Media Release | Annex A
President’s Design Award 2014 Recipients
Designer of the Year
1
Larry Peh
Founder, Creative Director
&Larry Pte Ltd
2
Tan Kok Hiang
Principal Director
Forum Architects Pte Ltd
3
Peter Tay
Design Director
Studio Peter Tay
1
Design of the Year
1
A Guide to the Flora and Fauna of the World
H55
Hanson Ho
Stephanie Ng
In collaboration with
Photographer/ Artist
Institute of Critical Zoologists
Robert Zhao Renhui
2
Buccaneer 3D Printer
Pirate3DP Pte Ltd
Tsang You Jun
Neo Kok Beng
Chang Wai Kit Roger
Goh Brendan
Lee Yun Yi
Feng Xuming
3
Eyelet Flip
Nanyang Optical Co. Pte Ltd
Yang Wah Kiang
Zhang Andong
4
Jurong Eco-Garden
Atelier Dreiseitl Asia Pte Ltd
Leonard Ng Keok Poh
Ryan Shubin
5
Kent Vale
MKPL Architects Pte Ltd
Siew Man Kok
John Andrews McLaughlin
Cheng Pai Ling
Phan Pit Li
2
6
Ouyi Refrigerator
Electrolux S.E.A Pte Ltd
Electrolux Group Design
Leonard Tan Bahroocha
Low Ko Wee
Lyndon Craig
Ola Lantz
7
Rabbit & the Tortoise Collection
Studio Juju
Timothy Wong
Priscilla Lui
8
Sandcrawler
Aedas
9
Sound Blaster Roar SR20
Creative Technology Ltd
Vince Ang
GiGi Cho
Eddy Toh
10
SUTD Gridshell
SUTD City Form Lab
Andres Sevtsuk
Raul Kalvo
11
T House
Linghao Architects
Ling Hao
3
Designer of the Year
1 Larry Peh
Founder, Creative Director
&Larry Pte Ltd
About Larry Peh
Larry Peh is the Creative Director of &Larry, an award-winning design studio he founded in
2005. Recognised in 2012 by Perspective magazine as one of Asia’s top 40 creatives under
40 years of age, he is currently Treasurer of The Design Society, which he also helped to
establish.
Larry was insatiably curious as a child and often regarded a “troublemaker” because he
asked “101 questions” about everything. Now 35, he attributes the trait to his creativity.
Inspired by comic illustrations from Hong Kong, Larry knew from young that he wanted to be
a creative practitioner although his parents were not supportive of his ambition. The multipleaward winner is well aware of his biggest motivation as a designer - helping people solve
problems. Larry’s designs reflect three influences that he says also sum up his style - past,
present and future. Heavily influenced by the past while living in the present, he is constantly
thinking of the future. A line from author Marshall McLuhan, which he read as a student,
resonates with him to this day “We march backwards into the future.”
Finding the present “very polluted” due to the influx of large volumes of instant information
over social and other media in this Internet age, Larry asks himself if design is really
necessary before proceeding with it. “If there’s no need to create something to pollute the
environment, then don’t do it,” he says. By the same token, when he believes that a problem
does not lie with design, he would readily tell a client so.
Larry says that every designer must have empathy in order to establish rapport with the
client. American designers Charles and Ray Eames could have instilled this belief in him.
“Whatever they did, they tried to perfect it for kids, the environment. They tried to find ways
to produce a thing cheaply so everybody could enjoy it,” he says. Larry would sometimes
suggest a project of a smaller scope than what a client requests if he is convinced this would
be the best solution for the client. Because of his strong wish to provide solutions, he hopes
to see more designers focus on ideas that work for clients rather than those that are simply
“award winnable”.
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Of the projects he has done, three give him the greatest satisfaction. The first is his “Objects”
series, born out of his wish to tell Singapore’s stories beyond the stereotypes.
Acknowledging himself to be “pretty nationalistic”, Larry says: “If Singaporeans don’t look up
to our own quirks, we can’t expect the rest of the world to look up to us and realise it is part
of our culture.”
Secondly, his “Subjects” series, produced in collaboration with artists related to the subjects
on which he makes social commentaries. An example includes his Smoking Table, which is
a dining table and chair enclosed within a yellow-dotted perimeter, a parody of the line used
in Singapore’s designated public smoking zones that separates smokers from non-smokers.
Another example is his well-received tissue packets in 2004/05 designed to explain its
unique use in reserving seats, especially during peak hours in the city’s busy food courts.
Finally, there’s the Economic Development Board’s spatial branding project on the 28th level
in Raffles City used for VIP meetings. Larry spent an entire week sketching and making
observations on this floor before coming up with the idea to turn the corporate space into a
“home” symbolising how Singapore is like “a home in Asia that’s future-ready”. The idea
playfully incorporates interactive elements and displays that convey Singapore’s successes,
such as its Water Story and its reputation as a medical hub.
Pursuing accolades and awards has never been high on Larry’s priorities, but he believes
that the President’s Design Award has a significant role to play in influencing the state of
design in Singapore. “You need to let Singaporeans appreciate your work in order for the
global audience to say that this guy is serious.”
Now that he is a recipient of the honour, Larry hopes to be a role model for someone who
follows passion and logic, and tries to produce works that are globally relevant.
The articles he has crafted in his “Objects” series are of the highest workmanship and design
standards, and he created these without any intention of selling them. Instead, he hopes to
elevate them to become art objects and exhibit them one day so they form a narrative for
people to “look at, learn from or be inspired”.
Jury Citation
Larry is an intuitive and intelligent designer. His commercial and personal design projects
are highly conceptual, multi-dimensional and inspirational. His commercial projects are fresh
and captivating. His personal objects are engaging and evoke emotions by questioning
societal norms. Since 2004, Larry has “sprinkled” these artistic and well-designed objects
across Singapore, telling his version of the Singapore story to a wider contemporary
audience.
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Determined to show that he has more to offer than Singapore stereotypes, Larry has
designed his social commentaries with the highest level of originality, sophistication and
cultural relevance, so that even non-Singaporeans can enjoy them.
For a creative individual with such a committed vision, Larry is deserving of Singapore’s
highest accolade for a designer - the President’s Design Award for Designer of the Year.
6
Profile: Larry Peh
Science of Life – Singapore Economic
Development Board Installation
Casting A Global Light – Singapore
Economic Development Board Installation
Yellow Puff
Papa Shirt
World-Class Garment For The Nation
Precious Objects Series Nº I: Keeping Tabs
On Time (2011)
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Designer of the Year
2 Tan Kok Hiang
Principal Director
Forum Architects Pte Ltd
About Tan Kok Hiang
There is good reason Tan Kok Hiang describes his own architectural style as “thoughtful”.
Take one of his favourite projects, the S$7.8m Assyafaah Mosque in Singapore as an
example. An architectural statement that has received multiple awards both locally and
internationally, it neatly epitomises Kok Hiang’s approach to architecture: understanding the
raison d’être of a building and creating a design that conveys this in context.
