On Wednesday 30 June, the biennial President’s Design Award (P*DA) were officially presented to 11 recipients. This year, the awards focussed on creating human-centric solutions that address global issues such as ageing societies, under-served communities, climate change and sustainability. President Halimah Yacob handed the awards to outstanding designers and designs that have contributed to economic, cultural and community transformation, raised quality of life, made ground-breaking design achievements and elevated Singapore on the world stage.
Jointly organised by the DesignSingapore Council (Dsg) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), the award ceremony was live-streamed from The Istana. A total of 129 submissions across various disciplines — including architecture, interior design, visual communications, user interface, UX/UI design, educational and spatial design, engineering design and more were received, reflecting the critical role of design in shaping how we can better live, learn, work, and play.
Two categories
Voted for by a global jury panel, the award has two categories: Designer of the Year — awarded to one recipient from design, and one from architecture (two recipients) for their body of work — and a multidisciplinary award, Design of the Year (nine recipients).
Designer of the Year Award
- The Designer of the Year award went to a Singapore designer and an architect duo who have spent their careers focused on making a difference to their industry, community and country:Kelley Cheng, Creative Director of The Press Room, was recognised by the Jury for her outstanding body of work spanning visual communications, publishing and exhibition design; and for tirelessly working to champion and nurture Singapore’s creative community.
- Husband-and-wife architect team, Khoo Peng Beng and Belinda Huang, Directors of ARC Studio Architecture + Urbanism Pte Ltd, were lauded for their outstanding contributions in mentoring and developing young and aspiring architects as well as actively developing socially meaningful, community-focused projects. One such example is the multi award-winning Pinnacle@Duxton, which features the world’s two longest sky gardens ever built on skyscrapers, at 500 metres each.
Design of the Year Award
Nine projects received the Design of the Year award for demonstrating design’s ability to transform and touch the lives of people from all walks of life, in Singapore and beyond:
- For the young, Sparkletots Large Preschool at Punggol, led by Ho Tzu Yin and. Matthew Yeo from LAUD Architects Pte Ltd, creates a safe and inclusive space to learn and play by reinventing the conventional notion of a childcare facility.
- Kampung Admiralty, led by Wong Mun Summ and Pearl Chee from WOHA Architects Pte Ltd and Goodlife! Makan, led by Seah Chee Huang from DP Architects Pte Ltd, create spaces that reintegrate our silver generation into the community, and revitalise their golden years.
- EYEYAH! by Steve Lawler and Tanya Wilson empowers children with creative and problem-solving skills through visual communications not just in Singapore, but in the United Kingdom and the United States.
- Cloister House, led by Alan Tay and Seetoh Kum Loon from Formwerkz Architects, reinterprets the cluster house typology to provide a functional yet stunning living space in the tropics.
- Etania Green School, by Prasoon Kumar and Robert Verrijt from Billion Bricks Ltd, is a source for experiential learning as well as a place of pride and dignity for the stateless children and community in Sabah, Malaysia.
- EYEYAH! by Steve Lawler and Tanya Wilson empowers children with creative and problem-solving skills through visual communications not just in Singapore, but in the United Kingdom and the United States.
- The [Not-So] Convenience Store, led by Astri Nursalim from Kinetic Singapore, is a tongue-in-cheek exhibition, which has sparked necessary discussions around the cost of our culture of convenience on the environment.
- Jewel Changi Airport, led by Moshe Safdie from Safdie Architects as well as RSP Architects Planners & Engineers (Pte) Ltd, is an architectural feat which has propelled Singapore to the world stage by redefining the notion of an air transit hub.
- AirMesh Pavilion, led by Professor Carlos Bañón from the Architectural Intelligence Research Lab (AIRLAB) @ Singapore University of Technology and Design, realises the future of construction by pushing the boundaries of 3D printing.
Travelling exhibition
The award-winning works will be featured in a travelling exhibition across the island, slated to commence at The URA Centre after the award ceremony before moving to selected venues including National Design Centre, library@orchard, Temasek Shophouse and Singapore University of Technology and Design. More venues will be confirmed closer to date. For more information about the P*DA travelling exhibition, visit: https://pda.designsingapore.org.
