Photo: AlvieAlive AS A COUNTRY WHERE LAND AND RESOURCES ARE SCARCE, SINGAPORE HAS CHOSEN ‘DESIGN’ AS ITS FOUNDATION, AND TELLS THIS STORY THROUGH THE ‘UNNATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF SINGAPORE’ EXHIBITION
TEXT: KAMOLTHIP KIMAREE
PHOTO CREDIT AS NOTED
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Singapore is a small and relatively young country. Still, its strong ability to design and plan, from national policies to everyday life, makes it stand out among nations much larger than itself. Well-designed urban planning and a clear vision for research and innovation have shaped Singapore into a country known for its efficiency, order, and rapid development.
Photo: Penoramic Publishing
However, regarding cultural aspects, Singapore is often seen as a nation without deep historical roots like other traditional states. Instead, it is defined by its diversity — a multicultural blend of people and influences from many backgrounds. This year, the return of Singapore Design Week 2025 comes with the theme ‘Nation by Design.’ The theme acts as a statement to the world, responding directly to the perception that Singapore lacks a strong cultural heritage. Rather than avoiding that image, it embraces it — showing that Singapore uses design to create new meaning and identity for what it means to be a nation.
Photo: AlvieAlive
Singapore has begun uncovering its cultural roots by defining itself through human creation rather than inheritance. The main exhibition of this year’s festival, curated by Kinetic Singapore, is titled ‘Unnatural History Museum of Singapore.’ The title makes its message clear — this is not a typical national history museum, but rather an unnatural one. What makes the exhibition fascinating is its use of the museum as a framework for communication. It reflects that Singapore’s national story was not shaped by time or natural resources, but by human design. Visitors shouldn’t expect to see ancient relics, fossils, or historical remains carefully preserved and displayed here. Instead, the first thing that catches the eye upon entering is a six-meter-long skeleton of the Merlion — the mythical creature that serves as Singapore’s national symbol. For a moment, one might even wonder if such a creature really existed. The installation seems to suggest, half-jokingly yet profoundly, that even the nation’s iconic symbol is, after all, a product of design. The museum, in a way, lays bare the truth—that almost nothing in Singapore is truly original. Even the land itself has been reclaimed to accommodate the city’s growth. The national orchid, too, is not a native species but a man-made hybrid, bred to be resilient and adaptable to any environment. Every element of Singapore, it seems, has been carefully designed for survival.
Pann Lim, Co-founder and Creative Director of Kinetic Singapore | Photo courtesy of Pann Lim
Photo courtesy of HTX (Home Team Science and Technology Agency)
The museum also features possible future scenarios, showcasing experimental works that combine scientific research with design research. These projects examine how we can prepare for or respond to future crises. Their aim goes beyond making human life more convenient—they also explore how to restore balance among humanity, the ecosystem and nature. The exhibition presents a variety of design experiments at different scales, including hybrid plants, cyborg roaches (cockroaches implanted with microchips to monitor patients and the elderly), urban crab and shrimp condo farms designed to provide sustainable food sources, and reimagined hawker centres that recycle water within their own systems. Other works focus on public health policies and even the design of processes to manage the human body after death. Together, these projects represent an approach to designing for survival in a nation where natural resources and land are limited. At the same time, they pose an open question to the audience: can humans truly design our own evolution and ecosystems, creating a future independent of nature’s resources?
Photo: Kamolthip Kimaree
Photo: Kamolthip Kimaree
While many countries struggle to hold on to their cultural roots while adapting to a rapidly changing world, Singapore offers a distinct approach. It believes that identity is not something fixed, but something that can be designed, experimented with, and continuously refined. By declaring itself a ‘Nation by Design,’ Singapore reinforces the idea that design is not just about aesthetics or individual creativity, but also about the collective vision and values that shape a nation. For Singapore, design functions as a structural mechanism—a tool that has built the nation from the ground up. It shapes not only how people live but also how the country develops its economy, environment, policies, and future.
Photo: Penoramic Publishing
All of this makes the Unnatural History Museum of Singapore more than just an exhibition—it is a statement from a small nation that proudly declares: ‘We exist and being because we designed ourselves, and we will continually use design to make ourselves survive.’ The Unnatural History Museum of Singapore is on view at the National Design Centre from 11 September to 26 October 2025, as part of Singapore Design Week 2025.
Photo: AlvieAlive