SAA empowers community-led placemaking and sustainability at VIASTA!, a unique rail viaduct fiesta

Following the event’s success earlier in May this year, a second VIASTA! festival took place on 30 November, drawing a similar buzz of over 2,000 attendees. The event was attended by advisers to the East Coast GRC Grassroots Organisations (GROs): Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How, and Jessica Tan Soon Neo.

The community-run festival was initially organised to explore the potential of underutilised urban spaces, like the space under the rail viaduct in Changi Simei where it took place. 

Upcycled drainage cells and recycled wood pallets from the previous setup were repurposed for this second festival, forming the key structures and street furniture along the same viaduct path. Beyond underscoring the festival’s commitment to the theme of sustainability, these are now integral to the event’s visual identity with which the community will acquaint themselves.  

The festival featured diverse activities, from movie screenings, games, educational and sales booths, to performances. Beyond fostering community engagement and participation in sustainability efforts, the festival also served as an incubator for collaboration, connecting diverse individuals to create a larger impact.   

SAA’s Architectural Executive, Siva Shankeran, who also led the design for the first VIASTA!, shared: "Embarking on the second VIASTA!, we considered the degrees of roles played, from the individual to a collective, community level. With a more intentional approach to curating the festival, we introduced additional workshop-style booths, allowing participants to spend more time creating artwork to be sold at the fair and understanding their roles and contributions to broader placemaking and sustainability efforts."

A greater stake by the community 

In the first VIASTA!, students from the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities (LKYCIC), a research institute at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), were part of the design process alongside SAA’s team. For this second festival, the students had an increased stake in the project, leading it from inception to execution.

The SAA team recognised a valuable opportunity to share industry knowledge and tools for design execution with the SUTD students. By empowering them, the team aimed to foster a culture of co-creation with the community and inspire future generations of architects and designers. 

The increased stake and ownership in the project are crucial in driving the longevity of the festival, and sustained contribution towards topics like community, sustainability, and placemaking within the neighbourhood.

Siva elaborated: "It is ideal that the community and students of SUTD can eventually spearhead the festival independently. Our hope is that the Changi Simei community will embrace VIASTA! as something to call their own, and to have this as a recurring event that people eagerly anticipate and participate in."

SAA co-curated this event in partnership with the following organisations:

• SUTD Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities (LKYCIC)
• Changi Simei Citizens’ Consultative Committee
• SingHealth Centre for Population Health Research and Implementation
• Changi General Hospital
• COLOURS: Collectively Ours