PROVOLK ARCHITECTS
CONTEXTUALISING DESIGN
Provolk Architects works across landed residential, retail, and public-sector projects in Singapore and the region — spanning large-scale masterplanning, mid-size commercial and institutional work, and small-scale residential interiors.
Every project starts from the same question, regardless of scale: what does this site already hold that's worth keeping, and what does its constraint actually make possible rather than merely limit? On a near-derelict pre-war terrace cut to a 2.5-metre-wide plot by a road reserve, that meant retaining the existing envelope rather than demolishing it — turning an unbuildable sliver into a family home that still reads against its conservation-district neighbours. At the scale of a city block, it meant proposing adaptive reuse rather than replacement for the old Bukit Timah Fire Station, which went on to win the C40 Reinventing Cities competition, and for the Pasir Panjang Power District, which won URA's IDEAS master planning competition.
This is design that treats context — cultural, historical, or simply what's already standing — as the starting brief, not an afterthought.
ABOUT THE ARCHITECT
JONATHAN POH
principal architect
M(Arch) NUS | BOA | MSIA
Jonathan is a registered architect and member of the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA), holding a Master of Architecture from the National University of Singapore and certification as a Green Mark Manager through the Building and Construction Authority.
He co-founded a design-and-build company in 2013, established his eponymous practice Studio JP the following year, and rebranded it as Provolk Architects in 2016. Under his leadership, the firm has won the Design Excellence Award – Gold (The Canopi at Treasure Bay Bintan), the SG Mark Award (Secret Salon), and the Design Excellence Award – Bronze (The Elephant Room).
Alongside practice, Jonathan has spent over a decade in heritage advocacy. In 2014, he led the campaign to preserve the Dakota Crescent estate, producing a conservation report presented to Singapore's Parliament that led to the estate's conservation — the first of its scale and typology to be conserved in Singapore, and a milestone that has since informed similar efforts elsewhere in the country. He is a founding member and secretary of the Singapore chapter of DOCOMOMO, a member of the Heritage Advisory Panel for the National Heritage Board, and served as honorary secretary of the Singapore Heritage Society from 2020 to 2023. In 2022, he was co-opted to the 62nd Council of the SIA and co-curated Archifest 2021 around the theme of Heritage and Conservation. His interest extends to macro-scale planning through his committee role on the SIA-SIP Paya Lebar Airbase Masterplan.
Jonathan also teaches as an adjunct lecturer in Interior Architecture at Temasek Polytechnic.
CONTACT
WEBSITE:
TELEPHONE
+65 9118 2557 (HP)
ADDRESS:
22 Lorong 21A Geylang #10-02 Prosper Industrial Building Singapore 388431