Old colorful shophouses line the streets of Singapore. Figment shophouses are not pictured.A Singapore company called Figment restores run-down shophouses and turns them into coliving spaces.The design of each shophouse is inspired by its own history and the neighborhood.
, grew up in a shophouse in Singapore. He founded the company in 2019, and today, Figment has 25 shophouses in historical neighborhoods across Singapore, including Emerald Hill, Joo Chiat, and Jalan Besar. The company has 10 staff members. Because the shophouses are so old, they require extensive renovations before they're ready for tenants. That's where Figment's design team steps in.BEFORE: The foyer at Straits House at 11 Kim Yan Road. The walls and tiles of the house had been damaged over years of use."The condition in which we take the shophouses on can be very different.
"He just covered everything up. On the tiles, he put an extra floor on top. On the walls, he added another layer of wall. By the time we took over the house, we had to strip everything down," she added.AFTER: The foyer at Straits House at 11 Kim Yan Road. The team was unable to find exact replacements for the damaged red terrazzo tiles.
The original red bricks of the all-white shophouse were hidden behind plaster. A portion of the walls was left bare in the completed home so that tenants could see what it looked like originally.Courtesy of Figment