SKEW Collaborative Information

SKEW Collaborative is an architecture and research practice that started in 2006 in Shanghai, before expanding to Hong Kong and Singapore. The first conception of the practice began in New York City in 2000, vis-a-vis SKEW's inaugural exhibition at the Substation Gallery in Singapore. As the Chinese translation of SKEW, Pianjian 偏建 was conceived uniquely for a mode of practice in Shanghai, and later in Singapore. SKEW was briefly renamed sciSKEW between 2007 and 2010. Facing the need to reconcile these triangulated geographies, the cultural disparities between the cities became the raw material that feeds the studio’s work. Through an analysis of culture and the city, SKEW and Pianjian seek to create architecture that is relevant and elegant, but more critically, architecture that can increase awareness about the city and natural environment. In every project, SKEW and Pianjian will support clients to reassess their briefs, and examine architectural artifacts produced by their different cultures in order to design architectural strategies that can bridge, critique and translate between cultures and systems. The practice has been featured at acclaimed design events and forums such as the 2004 Singapore Art Museum's “SENI” (prequel to the Singapore Biennale), 2007, 2009, 2013 and 2017 Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture (Shenzhen & Hong Kong), 2008 Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo's “YOUprison” Exhibition, 2010 Beijing Architecture Biennale, 2011 Chengdu Biennale, 2011 Singapore Hub-to-Hub Public Art Exhibition, 2015's Para-Site’s "Luxury We Cannot Afford" Exhibition, 2017 Seoul Biennale, and many others. The practice has also received professional recognition such as the Singapore Institute of Architecture Design Awards, Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award, 50-Under-50: Innovators of the 21st Century, Perspective Global 40-Under-40, AD100, LEAF Award, Perspective Awards, and other accolades.