OMA has completed the AIR CIrcular Campus and Cooking Club in Dempsey Hill, Singapore. The scheme saw the overhaul of an existing modernist building and surrounding green space into what the team calls “a place for novel dining experiences, inviting broader thinking and discussions about food and the environment.”

Designed in collaboration with entrepreneur Ronald Akili, and chefs Matt Orlando of Amass and Will Goldfarb of Room4Dessert, the scheme includes open kitchens, research space, and a cooking school for visitors.

“It has been an inspiring journey to join Ronald, Will, and Matt on this platform to address the topic of sustainable hospitality from different perspectives,” said OMA managing partner David Gianotten about the project. “We are convinced that architecture and design can maximize impact through active engagement with different disciplines.”

The site spans 40,000 feet of green space around the former CSC Dempsey Clubhouse, built for civil servants in the 1970s. Key architectural interventions from the project include a 330-foot walkway connecting AIR to the Dempsey Hill car park, which “loosely defines the expansive green space into the garden and the lawn.” Visitors can use the path to access AIR directly, or detour through ingredient gardens and areas for picnics and events.

The front facade of the modernist building has been overhauled to create more open dining spaces, while at the rear of the building, a cylindrical steel frame has been installed to support staircases serving the building’s new function. The new operable front facade, which originally enclosed the first floor, now serves as a semi-open outdoor dining space while an open kitchen to the rear offers visitors an insight into how dishes are prepared.

AIR’s fixtures and furniture have been designed by Andreu Carulla using recycled timber and plastic bottles (HDPE) sourced from a former art installation, as well as Styrofoam – commonly used in disposable food containers. “These elements allude to the ethos of AIR to discover the potential and beauty in what is often perceived as waste,” the team notes.

The project is one of several recently completed schemes to feature in our editorial. Earlier this week, we profiled new homes in West Hollywood by Olson Kundig in addition to a new student center at Western Michigan University by CannonDesign. Last month, meanwhile, we reported on a new LA promenade by Sasaki, an interactive Ontario plaza by Daily tous jours, and Google’s new NYC headquarters by Gensler and COOKFOX.