Lim Koon Park, principal architect and founder of Park + Associates, thrives on projects that push boundaries. What others see as a site’s “flaws”, he sees as traits that lend it character. “That’s what excites us,” he muses. “Even for houses, if we had a choice between a regular square plot and a challenging site, we would usually gravitate towards the latter — where we can make a difference and add value to the land.”

It is a mindset that has driven Park + Associates’ to undertake projects like the 75-unit 1919 on Sophia Road, Aurum Land’s first condominium development, which it won in 2012. The architectural firm has since designed a growing body of residential projects. These include the mixed-use development 1953 by Oxley Holdings on Tessensohn Road, the 276-unit Parc Komo, part of a mixed-use development on Changi Road by SingHaiyi Group (formerly Chip Eng Seng), and the 92-unit freehold Nyon on Amber Road, also by Aurum Land.

More recently, the firm secured projects such as FRX Capital’s 59-unit Hillshore at Pasir Panjang, and the 172-unit The Arcady at Boon Keng, developed by a consortium led by KSH Holdings in partnership with SLB Development and Ho Lee Group. “Developers who look for us tend to be those who want a different interpretation, or a competitive edge to their project,” says Lim.

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The Arcady at Boon Keng illustrates how a shift in thinking can reshape a site. Park + Associates won the design competition by overturning the conventional approach to landscaping. Instead of placing the building on the site and wrapping greenery around it, the firm created a hill and positioned the development atop it.

For Lim, it was a “slight difference in mindset”, but one that mattered for a city-fringe project located near the bustling Serangoon Road.

At Parc Komo, the response was different. Rather than adopting a regimented block layout, the buildings were conceived to reinforce the relaxed, resort-like character of the surrounding greenery. “It was about adding to the overall environment, rather than imposing a rigid order,” says Lim.

Hillshore presented yet another set of constraints. The steep and narrow site demanded a fundamentally different approach, resulting in a tiered design with two low-rise, five-storey blocks flanking a central arrival courtyard that resembles a valley. The project also incorporates a “secret garden” along the pool deck, and a secluded plateau housing the clubhouse, children’s pool, play area and barbecue pits — creating an element of surprise, he adds.

Applying design thinking at scale: Anagram Homes to Luxus Hills

Private houses and condominiums account for about 60% to 70% of Park + Associates’ work. Beyond private condominiums, the firm has also designed several landed housing developments.

One example is Aurum Land’s Anagram Homes, a boutique freehold luxury landed housing project on Kheam Hock Road in prime District 11. The project comprises just eight homes — three bungalows, a pair of semi-detached houses and three terraced houses — and is scheduled for completion next year.

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The design for Anagram Homes was inspired by the Japanese concept of “seijaku”, which emphasises serenity and stillness. Each house features a distinct façade, ensuring a sense of individuality within the development.

The firm has also been engaged by Bukit Sembawang Estates to design the latest phases of Luxus Hills, a 999-year leasehold landed housing estate off Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5. The upcoming phases will feature 476 houses and are currently under construction, extending Park + Associates’ design philosophy into a large-scale landed housing context.

At the top end: restraint in luxury

At the upper end of the luxury bungalow spectrum, Park + Associates recently completed a Good Class Bungalow (GCB) project at Ewart Park on a site exceeding 35,000 sq ft. The development comprises two new GCBs linked by a shared basement that houses communal spaces.

“It’s designed for two families who share one large plot of land,” says Lim. “While the site is big enough to be subdivided into two GCBs, the brothers decided to keep the land intact.”

Another GCB designed for a multi-generational family is located at Jalan Kampong Chantek. Sitting on a 24,703 sq ft site with a gross floor area of over 27,743 sq ft, the home accommodates four families, each occupying a self-contained block linked by a central corridor. Two guest pavilions front the central courtyard, while a cave-like basement garage houses eight cars. The custom-built house, completed in 2022, cost $18.6 million.

For Lim, these projects reflect discipline rather than indulgence — an approach that prioritises long-term family use over maximising subdivision potential.

