Discover a refreshed hub where heritage, creativity, and social impact come together.
Venue: Temasek Shophouse, 28 Orchard Road
Date: From 29 Sep 2025 onwards
Admission: Free
Temasek Shophouse Reopens as a Restored Landmark for Change
The expanded Temasek Shophouse (TSH) reopened its doors on 29 September 2025 as a vibrant social impact hub for changemakers and the public alike. Spanning four adjoining heritage shophouses along Orchard Road — once home to the Malayan Motors showroom and Midfilm House — the redesigned space blends historic charm with modern purpose, offering co-working areas, event venues, and a media studio for collaboration and storytelling.
New Temasek Shophouse Design & Spaces
The expansion triples TSH’s capacity, now featuring 60 co-working spaces, three dedicated event spaces, and a new media studio. Larger event halls — Tembusu Canopy and Banyan Cove — can host up to 220 guests, creating more opportunities for social enterprises, non-profits, and changemakers to engage and grow.
Tembusu Canopy
Located at the highest level of Block D, Tembusu Canopy is the largest of the three event spaces at Temasek Shophouse, offering a bright and expansive setting with ample natural daylight and a pitched roof that lends an airy atmosphere.
Designed by Swan & Maclaren, the historic architecture firm behind the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, the restored hall offers guests a rare opportunity to experience heritage architecture in a contemporary setting.
As the most private of the event spaces, Tembusu Canopy is well suited for closed-door events such as conferences, forums, and workshops. A flexible pre-event foyer extends the experience, which can be kept open for receptions or partitioned into separate breakout rooms depending on event needs. It accommodates up to 170 guests in theatre-style seating, or 120 guests banquet-style across 12 tables of 10.
Banyan Cove
Banyan Cove is a double-volume hall located on the ground floor of Block C. With a capacity of 180 guests in theatre-style seating, it is the most flexible of the event spaces at Temasek Shophouse and is ideal for workshops, exhibitions, and community programmes. Adaptable for both public and private use, the hall can be contained with foldable partitions for closed events.
The hall has a colourful history as the former showroom of Malayan Motor, where cars, minibuses, and even airplanes were once displayed. Key architectural features were conserved, including carefully restored reeded walls, a coffered ceiling edged with elegant cornices, and a mezzanine floor added in the 1950s.
Living Room
The Living Room is the most intimate of the event spaces at Temasek Shophouse, with a capacity of 80-100 guests. It serves as a welcoming venue for smaller gatherings and community events.
The Living Room features a tall bookshelf filled with a curated collection of books for adults and children, creating a homely and inviting atmosphere.
Media Studio
With the opening of Temasek Shophouse (TSH) in 2025, the Media Studio will be used for storytellers as a powerful force for change. It strengthens TSH’s role as an enabler for the social impact ecosystem by providing changemakers and aspiring impact storytellers with the tools to create, collaborate, and share purpose-driven stories that inspire positive action.
The Media Studio is a fully equipped facility complete with an adjoining changing room and a dedicated AV control suite, designed for the production of high-quality video content. Its professional-grade setup makes it ideal for broadcast, livestreams, podcasts, interviews, and content creation that informs, inspires, and connects audiences.
Mezzanine
The Mezzanine floor houses the Incubation zone sectioned out for the Temasek Shophouse Collective, the community building initiative from TSH. This Mezzanine spans across Block B to C and includes office suites, hot desks, and huddle spaces that are made available to the collective.
Immersive Experiences
Beyond its new facilities, Temasek Shophouse (TSH) invites families and visitors to experience social impact through design, art, and food.
A corridor linking all four shophouses guides guests through the space, where interactive installations bring stories of heritage, sustainability, and innovation to life. Along the way, families can enjoy accessible toilets, family toilets, and nursing rooms, making the hub welcoming for all ages.
Designed to be explored from multiple directions, the linkway also highlights the transformative history of the site and its century-old shophouses, offering a fun and educational journey that both kids and adults can enjoy.
Video Installation by AI artist Lip Chiong (Block D, Archival Nook)
Through an immersive video installation by AI artist Lip Chiong, visitors can discover a digital visualisation of how Dhoby Ghaut and the shophouses in this area have transformed from the 1900s till today. This was done through animating historical photographs through AI.
Garden (Block B, Level 1)
The garden features a pollinator planting palette that attracts or hosts insects like bees and butterflies. Here and in the upcoming Stamford Canal rejuvenated area, we have plant species that are native to Singapore and Southeast Asia, as well as fruiting species such as the Jambu and Chiku tree, which have been growing with us since Temasek Shophouse first began in 2019.
Recycling the steel structure from construction materials, structural frames were created to provide habitats and shelter for wildlife like birds, bees and butterflies.
