Jax Tan and Lam Jun Nan, co-founders of Singapore-based Open Studio, design spaces that prioritize how people actually live. Both architecture graduates of the National University of Singapore, they launched their practice in 2016 after stints at firms like Aedas and Park + Associates.
Their portfolio balances residential projects with commercial work-including Club 21 at Raffles City, Ally gyms, and Ksisters at Wheelock Place, where a hanok-inspired structure honors Korean heritage.
In compact Singapore apartments, Open Studio avoids conventional layouts. At Habitat 65, they introduced a custom “storage pod” that integrates function without fragmenting space-allowing living, circulation, and storage to coexist openly.
At R65, a mirrored volume separates the entrance from the living area while housing concealed storage-enhancing light, airflow, and perceived spaciousness in a tight footprint.
Commercial projects let them test bold ideas at scale. At Ally Cross Street, they replaced standard gym mirrors with a three-meter curved wall of lightweight Plexiglas tubes-creating atmosphere without sacrificing practicality.
They also specialize in adaptive reuse. For Lo & Behold Group, they restored the former Nan Chiau Secondary School hall at New Bahru-stripping decades of clutter to reveal its modernist teak paneling and mosaic floors, preserving repair marks as part of its history.
For Tan and Lam, great design isn’t about aesthetics alone-it’s hospitality: intuitive, personalized spaces shaped by trust and real human behavior. Their dream? Projects like Tokyo’s public toilet initiative-design that elevates everyday urban life.