Dispensing with traditional domes and arches, the contemporary mosque looks different
from what one would normally expect of such a building.
“Most mosques in Singapore are very Middle-Eastern modelled, so you’ll see arches and
domes. And I used to think that they had nothing to do with Singapore,” he explains. Instead,
Kok Hiang designed a thoroughly contemporary structure incorporating the arabesque, the
design element predominant in Islamic buildings. This is defined as two or more geometric
patterns coming together to form a third pattern, says Kok Hiang, who has completed a
thesis on Islamic architecture in university.
“These patterns were developed by scholars, maybe a thousand years ago, because they
wanted an art form to represent the Qur’an. The Qur’an cannot be represented in figurative
terms. You have to use abstract terms.”
About the Assyafaah Mosque in Admiralty Lane, Kok Hiang adds: “The happiest thing for
me about this building is that it looks nothing like a Middle Eastern mosque. It is
contemporary and it belongs more to Singapore. Today, many visit the mosque, including
non-Muslims.” To Kok Hiang, the real triumph behind a well thought-through and executed
project is for the architect and the client “to be able to think about the different aspects of a
building, and its impact on the community, today as well as in the future”.
Another project he is proud of is the Singapore Chancery in Manila, the Philippines. He says:
“It’s a functional building that has to exude a sense of what it means to be a Singaporean in
a foreign country.” So Kok Hiang incorporated the landscaping to reflect Singapore’s
positioning as a garden city. In addition, as Singaporeans are known to be precise, punctual
and efficient, he designed the building, in spatial flow and physical form, to convey all these
characteristics.
8
Kok Hiang also takes pride in the “rainbow wall” at the Singapore Science Centre that
stretches past the entrance of the Centre to give the complex a new front, and orientate
visitors to the main entrance.
Kok Hiang, 54, is Managing Director of his own firm Forum Architects Pte Ltd, which he
established with his wife and fellow architect Ho Sweet Woon in 1994. Holder of a Bachelor
of Arts degree (Archaeology Studies, 1984) and a Bachelor of Architecture Honours Degree
(1987) from the National University of Singapore, he has held numerous exhibitions and
participated in various conferences locally and internationally. He has garnered more than
30 awards, including the Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award in 2008 and
2010, the URA Architectural Heritage Awards in 2007, and two nominations and an
honourable mention in the President’s Design Award. He is also involved in architectural
education and sits on several professional committees.
Early in his career, Kok Hiang had trained with William Lim and Tay Kheng Soon. He learned
about building in context and having a deep concern for the environment from the two
architecture veterans. From the latter, he also learned that an architect should be a partner
to a client. “Not necessarily equal, but a partner. Then we have a shared objective: achieving
something together as partners. This is a very important stance,” says Kok Hiang, recalling
the advice.
When collaborating with a client who is a visionary, Kok Hiang is the partner who takes on
the role of a facilitator. “If the client is pursuing his vision, I’m not going to force my own on
him.” While not every client is a visionary, sometimes he or she can turn into one with a bit of
help, according to Kok Hiang. He names the Japanese martial arts form aikido, which he has
been practising for the past 25 years, as having indirectly helped him in this regard. Aikido’s
basic philosophy is harmony, Kok Hiang explains. In a conflict, aikido advises practitioners
“to move in and confront the conflict and take charge of the situation from the weakest point”.
By adapting the philosophy to his work, he can sometimes help his clients become
visionaries.
Reviewing the evolution of Singapore’s design scene, Kok Hiang thinks the Urban
Redevelopment Authority’s inaugural “20 under 45 Exhibition 2004 of emerging architects”,
and subsequent instalments to have done much in creating design awareness in Singapore.
When the exhibition moved to Venice as part of the La Biennale di Venezia, Kok Hiang feels
a turning point was reached where Singapore’s talent in the field was given a place on a
prominent world stage. For him, the President’s Design Award is a continuation of paying
this homage to design.
Now that he has received the most prestigious of Singapore’s design awards, Kok Hiang
says: “I want to continue looking for openings and opportunities. Architecture is so much
more than just space. It’s also about influencing people’s attitudes and lives, and always in
relation to harmonious living.”
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Jury Citation
Tan Kok Hiang is one of the most versatile architects in Singapore. He has worked on a wide
range of projects from master planning, healthcare, institutional, residential, commercial,
hospitality to religious buildings. Throughout the different projects, he is able to consistently
create outstanding building designs that relate very well to their surrounding contexts. He
also shows an ability to incorporate local design elements into architecture.
Kok Hiang is an active member of the architecture fraternity who has contributed his
expertise in numerous advisory panels. He is also dedicated to grooming the next generation
of architects through his involvement in the local universities.
The Jury recognises Kok Hiang’s pursuit for achieving architectural excellence in all his
projects and his steadfast contribution to the architecture profession as practitioner and
mentor.
10
Almukminin Mosque
Kaleidoscope Of Islamic Colours – Louvered
Profile: Tan Kok Hiang
Rohde & Schwarz Office
Tilted away from the sun,
The canted facades address the tropical
glare
Cavenagh Apartments
Feature copper screen at entrance
Assyafaah Mosque
The Mihrab wall awashed with natural light –
A modern take on a traditional feature
Temasek Polytechnic South Wing
Vertical Green wrapped around the entire length of
the building façade helps to keep the building cool
11
Designer of the Year
3 Peter Tay
Design Director
Studio Peter Tay
About Peter Tay
Acclaimed even beyond Singapore’s shores as an interior designer, Peter Tay initially
trained as an architect and graduated from London’s prestigious Architectural Association
School of Architecture School, popularly known as AA. Today, he is the Design Director of
Studio Peter Tay, an incarnation of P-Three, which he formed in 2003.
The 43-year old winner of many awards, who laughingly tells you he still cannot draw very
well, has worked with industry giants such as Stefano de Martino, former associate partner
of Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, and Raoul Bunschoten. His clients include actresses
Zhang Ziyi and Zoe Tay, singer Stefanie Sun, hairstyling guru David Gan, property
developer SC Global, and brand names such as Richard Mille, Manolo Blahnik and Armani
Casa.
However, success for him didn’t happen overnight. He points out: “It took me 11 years to get
to where I am today and a lot of hard work.” He is known to work 16 hours a day, seven days
a week.
Peter also credits “luck” with people coming to his aid many times. For example, running into
David Gan while on a holiday break in Singapore before graduating from AA, was fortuitous.
The meeting led to Peter being tasked to refurbish David’s Passion Hair Salon in the former
Promenade shopping mall. This first project opened doors for him. Peter has not looked
back since.
A devout Catholic, Peter believes he has been blessed with assistance from a higher power
many times in his life. He recalls an incredulous episode: following a serious car accident in
2006 that put him in a coma, his doctors were pessimistic about his chance for survival.
However, he pulled through; and on that very day, his first son Gabriel was born – exactly as
his Taiwan-born architect wife had prayed the baby would.
