Singapore malls risk ‘sea of sameness’, says veteran designer Mike Lim
Veteran interior designer Mike Lim warns that Singapore’s shopping malls are becoming increasingly homogeneous and need to be reimagined as social spaces. His recent projects, including Ombak KLCC in Kuala Lumpur, offer a blueprint for how design and community-focused amenities can differentiate mal
Veteran interior designer Mike Lim has warned that Singapore’s shopping mall scene is suffering from what he calls a “sea of sameness and increasing homogeneity”. Speaking about the challenges facing the city-state’s retail sector, Lim said malls must rethink their role as places not just for shopping but for gathering and socialising.
Lim, 59, has spent 25 years shaping interior spaces, notably leading DP Design, the interior division of DP Architects, since 2012. His portfolio includes The Dubai Mall, The Exchange TRX in Kuala Lumpur, and the renovation of Wisma Atria, Heeren, 111 Somerset and Paragon in Singapore.
His most recent project, Ombak KLCC in Kuala Lumpur, is a six-storey retail podium that opened in August 2026 and went viral on social media. Its curvaceous, skylight-topped atrium was inspired by the terraced tea plantations of Cameron Highlands, with floors receding as the building rises. Lim said the design deliberately references gotong-royong, a Malay phrase expressing community spirit, with the central atrium functioning like the open field in a kampung for games, pop-ups and bazaars.
Lim first predicted the impact of e-commerce on malls in a 2016 article titled Today’s Malls, Tomorrow’s Social Spaces, published in DP Architect’s internal newsletter. He argued that malls and individual shop units would need a strong, differentiated creative identity to retain footfall. He also foresaw that social elements – eating, drinking, meeting loved ones – would rank higher, turning malls into venues for interaction rather than purely commercial spaces.
In May 2026, Lim felt validated when a study by Frasers Property Singapore and the Singapore Management University’s Centre for Research on Successful Ageing found that suburban malls are becoming the get-together venue of choice for seniors. He said good design, a strategic retail mix and thoughtful retail planning can balance consumption, branding and community building. The Urban Redevelopment Authority already offers gross floor area incentives for malls that include non-profit, government-endorsed public-outreach spaces.
Lim is especially critical of Orchard Road, which he describes as a street lined with “big, box-like malls” that have done little to reinvent themselves while newer integrated developments in Marina Bay and Sentosa compete for the same tenants and customers. He envisions car-free days, festivals tied to national holidays, and landscaping that capitalises on the street’s plantation origins. During Wisma Atria’s 2012 renovation, he introduced a stretch of steps parallel to the Orchard pedestrian boulevard that opened the mall to the outdoors; it has since become a well-loved hang-out spot.
“What matters the most is to break down the boxes and leverage the road as one whole to transform the retail experience into like no other in the world,” Lim said. “Only in doing so can Orchard regain its lustre.” He pointed to Kuala Lumpur’s increasingly vibrant retail scene, where Ombak KLCC and The Exchange TRX are completely different in design, layout and tenant mix, as proof that Singapore can learn from its neighbour.
