This project explores the intricate web of domestic work, cottage industries, and gender roles. In the past, cottage industries emerged as a tool for housewives to work and supplement the household’s primary source of income. Where women were expected to shoulder the responsibility of domestic labour, home economics like garment making and patch working can be a form of escapism and social liberation for women.

 

As Singapore grows into a developed capitalistic country, responsibilities previously kept within the family are externalized, taken care of by institutions, or dealt with through the market. This led to the disapearance of cottage industries and skillsets previously honed by many. Singapore’s textile industry exemplifies a capitalistic stronghold, evidenced by inflated clothing costs juxtaposed with surplus used garments. By harnessing the flexibility of the process of cottage industries and recognizing sewing as historically domestic, the key finding is a system of rework in a circular economy that patches the fabrics within the community. Through this systemic rework, capitalism is reframed as a mutually beneficial, organic process rather than an exploitative one.

 

The HDB blocks in question here are sited in Ang Mo Kio’s Block 562-565, a generous architecture of long corridors and voids, built in 1980. As an architectural strategy, the layering of frames as well as porosity are key to highlighting the transactions and processes of the spectacle. The current design describes a garment and clothing upcycling Collective Hub where garment-work and learning takes place in tandem for Singaporeans. Ultimately, the aim is to reinvigorate Ang Mo Kio as envisioned when planned—an inclusive, self-sustaining enclave that seamlessly integrates work and leisure, thereby transcending existing systems and capitalist constraints.​