12
The accident affected a part of his memory, but did nothing to diminish his talents. It did,
however, change his outlook on life. More interested in giving back to society than mingling
with the glitterati, Peter now makes time for pro bono work for churches, two in Singapore
and one in Cambodia. Proceeds from the sale of his monograph, Peter Tay, published by
Sanctuary Niseko (Japan) in 2013, go to Abilities Beyond Limitations and Expectations,
which helps the physically challenged community in Singapore.
For Peter, the size of a project and the money involved do not matter. Nor does he now care
if the client is a celebrity. “My work shouldn’t be exclusively for celebrities, but rather, the
important thing is to create and design good spaces.” Citing how he once did a project for
free for a client who had waited six months for him, he says: “I feel that sometimes it also
matters if the client sincerely wants you to do the job.”
For each project, Peter gives his all. “All my clients are important, and I design (every piece
of work) with my heart and soul.” His projects are often a relationship between people. “We
work as a team. There is a lot of mutual respect and support. The success of each project
does not depend on me as an interior designer alone. It is really a team effort, which
includes the client, my design support team, and my team of builders. My role as a designer
is to guide and help achieve the visions of the projects, and at times, take them to new and
exciting levels.”
“Classic, modern, luxe” are the three words that Peter uses to describe his style. These
characteristics are clearly evident in the interiors he has designed, whether for residences in
Singapore’s salubrious districts 10 and 11, corporate offices, brand-name boutiques, hotels
showflats or homes. Keenly interested in the interior aspects of architecture, he has been
intrigued since his student days, with modern masters such as Le Corbusier, Oscar
Niemeyer, Mies van der Rohe, as well as furniture designers Jean Prouvé, Charlotte
Perriand and Serge Mouille.
Of the many works that do him proud, Peter singled out the following as the top three: his
monograph, Peter Tay, which shows his work over the past 11 years; his exhibition
Reflections in Palazzo Bembo at the 14th International Architecture Exhibition La Biennale di
Venezia 2014, which explores the duality and inter-changeability between architecture and
interiors, as well as the relationship between reflections, the body and space; and the
volunteer design service he rendered to the Adoration Room at the Church of Saints Peter
and Paul in 2006.
Receiving the Designer of the Year award makes him feel “very humbled and grateful and, at
the same time, excited to be recognised for the work [he has] done. [He] hopes to bring the
same passion into the next phase in [his] journey, and to continue advocating good design –
be it in teaching, through [his] projects or community contributions and volunteer work.”
13
For Peter, the President’s Design Award has set “a benchmark for designers and design in
Singapore that helps steer the way for good design, and serves as an encouragement for
designers to reach new levels”.
Peter’s own concept of design dovetails with the Award’s vision of design making a
difference to the lives of Singaporeans and those of the larger global community. “More than
anything, design is about life and the happiness it brings.”
Jury Citation
With Peter Tay, it is clear that we are leaving the “known” spatial world and stepping into an
illusionary one. One where his interior spaces question the relationship of qualities beyond
the materials.
In his career, he has been able to transform negatives into positives. He has learned to
express humility in his work, and showed an understanding that personal ego is secondary
to his creation.
Early struggles in his training at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in
London also forged an appreciation to follow his passion. He was taught in his early work
with leading brands that product identity should be the focus.
The Jury was struck by his incredible passion and his driving desire to create meaningful
work. He has demonstrated a desire to share his knowledge and experience with young
designers and is constantly looking at how he can create a better life for his clients. As a
Singaporean designer, he has brought his experience worldwide and built a prosperous
practice in his place of birth.
14
Profile: Peter Tay
Church of Saints Peter and Paul
Adoration Room
Reflections
Installation at the “Time, Space, Existence”
Exhibition, Venice Biennale
House at Holland Park
Interior View
House at Chancery Lane
Salon by Surrender, Shanghai
15
Design of the Year
1 A Guide to the Flora and Fauna of the World
H55
Hanson Ho
Stephanie Ng
In collaboration with
Photographer / Artist
Institute of Critical Zoologists
Robert Zhao Renhui
A Guide to the Flora and Fauna of the World
Embodying aesthetic and intellectual integrity, A Guide to the Flora and Fauna of the World
is the result of the successful collaboration between graphic designer Hanson Ho and
photographer Robert Zhao Renhui. The publication, presented as an archival box, comprises
55 loose sheets of photographs with supporting documents that examine the widespread
effects of human intervention in science and nature. To cope with the stresses and
pressures of an altered world, various creatures and life forms have evolved in often
unexpected ways.
Hanson recalls that his brief had been quite open-ended, requiring him to design a highly
prized and desirable publication, which would accompany Robert’s art installation of the
same name at the Singapore Biennale. In particular, Hanson points to a used handbook
about bird eggs that became the trigger for initial discussions.
The project kicked off with Hanson first trying to understand and compartmentalise the
diverse contents within the publication so he could make it a valued collectible that people
would want to own and treasure. He was also motivated by the goal of making the work a
milestone for Robert’s artistic career.
An archival box format was used as this is synonymous with the publication’s scientific,
research-like contents. The overall design direction appropriates diagrammatic charts,
computer programming language and old software interfaces, and juxtaposes these with
Robert’s images to suggest the human race’s use of technology and data analyses to control
nature.
16
There are only 500 sets of the publication, which has found favour with serious collectors
and fans. The work has received prominent international design awards, including a Gold
Pencil from the New York One Show Design Annual Awards and a Silver Cube from the
New York Art Directors Club. The collection has been exhibited at numerous international
shows.
Hanson thinks his design’s greatest functional value is that it has helped the publication to
achieve healthy pre-order, launch and post-launch sales, both online and offline. He feels
that the project has created a new fan base and more opportunities for Robert to exhibit
internationally.
The designer also believes the publication has fulfilled the vision of the President’s Design
Award. It is a testament of the unexpected possibilities of cross-disciplinary collaboration that
combines sub-cultural interests in the various themes of truth, media, nature, scientific
intervention, visual representation, banal typography and value. His highest hope for the
publication is that it will encourage others in the design industry to look beyond their
disciplines and explore new grounds to attain new insights about themselves and the world.
About the Designer
Named by Singapore’s The Sunday Times as one of the nation’s top graphic designers,
Hanson has had his name on the roster of recipients for the President’s Design Award
previously. He received its Designer of the Year accolade in 2012, with the Jury describing
his body of work as expressive “of simplicity, restraint and intelligence – very much in
keeping with his personality.”
The Creative Director of H55, a design studio which he founded in 1999, Hanson is behind
numerous visual identities, brand applications and publications that have represented
Singapore at an international level. Among these are the visual identity designs for the
Singapore Pavilion at various Venice Biennales, and the biennial Lee Kuan Yew World City
Prize. Hanson’s work has also garnered recognition and awards from some of the most
prestigious design competitions in the world, including the D&AD in London, Type Directors
Club in New York and Tokyo, One Show Design, Creative Circle Awards, and the New York
Art Directors Club.
Over and above his myriad roles at H55, Hanson makes time to lend his design prowess to
meaningful projects for the community and the local design industry. He is the managing
editor of The Design Society Journal, a bi-annual journal that puts the spotlight on local
artists and designers, and their practices. Hanson is also the curator for the Singapore Mass
Rapid Transit “Art in Transit” programme, an initiative that brings art closer to the community
through artworks that reflect the heritage of their neighbourhood. Hanson will curate the
artwork collection for nine upcoming Downtown Line (DTL) stations.
17
Born in Singapore, Hanson studied at the School of Design at Temasek Polytechnic.
Although known to be an immensely private person who prefers to work independently,
Hanson collaborated very closely with 2010 “Young Artist Award” recipient Robert on the
project, A Guide to the Flora and Fauna of the World. Describing his approach to the project,
Hanson says that he was inspired by Robert’s work and their discussions in his studio.
“There won’t be good design without good content in the first place, and I am grateful to
(Robert) for that,” he adds.
For Hanson, the significance of the President’s Design Award for Singapore’s design scene
lies in it being the first award of its kind to recognise designers on a national level. He feels
the award is an encouragement and motivation for creative practitioners, and challenges the
conventional Singaporean idea that we need to be “international” before being recognised
“nationally”.
Jury Citation
A highly promising collaboration between 2012 Designer of the Year recipient Hanson Ho of
H55, and 2010 Young Artist Award winner Robert Zhao Renhui, has resulted in an
absolutely engaging, intriguing and, at times, mind-boggling design masterpiece.
The complexity of the artist’s work, a fictitious science journal for the fictitious Institute Of
Critical Zoologists, is wonderfully presented through an archival box. It comprises loose
sheets of photographs with supporting documents, exploring the myriad ways in which
human intervention in science and nature have caused creatures and life-forms to evolve in
often unexpected ways to cope with the stresses and pressures of an altered world.
Hanson’s design direction appropriates diagrammatic charts, computer programming
language and old software interfaces, and juxtaposes these with Robert’s images to suggest
the human race’s use of technology and data analyses to control nature.
A Guide to the Flora and Fauna of the World embodies aesthetic and intellectual originality,
as well as achievements in both design and art. It is a testament to the unexpected
possibilities of cross-disciplinary collaboration, creating a product that is more than the sum
of its collaborative parts.
18
Plate 11 and Plate 14
Plate 36, Plate 37 And The Evolution Of The
White House Crow On Singapore Island
Interview
ICZ Research Report NO.481, Acusis
Research Report (Unfolded)
ICZ Research Report NO.481, Acusis
Research Report (Folded)
Archival Box (Front)
Occasional Papers Of The Tropical Bonsai
Group
19
Design of the Year
2 Buccaneer 3D Printer
Pirate3DP Pte Ltd
Tsang You Jun
Neo Kok Beng
Chang Wai Kit Roger
Goh Brendan
Lee Yun Yi
Feng Xuming
Buccaneer 3D Printer
Conceptualised to enable users to print objects of any shape easily and safely in the comfort
of their home, the Buccaneer 3D Printer delivers on all its design targets. Slim and
streamlined, with a small desktop footprint, it scores on aesthetics as well.
Wishing to provide home users with a feasible and affordable alternative to difficult-toassemble hobbyist kit printers and costly professional 3D printers, Pirate3DP Pte Ltd set six
basic goals for the Buccaneer to achieve. It must have a desktop footprint not exceeding 250
sq mm; have concealed internal mechanical systems not touchable by users; be ready for
use out of the box, with minimal set-up time; be cloud-enabled and compatible with
smartphones and tablets; offer a simple and hassle-free user experience; and be safe for
home-use by young and older adults.
“With these goals in mind, our engineers prototyped systems that could fit into, and meet the
requirements of our design,” says Chief Designer Tsang You Jun. “It helps to have
experienced engineers who have worked with a variety of systems in the past, and who can
therefore mix-and-match designs to develop a custom-solution for the user.”
Before creating the Buccaneer, Pirate3DP launched a crowdfunding campaign in May 2013
on Kickstarter, the world’s largest funding project for creative projects. By the end of the
campaign on 29 June, the company had received US$1.4 million in pledges from 3,520
backers, making the Buccaneer the most successful of all campaigns of 2013 and
Kickstarter’s most successful 3D printer in its category.
In designing the Buccaneer for a target audience ranging from architects, artists and
designers to sculptors, scientists, teachers, students and home-makers, Pirate3DP applied
the company philosophy for creating products. This means ensuring a user’s goal had to be
reached in fewer than three steps; having a design that doesn’t hinder or irritate; and
enabling a user with minimal knowledge of engineering, to use the product.
20
That the Buccaneer can print any shape of object in the home within a few hours, “at a very,
very low cost” is the product’s greatest functional value, says You Jun. He also points out
how it can change people’s lives. Professionals such as artists, designers and architects can
print small-scale models of their work at home, on demand, affordably, and in a timely
manner. It can also change the way simple products and toys are distributed by allowing the
average consumer to receive new toys and products via the Internet. Additionally, it is safe
and reliable. Says You Jun: “You shouldn’t need an engineer to come down every two
weeks to your home or office to service it.”
The Buccaneer 3D Printer is currently in production.
About the Designer
Founded in late-2012, Pirate3DP Pte Ltd is a start-up that was seed-funded by Red Dot
Ventures and incubated by the Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES). Its flagship product,
the Buccaneer 3D printer, which uses fused filament fabrication (FFF) technique, is already
winning wide acclaim not just in Singapore.
The idea for Pirate3DP was sown when Roger Chang, who now calls himself “Chief
Executive Pirate”, met with Brendan Goh and Tsang You Jun in 2002 to put together a 3D
printer they had bought online. This led to the trio deciding to make their own 3D printer.
Enter technology entrepreneur and venture capitalist Neo Kok Beng – and an enterprising
company was born.
Roger, a Business graduate from the National University of Singapore, has always been a
maker of things at heart. He has built numerous mechanical devices and put together many
personal projects.
Chief Operations Office Brendan, who holds an honours degree in Materials Science and
Technology, has been interested in running a business and came in first place at the largest
start-up competition in Singapore, Start-Up@Singapore in 2009.
Chief Designer You Jun grew up in a family of designers and has studied many fields of
design theory. He is experienced in systems integration and is currently overseeing the
development and manufacture of the Buccaneer.
Pirate3DP Chairman and Advisor Kok Beng specialises in the product development and
commercialisation of technology from universities and research institutes. He has created
successful ventures in mobile computing, information security and medical technology.
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If and when a problem emerges, the team believes in coming together to find solutions. “It
takes two hands to clap. Very often an issue with the product is not due to one person, but
arises from the interactions between two or more persons,” says You Jun.
The team therefore knows it is essential to “design a proper process and work- accounting
flow between different individuals and departments,” You Jun explains, adding that it is also
important to be humble and accept mistakes as the team’s rather than the individual’s error.
Their strategy as a team is to “create an environment where errors are proactively resolved
by all, and not passed around as blame; praise individuals when they help to solve
problems, sit and listen to them when problems arise, and then galvanise the team to solve
the issue.”
Commenting on the significance of the President’s Design Award, he says: “I believe it helps
designers working in Singapore to feel recognised and appreciated. It also emphasises the
importance of fusing functionality and aesthetics in a product. Not only must the product
work well, it must also make you feel good and at ease.”
Jury Citation
Purposeful in their design approach, the designers have managed to conceal complex
electronics with a minimalist design aesthetic, perfectly suited for desktop use in a domestic
environment. The interior component layout has been carefully considered with a clever
arrangement of the cooling system to optimise footprint and functionality.
The designers analysed many of the challenges with existing 3D printers and identified
safety as a key priority. This led to the development of a patented material which is used to
house the printed object and an innovative lowering platform that houses the 3D printed
object as it is being printed. This feature also results in the user not having to calibrate the
printer every time it is used.
This is a low cost, desktop 3D printer that started out as a project on the crowd funding
platform, Kickstarter. The designers exceeded their $US100k target by raising US$1.4m,
indicating a strong market appeal for a product in this segment.
The Jury praised the holistic approach to the design process in designing the product, which
included a specially designed software application that allows users to create designs and
upload them to a platform where they can be printed directly from a smart device. The Jury
was particularly impressed with the potential of this project.
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Buccaneer 3D Printer
Buccaneer and 3D prints
Smart Objects Software
Buccaneer iPhone app
3D Print of candle holder
3D print of brain
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Design of the Year
3 Eyelet Flip
Nanyang Optical Co. Pte Ltd
Yang Wah Kiang
Zhang Andong
Eyelet Flip
Crafted from surgical stainless steel and block titanium, the Eyelet Flip offers function and
convenience for the wearer, particularly those suffering from long-sightedness or presbyopia,
a condition related to ageing where the eyes have difficulty focusing on objects that are near.
The innovative design of the Eyelet Flip let the early presbyopia patient simply flip down a
pair of lenses that allow for close-range activities such as reading. Many of these patients
choose not to wear progressive lenses because of cost, unwillingness or unsuitability.
The full-rimmed frame front of Eyelet Flip is attached to the block titanium top bar with a
specially developed hook structure. Unlike other flip-ups, which use conventional screws for
hinges that require constant tightening after a while, Nanyang Optical’s alternative vision
solution employs a hinge spring created with high-tensile stainless steel for reliable spring
effect. The front end of its frame is attached to the temples with the company’s patented
hinge technology that maintains the spring effect, minus screws, for optimal comfort on the
face and ears.
“The real value of Eyelet Flip is its functionality. We studied conventional flip-ups, which are
failed products. After the lenses are flipped up and down with repeated use, the screws
loosen and they remain down, making (the flip-up) redundant,” says Nanyang Optical’s
chairman Yang Wah Kiang. “In the improved version, we have designed and developed the
hinges of each pair of Eyelet Flip to withstand stress tests at 10,000 flips over a seven-day
period. Our innovative hinge has proven that it can deliver consistency and functionality for
users.”
When paired with sun lenses, the Eyelet Flip shields the wearer’s eyes from sunlight and
offers a wider vision field without any visual constraint. This is especially useful for the
wearer when driving or engaging in outdoor activities. Even when paired with prescription
lenses, the eyewear places no additional stress on the nose bridge.
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In creating the Eyelet Flip, Wah Kiang feels his team has fulfilled the President’s Design
Award’s vision for design to make a difference to lives. “The ageing population in Singapore
and around the world is increasing. A high percentage of middle- and old-aged folks suffer
from presbyopia and need to remove their glasses when reading or doing near-range work.
Opticians usually recommend progressive lenses or reading glasses. But progressive lenses
are not for everyone and reading glasses are troublesome as they will need to be taken on
or off. Conventional flip-ups have failed. Eyelet Flip provides wide-angle vision and can
serve as a vision aid for people with specific job roles, such as surgeons and dentists. They
enable wearers to see better and offer convenience.”
About the Designer
A recipient of the Design of the Year award in the President’s Design Award 2009 for its
innovative Urband Origami eyewear, the Nanyang Optical product and industrial design
team is lauded again this year with the award for its Eyelet Flip.
Having devoted much of his life working with optical technology and in eyewear manufacture
and design, company chairman and design team leader Wah Kiang is adept at applying
existing technical know-how and technology to the design of innovative eyewear. The Eyelet
Flip is a testament to that.
Keen observation and responsiveness to feedback characterise the team’s approach to
designing. “We value feedback and suggestions from our customers, sales representatives
and internal teams to seek improvements and understand how real users feel before we
embark on designing a new collection,” says Wah Kiang. “A lot of time is spent on
observation too.” An example, he cites, is the Eyelet range for children, Eyelet Junior. “We
made trips to playgrounds to observe children at play. We see them actively jumping around
and having fun, but the children wearing glasses have problems enjoying their play as most
of the time they are fumbling to push up the frames that are sliding down their nose bridges.
This is a product flaw.”
From this observation the Eyelet Junior was born. “Designers need to be observant to
discover solutions to existing problems and cater to consumers’ needs,” he points out.
When working as a team, Wah Kiang says it is important that all members share a common
objective and work with a goal in mind. “For our design team, we work towards reliable
products that are practical, deliver consistent functional needs while ensuring quality in our
products. Communication with each other is important too, and everyone needs to play their
part in the team. To achieve this, each person needs to pay attention to details.”
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Explaining why he thinks the President’s Design Award has influenced designers and the
design field in Singapore, Wah Kiang says: “The platform encourages and inspires local
designers to be innovative and creative. It allows us to understand that good designs can
add value to a product, and hence contribute to the Singapore economy. Such products help
to enhance the lifestyle of users, and aid the designer to venture out of Singapore and opens
up more opportunities. It’s also a good chance for fellow designers to learn and understand
each other’s work.”
Jury Citation
This is a pair of spectacles that has a flip function that uses an innovative leaf spring hinge
design. Traditionally, optometrists specify progressive lenses for users who require two
levels of sight function. Existing flip-up spectacles have design limitations and fail on function
due to their reliance on a screw hinge that loosens following multiple use. The designers set
out to redesign the existing offering, resulting in a patented leaf spring hinge that is also
used in the side arms of the spectacles. The hinge system was tested for 10,000 cycles over
a seven-day period and it still operated with full functionality.
The Jury praised the use of titanium in the construction of the spectacles. This premium
material adds to the overall design aesthetic, resulting in a beautiful synthesis of form and
function. Even though the designers incorporated additional functionality with a flipping lens
system, there has been no compromise on form. As a stand-alone pair of spectacles, it is
elegant and sophisticated, with perfect proportions.
Another clever design feature is the ability for users to change the lenses without the need
for screws. New lenses can simply be snapped in.
The Jury commends the attention to detail and was unanimous in its decision to select this
project as an outstanding example of design excellence.
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Model F143 58-16 11 (Top View)
Model F145 53-16 11
Model F147 53-88 11
(Flipped Up, Side View)
Model F143 58-16 11
Close-Up of Fork-Like Hinge
(Flipped Down)
Close-Up of Fork-Like Hinge
(Flipped Up)
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Design of the Year
4 Jurong Eco-Garden
Atelier Dreiseitl Asia Pte Ltd
Leonard Ng Keok Poh
Ryan Shubin
Jurong Eco-Garden
Jurong Eco-Garden is a 5-hectare park developed by JTC Corporation that forms a green
lung within JTC’s CleanTech Park. CleanTech Park is Singapore’s first eco-business park
that is home to businesses, practitioners and academics seeking innovation in cleantech research. Featuring a tropical rainforest setting, Jurong Eco-Garden is a green space of
respite for the clean-tech community, and also a thoughtfully preserved habitat for the flora
and fauna that make up the ecology of the site.
Underlying the design of the eco-garden is a deep respect for nature. The Green Core not
only allows for sustainable co-existence with nature, but also for engaging with and learning
from it.
“One example is the creation of green corridors for animal movement. This is typically 30
metres in width, but due to space constraint, we were restricted to 15 metres. So we
deepened the corridor and planted it heavily to heighten the sense of privacy and security for
animals using the corridors,” Leonard Ng, Managing Director of Atelier Dreiseitl Asia Pte Ltd,
explains.
Clusters of buildings on the site are also arranged with co-existence in mind – they feature
an urban front on one side, and look out onto the forest on the other.
The challenge, Leonard adds, lies in finding a balance between commercial viability and the
requirements for a successful eco-park.
In creating the eco-garden, Leonard and his team took advantage of the natural elements of
the site, wherever possible. Existing eco-habitats and the natural topography of the land
were kept intact. Indigenous wildlife species were carefully documented and an actual
wildlife corridor was retained and enhanced. Water elements found on-site were harnessed
to support the existing hydrological flow of the site.
In keeping with the designers’ philosophy of maintaining a sustainable long-term balance
between the development’s commercial needs and the site’s natural biodiversity, materials
found on-site and elsewhere were recycled where possible and integrated into the design.
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The vegetation in this eco-garden is divided into four softscape zones identified through a
Biodiversity Impact Assessment baseline report. Singapore’s last two dragon kilns are
located within the site and continue to operate without disruption.
Commenting on the greatest functional value of the project, Leonard says: “As the Singapore
economy moves up the value chain, the talents that support our economy demand more
than fair wages. They look for inspiring environments to live and work in. Jurong Eco-Garden
shows the design potential for future business parks.”
Leonard believes the Green Core fulfils the President’s Design Award’s vision by bringing
into focus the tremendous potential for urban developments to co-exist in harmony with
nature.
About the Designer
Leonard’s design interest lies in finding an enduring, sustainable balance between man and
his environment.
His work with Jurong Eco-Garden is his third Design of the Year tribute at the President’s
Design Award. His very first recognition in the same category was in 2008 for the New
Majestic Hotel Front Lawn. The achievement came before he established Atelier Dreiseitl
Asia Ptd Ltd, which is an affiliate to Atelier Dreiseitl GmbH, an award-winning, sustainable
landscape architecture practice in Germany.
The Group, which also has offices in Singapore, Beijing and Portland in the United States,
boasts a multi-disciplinary team specialising in the synthesis of landscape architecture, art
and urban design, environmental technology and urban hydrology. Its portfolio ranges from
water-sensitive urban design, streetscapes and masterplans, to parks and plazas, and
building-integrated rainwater recycling systems.
Leonard’s second Design of the Year honour came in 2012 for the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park.
His projects in Singapore include the ABC Waters Phase 2 Islandwide Concept Plans and
the Sungei Buloh Wetland Park. Today, Leonard’s work can be seen in Indonesia, Vietnam,
Malaysia and China.
By academic background, Leonard has extensive training in Landscape Design and
Urbanism. He holds a Master’s degree in Landscape Urbanism from the Architectural
Association School of Architecture in London as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Landscape Architecture from New Zealand’s Lincoln University. Leonard also holds a
Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration, Finance from Canada’s University of
Regina. A member of the Singapore Institute of Landscape Architects, Leonard also has
numerous publications to his credit, and has given lectures both in Singapore and abroad.
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Leonard’s approach to his craft involves extensive collaboration with diverse professional
disciplines to create holistic, landscape-based solutions that engage and educate users,
while respecting the environment. On the Jurong Eco-Garden project, Leonard recalls: “We
held several design workshops that involve the different stakeholders so that everyone can
give their input and make design suggestions.”
Leonard sees the President’s Design Award as having an integral role in creating awareness
about the value of design in Singapore and how it can have a positive impact on both the
design and the users. He adds: “This heightened awareness is inspiring local designers to
up their game and put Singapore design on the world map.”
Jury Citation
Led by the idea of the Green Core as a fundamental guiding principal in planning the site,
the designers of Jurong Eco-Garden give a high level of consideration to users and the
natural inhabitants that influence the experience of the space.
The design resolves complex ecosystems at a high level of detail in terms of managing soils
remediation, water management and movement. Fast growing plant species have been
germinated to develop a richer experience as the larger tree canopies grow. The crafting of
options for moving through the site with vistas of water, art and architecture is balanced and
refined. The designers have done this while demonstrating a fundamental respect for
species life, migration and sustenance.
The images cannot compare with being on site and experiencing a world-class design.
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View towards Summit Forest
Bike Stop
Cascading Pond
Water Cleansing Biotape
Photography Haven
Damsel Fly Stream
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Design of the Year
5 Kent Vale
MKPL Architects Pte Ltd
Siew Man Kok
John Andrews McLaughlin
Cheng Pai Ling
Phan Pit Li
Kent Vale
Kent Vale, which has a Green Mark Platinum rating, is an impressive development that
augments the existing Kent Vale apartments. It is located on a prominent parcel of land at
the gateway to the campus of the National University of Singapore (NUS). From the start,
MKPL Architects aimed for a design that encapsulates the special experience of residents
and their families from around the globe living in a community of academics. It also
considered the Singapore climate, as well as the atmosphere, social and cultural agenda of
the development’s locale in a civic institution.
In designing Kent Vale, MKPL Architects set specific criteria for the development: minimise
energy use; minimise adverse environmental impact, such as global warming, climatic
change and increased carbon dioxide concentration; rejuvenate the environment through
energy-efficient buildings; achieve environmental goals without compromising users’ health,
safety and comfort; and attain commercial goals such as long-term energy and cost savings.
The architectural team, comprising NUS graduates, also resolved to adopt sustainable
construction materials in the design and construction, and maximise these goals through
natural rather than passive means where possible. For example, to minimise solar heat gain,
the buildings were optimally positioned. Living rooms, with generous balconies, face east or
west, where the sun is fiercest, while bedrooms face either north or south, where the least
solar radiation filters through.
The east and west facades have strategic sun shading through modular green walls,
balconies, and fixed and sliding screens that let users control the penetration of sunlight
without cutting off the view outside. Thoughtful positioning of ventilation openings allows for
adequate light and ventilation, eliminating the need for low-emissivity or other solar glazing
systems. Expansive lobbies and well ventilated rooms aid air movement, reducing the need
for air-conditioning. Administrative offices and communal facilities benefit from a rooftop
swimming pool in the podium block that also functions as a large insulated canopy.
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The designers at MKPL Architects feel that the project not only speaks highly of NUS and its
care for its faculty, but has become part of its competitive edge in attracting global talent.
“This is evident in the positive feedback that NUS has been receiving about the high
standard of this facility, not to mention the numerous international and local awards it has
received,” says MKPL Architects chairman Siew Man Kok.
“Kent Vale can be considered the start of an ethos that will, I hope, grow into a NUS tradition
of supporting and nurturing good design for the local community.
It is even more meaningful for us that we are graduates of NUS and are able to contribute
back to our alma mater,” he says.
About the Designer
MKPL Architects was established in March 1995 as a firm offering master planning,
architecture, landscape, and interior and furniture design to produce holistic design
outcomes. Its design philosophy focuses on creating strong, clear architecture forms and
spaces that are comfortable and liveable, and taps local and regional culture for appropriate
solutions and references. MKPL Architects also embraces advances in technology and
construction to widen the possibilities for ways in which design and architecture can
influence living, and interact with the environment.
The firm’s architects have the underlying conviction that architecture is important to our
everyday lives and influences the way we live, work and play. From a broader perspective,
the team believes architecture should reflect and even inspire new perception of and
appreciation for our physical environment.
MKPL Architects brings a fresh perspective to every design. The architects do so through
extensive discussion with clients to understand their needs, and then brainstorming to
synthesise these needs into an architecturally strong solution reflecting distinct components
and a unifying wholeness. Each design is site and programme-specific while the architecture
always reflects the firm’s effort to distil the complex to achieve the simple.
In designing Kent Vale, the MKPL Architects team spelt out a strong visual design statement
for guidance. “The design language, with its syntax of the materials, details and form, is
articulated to ensure that every team member understands and subscribes to this vision
throughout the entire journey of the project, from inception to execution,” says Man Kok, who
is also the founder of MKPL Architects.
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Some of MKPL Architect’s other major projects in Singapore include the National Continuing
Education & Training Campus; Faculty housing (Plot C) at the Singapore University of
Technology and Design; Scotts High Park; Duchess Residences; Singapore Gujarati Bhavan
Orchard Suites; and Master Planning for the New University on the East Coast. Further
afield, it has completed the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Poland; the Asia Culture
Centre in South Korea; and the Wo Shang Wai (residences), as well as the Singapore
International School in Hong Kong.
Analysing the influence the President’s Design Award has had on the Singapore design
scene, Man Kok says: “Toasting the best in design is a good way to encourage and nurture
design talents. The President’s Design Award is a strong forum to discuss, affirm and
instigate design thinking and development. It is a good catalyst to create a virtuous ecosystem for all design-related disciplines. Its public outreach programme also serves to
educate and propagate good design sense to the general public, which is a necessary
process in this virtuous eco-system.”
Jury Citation
An extension to the existing faculty housing at National University of Singapore’s campus in
Clementi, Kent Vale offers an innovative housing solution that caters to a range of users
while maintaining the quality of spaces.
The seamless integration of the new and existing Kent Vale is highly commended for
creating a sense of order, orientation, as well as a community space for residents to interact.
The landscape design offers a delightful sensorial experience of wind, light, water and nature
to those passing through the verandah. Tranquil corners for contemplation and lively spaces
for interaction are interspersed with private living quarters. The courtyards on the ground
level, pockets of sky gardens, and vertical green walls offer visual interest to the concrete
residential blocks.
The Jury commends the rational, responsive and creative approach taken that creates an
attractive living environment and meets the diverse functional needs of the campus.
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Privacy of the residents is maintained by separating
the private circulation to the swimming pool facilities
from the ground floor public realm
A purposeful and deliberate spatial hierarchy –
transitioning from bold public galleries to discreet
private spaces that are sensitive to the human scale
A voluminous entry lobby greets arriving residents
and serves as the transition from civic to domestic
space
35
The customised modular planter/green wall system
and the aluminium perforated “leaf-patterned”;
sunshade-cum-maintenance walkway system
The scale and proportion of the ground have been
carefully considered to imbue a civic quality to the
space
A typical apartment interior designed by the
architect to the last detail, including the furniture
and light fittings
Design of the Year
6 Ouyi Refrigerator
Electrolux S.E.A. Pte Ltd
Electrolux Group Design
Leonard Tan Bahroocha
Low Ko Wee
Lyndon Craig
Ola Lantz
Ouyi Refrigerator
Designed especially for the China market, Electrolux’s Ouyi refrigerator has a simple yet
modern design, is easy to clean, and offers flexibility features that maximise its potential for
uses.
The fridge, which is highly intuitive and interactive, has a minimalist exterior that would blend
seamlessly into any home. Its proximity sensor switches on the User Interface (UI) display to
engage users instantly, while its IQTouch™ control panel’s TFT-colour LCD provides smart
flexibility and control of the fridge’s functions. LightCraft™, a full-strip LED light-integrated
handle, lights up gradually when the door is opened and closed.
Inside, the Flexstor™ door is easily reconfigured to make room for taller or larger items.
Innovative Multiflow and Deofresh™ features enhance freshness, while the Nutrilight™
crisper preserves the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables.
Like other kitchen products in the Ouyi range, the refrigerator was created by Electrolux’s
Singapore-based, cross-discipline team comprising industrial and user-experience
designers.
“When we received the brief, the first thing we did was conduct a competitive landscape
exercise to understand the market. This allowed us to identify various elements where we
can create differentiation for our products to ensure they stand out from the competition,”
says Senior Design Manager Leonard Tan Bahroocha. “Consumer research and validation
are important to our design process.”
For the user interface, Senior User Experience Designer Low Ko Wee and his teammates
started by understanding users’ requirements and then designed the experience around
them. “We built prototypes for user testing to understand their reactions towards our
designs,” he adds.
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Leonard and Ko Wee believe that design amplifies Ouyi’s functional features: the Flexstor
interior allows for user customisation; and the LightCraft handle lights up when a user
approaches the fridge.
Explaining how Ouyi makes a difference to people’s lives, Leonard says: “Refrigerators have
always been seen as a product for food storage – functional and safe rather than a product
based on style or proper food storage. However, as consumers become more discerning
with their home interiors and the quality of food they consume, the refrigerator takes on a
different personality in the home.” All its innovative features, Leonard emphasises, were
designed “to change how we engage with the refrigerator in our everyday lives”.
Ouyi’s control panel is designed with a 2.4-inch TFT display with touch controls, Ko Wee
points out. This is a one-of-a-kind feature. The idea is to allow users to get information about
the refrigerator at their fingertips. “In doing so, we created an opportunity to remove user
manuals.”
About the Designer
The Electrolux Group markets home appliances under the brands Electrolux and Electrolux
Grand Cuisine, as well as those of other established names such as AEG, Zanussi and
Frigidaire. Products it makes and sells include domestic appliances such as refrigerators,
dishwashers, washing machines, cookers, vacuum cleaners and air-conditioners.
In Singapore, Electrolux S.E.A’s design team, led by Leonard, works closely
with Ko Wee and his team. Together, they strive to develop “thoughtfully designed” products
based on “deep consumer insight and in close collaboration with users”.
“I believe that design is about creating and communicating experiences. Users have physical
and emotional reactions to a product. My goal is to create positive reactions and to enhance
the experience that a product communicates,” says Leonard, who started his design career
with Creative Technology, where he helped to design products such as multimedia
speakers, web cameras and MP3 players. He also worked with Philips Design and Dell
before joining Electrolux.
Born in Singapore to a Chinese father and Parsi mother, Leonard studied product design at
Temasek Polytechnic before enhancing his studies in design at the Curtin University of
Technology in Perth, Australia.
Ko Wee, who holds a Master of Arts degree in Visual and Interaction Design from Umea
Institute of Design in Sweden, and a Product and Industrial Design with Merit diploma from
Temasek Polytechnic, designed the user interface for food preservation of the entire Ouyi
range for China.
37
Prior to joining Electrolux in 2011, Ko Wee worked for Hewlett-Packard and Philips
Electronics in Singapore. He has also worked in other Asian countries, the United States and
Europe.
Explaining their approach to teamwork, Leonard says: “We have a robust product
development process with clear roles, responsibilities and deliverables from the multidisciplinary project team. Weekly calls and frequent face-to-face meetings allow for clear
communication and teamwork to get the project through from concept to production.”
Ko Wee adds: “It is important to have a ‘can do’ spirit and the resolution to push from
concept to final execution.”
Commenting on the President’s Design Award’s influence on Singapore’s design scene,
Leonard says: “The recognition that design has the ability to make a difference encourages
designers to explore beyond their boundaries and believe in their design innovations.”
Ko Wee feels that being recognised for their design efforts definitely encourages designers
and pushes them to work harder. He says: “The Award motivates designers to challenge
themselves to create something which is beneficial to the world.”
Jury Citation
The Ouyi is a two-door refrigerator designed specifically for the Chinese market. This is a
crowded market segment where consumers are spoilt for choice. The design team
established a clear design brief from the start of the project and executed this with utmost
professionalism. The original design concept was followed through to final production and
the designers should be commended for this.
The exterior form incorporates a subtle curve across the front doors that give the fridge a
unique design language. The team carefully considered the manufacturing process
throughout the project. An example of this is the use of rolled tempered glass for the door
covering that added minimal costs to the overall manufacturing process.
The doors include an intuitive touchscreen interface to control the fridge as well as an
innovative motion detection system that activates a subtle light in the exterior door profile
when a user approaches – a clever feature for night time use. The light pulsates when the
fridge door is left open, offering a clear visual indicator to users that the door has not been
closed properly.
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The interior design of the fridge is clean and simple, and reflects a unique modular approach
to the design. The designers introduced an innovative clip system in the door to allow plastic
bags to be clipped and stored – a feature particularly appreciated by Chinese users. From a
sustainable design perspective, the manufacturing processes and materials used showed
careful consideration by the design team. Its energy usage gives the fridge the highest
energy rating for a product in this category.
The Jury commends the design team for its pursuit of design excellence at every stage of
this project.
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Exterior View
Chiller Compartment with Flexstor Door Bins
Removable parts allow easy cleaning
Flexstor Door Bins are quick and simple to
customise
Nutrilight keeps fruit and vegetables fresh
Fridge Compartment
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Design of the Year
7 Rabbit & the Tortoise Collection
Studio Juju
Timothy Wong
Priscilla Lui
Rabbit & the Tortoise Collection
Playfully titled, Rabbit & the Tortoise Collection, this family of seven tables with fluid forms
and varying sizes gives both interiors and exteriors an atmosphere that recalls happy
childhood days filled with different animals and shapes. Studio Juju’s Timothy Wong and
Priscilla Liu created them as objects with “pure aesthetics and poetry” using a free-spirited
approach.
“The visual quality of the tables is one of lightness in spirit and finesse in sensibilities. The
sinuous forms of the tables challenge our perceived notions of table typologies. Beyond the
imaginative shapes and joyful disposition of its childlike appearance, the enjoyment also lies
in the energy of its ever changing composition that afford various uses, thus always meeting
the needs of the context it finds itself in,” Timothy explains. “Many of the sketches and
doodles that we love to draw have a similar trait – shapes that delight and seem to move.”
The collection’s circles are not exactly round, its rectangles are slightly more elongated and
have a slight curl, its asymmetrical forms seem to move, and many of its soft shapes appear
to float. All the pieces can be grouped in one cluster to create an eye-catching focal area of
undulating surfaces, or each can be individually parked in corners or even by the side of
sofas like secluded islands.
Crafted from 3mm laser-cut sheet steel with epoxy powder coated RAL-K7 9010 white and
9017 black, they come with legs in tubular steel mounted separately and can be flat-packed.
The outdoor version has cataphoresis coating. During their development, Studio Juju
transformed sketches into paper models through the exploration process. “The act of making
small models allows for deliberation and discretion,” says Timothy. The small models were
then translated into full-scale mock-ups before being manufactured.
The collection’s greatest functional value is its “freshness”, according to Timothy. After all, its
creators designed the pieces “to respond to the living area with a different pair of eyes”.
They can make a difference to people’s lives as they offer a new perspective on the living
space. “By not subscribing to the usual typology that prescribes itself to the living space,
Rabbit & the Tortoise Collection speaks a new language.”
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First presented as prototypes at the SaloneSatellite in Milan in 2009, Rabbit & the Tortoise
Collection caught the eye of established Italian furniture maker Living Divani, which
developed and presented it at the Milan Furniture Fair in 2012. The collection was launched
commercially in fourth-quarter of 2012 and is now distributed worldwide.
About the Designer
Studio Juju was born when Timothy and Priscilla teamed up in 2009 to practise design in
furniture, products and spaces. They picked the name Juju for its Japanese meaning: “to
give and receive”. It is an apt description for their teamwork.
“To work together, it is important to listen to each other and to respond,” says Priscilla.
Timothy and Priscilla view their design practice as freedom to explore. Adopting an approach
that is fresh and optimistic, they consider each project a union of simplicity and warmth,
functionalism and whimsy, refinement and relevance.
The pair’s first collaboration as Studio Juju was to take part in the SaloneSatellite exhibition
in Milan, where the Rabbit & the Tortoise Collection was one of the designs displayed. The
set of visually appealing and inspiring tables came about as a result of the designers’
fondness for “creating sketches of soft shapes”. Says Priscilla: “We think there is an
imaginative quality in those drawings. We thought the shapes create a nice composition of
landscapes and imagine them moving around one another.”
Since the success of the Rabbit & the Tortoise Collection, