THE UNSEEN
DESIGNING
The Singapore Oceanarium experience was conceived as a journey beneath the surface, not only into the depths of the ocean, but into humanity’s evolving relationship with it.
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As part of the core creative team, I was involved from concept ideation through proposal storytelling and visual development. My focus was on shaping a narrative-led experience that balances awe, education, and emotional resonance using space, light, and pacing as storytelling tools.
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Rather than presenting the ocean as a series of exhibits, the experience was designed as a continuous descent where each zone deepens understanding, shifts emotion, and reframes perspective.
ENTRANCE
THE SURFACE
CROSSING
The entrance functions as a threshold moment.
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Architecturally inspired by flowing currents and wave forms, this space marks the transition from the terrestrial world into the ocean realm. Light filters, reflections ripple across surfaces, and scale subtly expands, signalling to guests that they are about to leave the familiar behind.​​
MEETING
DEEP TIME
ANCIENT WATERS
Ancient Waters
introduces the first true
moment of awe.
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Anchored by the animatronic Dunkleosteus, this zone brings prehistoric oceans to life through a layered combination of physical presence, holographic projections, and realistic water-caustic lighting. The creature is not framed as a static artefact, but as a living encounter emerging from darkness, commanding attention through scale and motion.
SPIRIT OF EXPLORATION
THE SURFACE
HUMANITY AT
This zone marks a deliberate emotional shift from awe to curiosity and connection.
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Spirit of Exploration explores how the ocean has shaped human civilisation: as a route for discovery, a source of livelihood, and a catalyst for cultural exchange. Spatially, the environment opens up, drawing inspiration from maritime journeys and iconic seascapes, allowing guests to breathe after the intensity of the depths.
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LIFE BEYOND
THE END
WHALEFALL & SEAMOUNT
Whalefall & Seamount is one of the most emotionally reflective zones in the experience.
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Here, the focus shifts to the unseen cycles of the deep ocean where death becomes the foundation for new life. A whale fall transforms into an ecosystem; seamounts rise as silent engines of biodiversity. Through atmospheric lighting, projections, and subtle effects like mist and hydrothermal vent simulations, the space feels alive despite its stillness.
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Experience
Immersive
The Singapore Oceanarium experience is not a collection of rooms it is a descent into understanding.
From anticipation to awe, to reflection, the journey is designed to change how guests perceive the ocean and their relationship to it.
It demonstrates my approach as designing experiences where emotion, story, and space move together and where meaning emerges through the journey itself.