's coffee shops where people gather to eat, drink, and chat. Additional installations spread across the precinct from Millenia Walk to Suntec City and South Beach, all selected to represent the care theme.
One particularly memorable installation was "Care-Full Shelter" by art collective Vertical Submarine, located on the link bridge between Marina Square and Millenia Walk. Inspired by traditional bamboo feeding chairs, the installation featured three progressively larger sizes, allowing more people to occupy and have conversations as the chairs grew bigger. "I felt it was very clever and fitted the theme," Chan explained. "One day, as we were watching people responding to it, we overheard a three-generation family stop and talk about it. The mother told her children that she used to sit in the chair as a child. The narrative of care is also about personal stories. It was a very heartfelt moment."
While advocating for more explicit integration of care into urban contexts, Chan acknowledges that Singapore already demonstrates caring design principles. Tree planting provides shade against the tropical sun, benches are strategically placed approximately every 300 meters in parks for visitors to rest, and sheltered walkways extend up to 400 meters from train station entrances. "There is an entire legacy built around it, established by our pioneers. Singapore is a city by design," Chan noted, referencing founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's vision to build essential infrastructure including water, housing, and transport systems.
"Another way of looking at it is that it was designed with a purpose – we didn't happen by accident; it was all part of the intrinsic value of caring about where we were going," Chan explained. However, he hopes for more concerted efforts toward greater sustainability, which he defines as ensuring Singapore endures into the future without overusing resources, particularly by avoiding unnecessary demolition of existing buildings.
Chan's portfolio demonstrates his care-centered philosophy in action. ActiveSG Park at Jurong Lake Gardens exemplifies his approach by integrating a public swimming pool into a park setting. While these facilities are typically separate in Singapore, Chan reimagined their relationship using a landscape feature called the "ha-ha wall" – a low-rise, recessed boundary that makes the pool appear ungated and naturally integrated. "The care here is recognizing how a recreation space can gel well with the design language of a park," Chan explained.
Windsor Nature Park represents another innovative project within the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. The park doubles as a regeneration zone for secondary forest while serving as a placeholder until authorities decide whether to convert the site for housing. Chan hopes that users will form strong enough bonds with the space to generate grassroots protests if demolition is proposed. "This is a time-based strategy, where we intentionally build something and allow memories and communities to form. I call it a kind of quiet, assertive activism that protests in a subtle way."
Chan's third highlighted project hits particularly close to home – the conservation of Golden Mile Complex, where his Zarch office is located. He participated in a year-long community engagement effort to champion the building's preservation during the 2018 "en bloc fever" that threatened its demolition. "I felt that as a practitioner of the built environment, we had to rally support against it," he stated. His conservation credentials include the well-known Warehouse Hotel project in Robertson Quay, where the vision was to create an "urban living room." "With that project, we brought the narrative in as part of the value system, and it became a brand for the project," he reminisced.
Within his own practice, Chan is equally committed to building a heart-centered workplace culture. Despite challenging business conditions, he consistently reminds his team about the importance of care through simple gestures like daily greetings, regular breaks, and celebrating achievements to promote mental wellness. "To me, what is most important is that those who cross paths with my office bring along this attribute with them. This is my little way of contributing to the discussion of care," he reflected.
Chan uses a culinary metaphor to describe how care has become integral to his architectural practice: "You know how when you cook char kway teow, you don't really care about the flavor. You just fry it and know how it will end up, but can't actually discern its parts – that is how it is for me." Just as a skilled chef intuitively incorporates all necessary elements, Chan has made care an instinctive component of his design process, believing that architecture's true value lies not just in its physical form but in its ability to nurture human connection and community bonds.
