Terence Lee · · 4 min readSingapore’s most unlikely makerspace: a sprawling facility hidden in an old industrial estate
Cardboard giraffe at a Home-Fix Experience Centre
Home-Fix started out as a traditional mom-and-pop hardware store, but in the past couple of decades it has transformed into a sizable retail chain with over 30 outlets in Singapore and Malaysia.
That unlikely story has taken another unexpected turn: Its headquarters in Tai Seng, one of Singapore’s hubs for small and medium enterprises, is now the host to what is likely the country’s largest makerspace.
At 10,000 square feet, about the size of two basketball courts, the makerspace is housed on the first and second floor of the S$15 million (US$11.8 million) Home-Fix Building, which is also a place to showcase and demo the company’s products.
| What is the maker movement? |
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| The maker movement is a subculture that represents a technology-based extension of DIY culture, which emphasizes self-sufficiency in completing tasks without a paid expert. Members of the movement enjoy pursuits like electronics, robotics, 3D printing, as well as the use of manufacturing techniques involving CNC tools, metalworking, woodworking, and traditional art and craft. |
The makerspace will have co-working desks, workshops with equipment for wood work and electronics, a prototyping lab, meeting rooms, and a materials store. A cavernous exhibition space, large enough for an autonomous drone to buzz around in, will occupy the ground level.
A fab cafe for socializing is also in the works. The concept has been brought over from Japan, where besides serving usual cafe food, customers can experiment with fabricating iPhone covers, accessories, greeting cards, and more.
Finally, and perhaps most unexpectedly, the building will contain a service center for bicycles. While the combination might seem awkward, Ju Hu Soh, an entrepreneur who’s also a consultant for the makerspace project, explains that makers and cyclists have a lot in common:
“The cycling community tends to be folks who are hands-on, and these are people who are also excited about what other makers do,” he says.
While the center hasn’t officially launched, a showcase event was held in February which drew hundreds of people, including the who’s who of Singapore’s maker community.
Flirting with the maker movement
Although Home-Fix, run by founder and managing director Cheong Kee Low, has played a big part in bringing the space to life, the seeds were sown through his interactions with the maker community.
A Corporate-backed makerspace
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