Pedestrianised Armenian Street

LASALLE x HeritageSG: The Armenian Street Activation

Industry partner(s)
Project Supervisor
Project Status
Ongoing
Project Gallery
Context and problems

HeritageSG is a subsidiary of the National Heritage Board that brings heritage to life with a vision to weave tradition into tomorrow's fabric. Its Festival and Precinct Development division manages major events and the Bras Basah.Bugis (BBB) precinct. The BBB team spearheads placemaking through curated festivals, cultural programmes, and year-round activations. These initiatives strengthen community bonds, foster creative expression, and ensure the precinct thrives as a vibrant cultural hub for all, deepening public appreciation for Singapore's living heritage.

The project aims to engage a group of LASALLE students to create a year-round Activation Plan to establish Armenian Street as a vibrant, sustainable craft and design hub. To address its current underuse, students will conduct on-site observations and stakeholder consultations with community groups and creative tenants to identify usage gaps and aspirations. They will then design a themed programming framework for the annual calendar, integrating cultural celebrations, traditional holidays and community happenings. The Activation Plan must strategically balance community needs with the precinct's heritage identity, transforming the street into a lively, everyday cultural destination.

Testimonials

The HeritageSG Bras Basah.Bugis (BBB) team recently collaborated with the Arts Management students on the Armenian Street Activation project. Through diligent primary and secondary research, the students presented professional and thoughtful proposals that directly informs the BBB team’s activation plans for the current year. This collaboration provided students with real-world experience while offering the precinct fresh, creative perspectives. We thank the student team and their supervisor, Shai, for their contributions. HeritageSG remains committed to industry-student partnerships that drive capability development within the heritage sector.

  • Rin Yee, Festival Coordinator, Festivals & Precinct Development, HeritageSG
Team Members and Roles

Insyirah Nur Dhamirah Binte Bahtiar: Project Lead, Programme Designer, Project Coordinator, Writer, Editor 
Tang Yiying Shirley: Researcher, Programme Designer, Writer, Editor 
Vera Tan Yingxin: Researcher, Programme Designer, Writer 
Nur Aisyah Binte Hanafi: Researcher, Programme Designer, Writer 
Nicole Chan Tao Ying: Researcher, Programme Designer, Writer

Key Goals and Objectives

Key Goals: To produce an activation plan for Armenian Street that can serve as an actionable roadmap, feasible for direct implementation by the BBB team. This roadmap includes a stakeholder engagement strategy and a thematic framework for year-round programming aligned with existing cultural celebrations. It also analyses research on current activation gaps with community stakeholders to offer practical, scalable recommendations that foster creativity, heritage, and sustained community engagement within the precinct. 

Objectives of the Armenian Street Activation Plan: 
● To propose a sustained modular programming framework that enables flexible reconfiguration of activations. 
● To resolve visitor roadblocks by identifying inconsistencies in prior engagement levels. 
● To reinforce the street’s heritage identity through placemaking strategies. 
● To increase visitor dwell time by creating comfortable, engaging shared spaces. 
● To transform the street into a destination that promotes well-being and recharge by implementing inclusive recreational activities. 
● To encourage increased participation and repeat visitation , actively shaping the experiences of visitors at Armenian Street.

Project Deliverables and Outputs

The Armenian Street Activation Plan presents a strategic plan to support HeritageSG in strengthening public engagement along the historic Armenian Street. The key aspect of the plan is a Modular Framework Approach that views the site as an urban third space. It is guided by 3 programming threads of Wellness, Heritage and Community, which have been developed through a deep mixed-methods research. The framework proposes 3 broad programming concepts within which are specific actionable activations that HeritageSG can consider applying over a year-long period. The concepts are: 

1. Sunset Club: A lifestyle programme that transforms the street into a welcoming third space by encouraging visitors to unwind and build
everyday routines within the space during sunset hours. 

2. Revitalising the Botanical Gardens: A heritage-focused concept that aims to bring back life to the First Botanical Gardens located on Armenian Street.

3. Marked & Made: A community showcase that empowers underrepresented local artists and independent collectives, providing a platform for artists, collectives and audiences to interact, learn and explore from one another in a casual setting, offering valuable and insightful takeaways.

The plan also outlines a Formula for Future Activations, illustrating how different programmes can be stacked with each other to create new activations while also being able flexible enough to be able to be included into existing HeritageSG events such as Singapore Night Festival, Singapore HeritageFest and more.