A personal experiment: QR3D

Perhaps the clearest expression of Lim’s thinking is his own residence, QR3D — Singapore’s first fully 3D-printed, multi-storey home, completed this year. The new double-storey semi-detached house comes with additional basement and mezzanine levels, and seven bedrooms. Located in the prime Bukit Timah area, the 6,130 sq ft property is a redevelopment of Lim’s former home of 25 years.

The project was conceived during the Covid-19 period. “Instead of compromising on the design freedom to accommodate 3D-printing technology, we designed and developed the house as we would any other commission,” he says.

It was also an attempt to test whether 3D printing could move beyond niche applications into mainstream construction. “The technology has been around for the last 15 years. It may not be the cheapest or most convenient way of building at the moment, and there are still limitations,” he says.

Over the past decade, major developers have increasingly adopted prefabricated prefinished volumetric construction (PPVC) and prefabricated bathroom units (PBU) in private and executive condominium projects. These methods involve manufacturing fully finished rooms off-site in controlled factory environments before assembling them on site.

Lim believes 3D printing has a distinct advantage over PPVC and PBU: flexibility.

“If you need to shift a window by even one metre in PPVC, you need to cast a new mould, and it’s expensive,” he explains. “With 3D printing, you can shift windows and doors on every level,” he adds. “It’s not restricted by a precast mould used in the PPVC process. It’s just a matter of programming, and therefore, cheaper by comparison.”

While PPVC and 3D printing share similarities in pre-finished interiors, Lim notes that 3D printing offers greater design freedom for façades. “It’s a technology that needs time to mature and achieve economies of scale,” he says.

Lim observes that condominium design in Singapore is constrained not only by construction methods but also by rising costs and the pressure on developers to launch and sell out projects within five years. “Because of the timeframe in which developers have to launch and sell out a project, we have to design within a certain time — and everybody is rushing,” he says.

Beyond Singapore residential 

Park + Associates’ work is not just confined to Singapore’s development environment. Lim’s design philosophy also transcends different contexts.

For instance, the architectural firm has also been taking on projects in India. It is the architect behind Oberoi Realty’s newly launched Forestville project, with high-rise condominium towers spread across an 18-acre plot. The project is located in Kolshet, Thane West, a prime residential district within the city of Thane and part of the larger Mumbai Metropolitan Region. “We are doing mainly large-scale, high-rise condominiums of about 1,500 units, with 50-storey towers,” he says.

While developers in India are also very conscious about efficiency and functionality, “they are very receptive to suggestions about façade treatment, the design of the common areas,” adds Lim. “They really relish our input.”

The firm is also taking on more hospitality projects, such as Ascott’s Citadines Connect City Centre, a 172-room hotel at Clemenceau Avenue that opened in 2019. Park + Associates was also instrumental in the $22 million makeover of the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport hotel, which was completed in January 2024.

SingHaiyi Group’s upcoming Hyatt Regency Samarafushi Maldives, a new resort situated in North Male Atoll, also bears Park + Associate’s hallmarks. The 130-villa resort has a mix of beachfront, treetop or overwater villas with private pools, and is slated for completion in 2026. The architecture that emphasises natural materials and sensitivity to the local environment.

Park + Associates also designed the Hafary Gallery at Eunos, which opened in 2021. Conceived as an immersive experience, the gallery guides visitors through a series of spaces — from living rooms to kitchens and bathrooms — showcasing a wide range of materials. It also houses a dedicated showroom for natural stones by Antolini, the Verona-based manufacturer known for materials ranging from marble to semiprecious stones such as lapis lazuli.

‘Bringing value to projects’

Outside the architectural studio, Lim also has a separate interior design firm with another business partner, founded in 2005. Two years ago, he started a landscape design arm. “Both firms are run independently by the respective partners,” he says.

Founded in 1999, Park + Associates today employs 65 staff. Lim personally interviews every hire and knows everyone by name. “We believe in grooming our staff and in staff retention,” he says.

Equally important, he adds, is being selective about the projects the firm undertakes. “I want the work to be meaningful and exciting — not just for me, but for the rest of the office,” he says. “If we focus too much on any single typology, my guys will get bored and won’t be motivated.”

Project selection, therefore, is a collective effort, guided by whether it represents a new location, a new typology, or offers room for exploration. “It’s important that we bring value to the project,” says Lim.