Nusantaran Modernism: Postmodern and Regionalist Turns in Singapore Mosques, 1983-1994 | Hadi Osni

Presentation by Dr Hadi Osni at the 19th International Docomomo Conference (IDC 2026), Los Angeles, Post-Colonial Modernism session, 18 March 2026. This paper examines the second phase of Singapore’s Mosque Building Fund (1983 to 1994) as a distinct period in Singapore’s mosque architecture. Amid post-independence urbanisation and Islamic revival, it describes what emerged as a form of Nusantaran Modernism, a regionalised strand of modernism in Southeast Asia framed within broader currents of Regionalism and Postmodernism. Using archival research, architectural analysis and case studies, the paper argues that Nusantaran Modernism in Singapore rested on two complementary praxes. Community praxis was exercised by mosque building committees (Jawatankuasa Pembinaan Masjid), which asserted agency over naming, design inputs and traditional craftsmanship. Architectural praxis produced designs ranging from regional vernacular forms to abstract geometries and the dual readings of “double coding”. These mosques were not simply imposed by the state. They were negotiated and co-produced between MUIS, HDB architects, mosque committees and the Malay/Muslim community. As they face alteration and redevelopment, the paper calls for their recognition within modern heritage and regional modernism discourses. Hadi Osni is a curator at the Malay Heritage Centre, National Heritage Board, Singapore. He holds a PhD in Architecture from the National University of Singapore. Published in the proceedings of the 19th International Docomomo Conference.