A reimagined dining environment for the Singapore Cricket Club, rooted in heritage and shaped for its membership.
Studio X reimagined the Oval Restaurant & Verandah at the Singapore Cricket Club — updating indoor and outdoor spaces for today’s market while respecting the historic fabric.
Process
Pre-Concept
Concept Design
Schematic Design
Detail Design
Tender Documentation
Tender Management
Construction Support
Post-Completion Review
Studio X was appointed by the Singapore Cricket Club to reimagine the Oval Restaurant & Verandah — an institution that had grown tired over the years and was in need of a fundamental rethink. The brief was clear: recapture the spirit of the club's heyday, but deliver it through a contemporary lens that still felt deeply connected to the building's heritage and the culture of its membership.
The scope covered both the indoor restaurant and the outdoor verandah — a relatively rare opportunity to design a fully unified indoor/outdoor dining experience from the ground up. The design had to feel approachable without being informal, comfortable without being soft, and timelessly elegant without slipping into nostalgia. Materials were chosen for their ability to age gracefully, and every detail was considered with longevity in mind — this is a club that expects its investments to last.
The main dining room — materials and lighting chosen to feel warm and considered rather than designed, giving the space the character of somewhere that has always been this way.
A banquette spine sits down the centre of the space, helping to break down the room and to provide an option for a different seating style for those that prefer it.
The rear portion of the dining room is a darker tone, with perimeter banquettes, a trophy cabinet and a series of original photos chronicling the history of the clubhouse.
The convertible backwall reveals a series of darts boards behind hidden timber wall panels so that the space can become home to the darts club once a week.
A satellite side-station provides discretely designed operational support to the terrace.
The new terrace has been fully refurbished, with the original ceiling slats and doors being revived.
Material choices focussed heavily on not just longevity but also prioritised materials and finishes that would age gracefully over time.
Selected views
A collection of images documenting the completed restaurant, highlighting layout, display, and circulation.
(Approach)The original restaurant interior had grown tired. Our goal was to recapture the spirit of the club's heyday and deliver a contemporary dining environment that still feels deeply connected to its heritage — somewhere distinct and where members are proud to bring their guests.
Progress
A record of the project as it developed on site, capturing key moments as the design took shape.
On site mockup of the various floor finishes, showing the transitions and basic positioning before installation.
The mid-floor partition wall that divides the two spaces and would eventually house large pocket sliding doors.
Testing different mouldings out for the wall panels in the rear dining room.
Studio X designed two bespoke chairs which we developed and prototyped with one of our partner factories.
A plan showing the overall space.
An elevation showing the back bar in the main dining room.
The entire project was a labour of love, and required us to work with a degree of restraint due to the historical significance of the building.
At its core, the project was designed to elevate the member experience while strengthening the identity of the venue. By combining a clear spatial strategy with a carefully considered palette of materials and lighting, the space delivers both atmosphere and operational clarity.
A thoughtfully crafted environment that elevates the member experience, bringing people together through food, conversation and atmosphere while unifying every touchpoint into a refined and consistent expression of the brand.
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