Shophouse BAR (Block A, end of Spine Gallery)
Shophouse B.A.R. (Books, Artefacts, Reflections) is a reimagined space by Temasek Shophouse and digital publisher Our Grandfather Story that stocks stories and pays tribute to the humble provision shop, a nostalgic place that is part of every Singaporean’s shared memory.
Inspired by the Orchard Restaurant & Bar, which once occupied this very space at 38 Orchard Road, it now serves up memories, voices, and dreams that reflect what it means to live and belong in Singapore.
Visitors will be able to experience the following four experience zones:
- Our Library: A curated collection of books, short films, and documentaries that trace the threads of Singapore’s identity
- Voicemail to Singapore: Visitors can step into a booth and record a message for the nation — a thank you, a wish, a question, or simply a hello.
- Our Aspirations: Discover a reimagined Singapore built not by blueprints, but by values by checking out each biscuit tin - each housing a miniature world
- Our Daily Essentials: Relive old and cherished memories with rows of familiar daily essentials — from biscuit tins to medicated oils.
Intro of Temasek Shophouse wall (Block C, Level 1)
8EyedSpud created the “Intro of Temasek Shophouse” Wall, a visual storytelling piece that captures the journey of the expanded Temasek Shophouse. Founded by illustrators Nat and Jackie, the studio brings over 12 years of combined experience in crafting playful, impactful visuals that transform complex ideas into accessible, engaging stories.
Mid-Film Distribution Double-sided Sticker Feature (Block C, Level 1)
As part of Temasek Shophouse’s layered history, the building preserves the history of Mid-Film Distribution and features its story with a double-sided sticker feature - one side in colour, the other in black and white. The feature tells the story of the heritage makers, providing visitors with a tangible connection to the site’s cinematic and commercial legacy.
F&B & Retail Partners
Complementing these experiences are three retail and dining partners, offering visitors a chance to connect with Singapore’s stories and social causes — whether over coffee, while shopping, or on a casual stroll.
Martket by ABRY (Block C, Level 1)
Martket by ABRY is a new retail concept by homegrown fashion and lifestyle brand ABRY, a two-time Champions of Good awardee (2020, 2022) recognised for its work with overlooked communities. Staying true to its ethos, the store employs seniors, women from underserved groups, and persons with disabilities.
Martket by ABRY is also launching a train-the-trainer mentorship programme with four to eight trainees, developed in partnership with organisations such as LifeCraft and Rise & Thrive. Over six months, participants will gain hands-on retail and production experience, with some employed by Martket, others supported as producers, and some guided in their entrepreneurship journey.
The store also features an exclusive collaboration with deaf artist Canlaken, commissioned by Temasek Shophouse, whose merchandise draws inspiration from the building’s flora-and-fauna motifs, bringing the Shophouse identity into everyday items.
Bibik Violet (Block D, Level 1)
Led by the Violet Oon Group, Bibik Violet is a new Peranakan café and bakery that celebrates one of Singapore’s most cherished cultural traditions. Designed as a warm, familiar space, the café blends rattan accents, vintage pieces, and heritage-inspired details with original Peranakan tiles salvaged from shophouses dating back to the early 1900s. These interiors deepen the connection between diners and Singapore’s Peranakan heritage.
A casual, approachable counterpart to the Violet Oon brand, Bibik Violet serves comforting Peranakan and local favourites such as nasi lemak, Nyonya laksa, prawn mee, kueh pie tee, and buah keluak pork ribs. Patrons can also enjoy nostalgic bakes like orange sugee cake and Nyonya kuehs, alongside kaya toast and kopi – a nod to Singapore’s kopi culture.
Foreword Coffee (Block B, Level 1)
Foreword Coffee, a long-time collaborator of Temasek Shophouse, provides meaningful employment for persons with disabilities, including individuals with autism, hearing disabilities, and mental health conditions. The company first opened at Temasek Shophouse in 2019 as a young social enterprise, using the platform to showcase its inclusive employment model and grow its operations. Today, it has expanded to nine outlets across Singapore.
In the revamped Temasek Shophouse, Foreword Coffee returns with an expanded café space, offering more seating to serve its growing community while continuing to champion inclusivity through meaningful work.
Upcoming Events & What’s Ahead
Visitors can look forward to a series of community events and festivals in the coming months, including:
- Come Together Concert – 1–3 Nov 2025, featuring Larry Lai, Irene Ang, Ang Peng Siong, and more
- GREEN-HOUSE Festival – 8–9 Nov 2025, spotlighting sustainability and the 100K Coral Initiative
More activities — from seasonal markets to hands-on workshops — will follow, offering plenty of reasons to revisit.
In January 2026, the rejuvenated Stamford Canal and Handy Green park will open, adding outdoor spaces for the community to gather, connect, and unwind in the heart of the city.
For more information, visit the Temasek Shophouse website.
