Appointment of Architect for Singapore’s National Art Gallery

Studio Milou Architecture and CPG Consultants chosen after extensive expert assessments and public consultation exercise

The Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts MICA is appointing Studio Milou Architecture and CPG Consultants Pte Ltd, to be the Principal Consultants to design and build the new National Art Gallery of Singapore (working title).

2                This appointment comes after a rigorous due diligence process that was conducted with the winning three schemes. In accordance with the competition, the due diligence process comprised the following:

1. Jury’s assessment: This was a collection of the Jury’s comments from the competition on the winning schemes.
2. Public feedback: A survey was conducted at the public exhibition of the schemes in October 2007 to gather feedback on the winning schemes.
3. Technical evaluation: MICA hired a panel of technical experts to evaluate the technical concerns of each scheme. This also ensured that the architects had a good grasp of the technical requirements/difficulties of their proposed schemes.
4. Track record: The teams’ CVs were evaluated. MICA took into consideration each team’s architectural experience, as well as their experience in building similar institutions.
5. Cost evaluation: Independent cost consultants were hired to evaluate the architect’s ability to meet their proposed budget. Clarifications were also conducted with each team, to accurately assess the proposed costs.

3                 Studio Milou Architecture and CPG Consultants were selected based on the following merits:

1. Studio Milou Architecture’s scheme was placed first by the Jury Panel for their excellent architectural design proposal for the competition.
2. The public had also showed a strong preference for Studio Milou Architecture’s scheme.
3. Studio Milou Architecture has a professional and competent team that understands MICA’s concerns and the complexities of a project of this scale. They were also able to meet MICA’s cost and technical requirements for the project.
4. Both Studio Milou Architecture and CPG Consultants have an impressive combined track record of designing museums ad galleries in France and Singapore, including several major NHB museums. This is the only team among the three winning teams with such extensive experience.

4                Dr Lee Boon Yang, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, commented: “We arrived at this decision after much deliberation, carefully studying each scheme and holding extensive discussions with the architectural teams. Studio Milou Architecture and CPG Consultants have captured our vision for this project well, understood its complexities, and are a professional and extremely competent team. I have great confidence in this architectural team we have selected, and have no doubt that they will be able to deliver an iconic building for Singapore’s National Art Gallery.”