Our approach disregards dogma and norms.
Our methodology favours invention and experimentation.
Our spaces aspire for soulfulness, sensibility and tactility.
About Us
Founded by Lim Shing Hui in 2016, L Architects is a boutique architecture studio based in Singapore that asks simple questions but are intrepid in our interventions. We revel in the hard questions and untested solutions, pushing boundaries to conceive new prototypes.
A space is more than a sum of parts, and has ample potential for enhanced living beyond what we are familiar with. This thought shapes our philosophy to making objects, rooms, dwellings, work spaces and gardens.
With each piece of work, an architect invites the client into a part of her childhood, habits and beliefs, making the very act of designing a personal one.
Design Approach
L Architects designs for people, and people are multifaceted. Quirks and habits, routines and past times, work and play. These are things we think about – as do you. We understand your apprehensions, your dreams, your lacks and your fancies. We are makers, but also listeners. In our role, we take the client along on a journey of discovery through unlikely ideas into surprising products.
The metamorphosis of concept to pen, and then to built form – we enjoy all the steps it takes, including the back-and-forth dialogue in developing a design, the hours (yes, it does take hours) conceiving and drawing a door or staircase edge detail, as well as the creative energy among collaborators on site.
Mostly, we strive to find that one right question that will steer each creation.
The Team
Ar. Lim Shing Hui
Lim Shing Hui is the Founding Director & Design Principal of L Architects. She received her Master of Architecture from the National University of Singapore. Her thesis project was under the tutelage of Professor Erik L’Heureux who is an award winning American architect and educator based in Singapore. Prior to starting her own practice in 2016, she spent her formative professional years working in MKPL Architects. She has been a registered Architect with the Board of Architects Singapore since 2014. Shing Hui carries with her a spirit of curiosity and experimentation into many of her projects with a particular interest in finding an emotional connection with the spaces that she designs.
In 2022 at the SIA Architectural Design Awards, L Architects bagged 3 awards as a relatively unknown firm. A merit award for House of Trees & the highest distinction conferred – Design of the Year & Design Award for A Brick and Mortar shop making her the youngest recipient of this honour to date.
Internationally, A Brick & Mortar shop was longlisted in 2022 Dezeen awards out of a record breaking submission of 5400 entries from 90 countries. The same project also received an honourable mention at the INDE Awards 2022.
At the recent SIA Architectural Design Awards 2024, L Architects was once again conferred a prestigious Design Award for the House of Parts project.
Tse Lee Shing
Lee Shing has more than a decade of experience in combining technical and aesthetic skills in the whole design process. His keen eye for details has brought many delightful projects from concept to completion. He has been heavily involved in L Architects’ high-profile projects. These include The Living Grid House, The House Apartment, Arcadia Garden Interiors, The Window Apartment, House of Trees and A Brick and Mortar Shop.
Reid Tan
Reid was trained for more than a decade in a renowned architectural firm as an architectural BIM modeller. He has since developed a keen sense of interest in interior architecture projects and is now responsible for site coordination and ensuring that design intent is carried through from inception to the final product.
Loo Quan Le
Quan Le completed his Master of Architecture at the National University of Singapore under an industry scholarship. Before joining L Architects, he was employed at several renowned architecture firms in Singapore where he had the opportunity to work on projects ranging from mixed-use towers to high-profile integrated developments.
To Quan Le, good architecture goes beyond its visual appeal; it should be able to resonate with its users on an emotional level, while serving the practical needs of its users. As a young designer, he eagerly embraces every opportunity to broaden his knowledge and fuel his passion for design.
Zhang Shijie
Shijie is a fourth-year student pursuing Master of Architecture at the National University of Singapore. His academic journey over the past three years has trained him to be a strong designer who is not afraid to push forth with creative concepts. Currently, Shijie is enriching his practical experience through a semester-long internship with L Architects.
Awards
Top of the Class 2025 is an annual award presented to the most outstanding interior design studios that have performed consistently well over 2024.
Jury Citation: L Architects has designed 15×3 interiors in Marymount, Singapore. The 15×3 office is a 15-meter-long and 3-meter-wide micro-architectural space that reimagines the traditional workspace.
This project attempts to merge the concepts of a studio and an intimate dining room to fulfil programmatic resourcefulness. The design was inspired by its location, which places it between an interesting dichotomy of low-rise houses and industrial buildings, lending a new perspective to the work and social experience.
Conceived in 2000 as an international index of emerging architectural talent, the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory is an annual listing of promising practices from across the globe. While always championing the best and most promising young studios, over the years, the project has showcased inspiring work with an emphasis on the residential realm.
Top of the Class 2023 is an annual award presented to the most outstanding interior design studios that have performed consistently well over 2022.
Jury Citation: The project elevates the shopping experience for kitchen appliances within a delightful space. The interior elements are made from commonplace materials like hollow bricks, unadorned plywood and the recycling of stone off-cuts. Innovation and good detailing deconstruct and re-assemble the cement bricks into free-standing walls, benches and reception counters, which order the shop’s layout. The resultant space evokes a strong emotional response akin to an art gallery. The combination of natural materials lends the interiors a timeless quality. The walls and display surfaces become backdrops for the products to take centre stage. To control visual clutter, the Architect balanced between the curated display of the latest products and the archival of older models stored in pull-out drawers below. This clever, unexpected approach satisfied the client’s brief. This project is wonderfully poetic and innovative at the same time. The architect has proven that designing sustainably adds immeasurable value. The Jury unanimously awarded this project Design of the Year, as the Architect’s sensitive use of the ordinary resulted in an extraordinary interior.
Jury Citation: The Jury acknowledges the success of the House of Trees lies in the architect’s re-contextualising of the urban surroundings of a residence through the use of deep, occupiable, lush landscaped balconies. Through design, this green buffer offers sun shading, respite and new uses to its inhabitants. There is also interest in the way the duplex was planned, allowing for connections between two households.
Jury Citation: L Architects has created retail space in Singapore that draws on raw materials for an atmospheric experience. The project is a multi-label kitchen appliances shop located in Singapore.
The starting point for the design was the expression ‘bricks and mortar’, used to describe the physical presence of a business or organisation. From this, cement bricks were chosen as the key component for the space. Further materials such as hollows bricks, unadorned plywood and off-cut stones were also used to offset the raw functionality of the cement material. The resultant space creates a refreshing and atmospheric retail experience that offers a sense of beauty that can be found in the ordinary, much like the moments of wonder created with seemingly functional kitchen appliances.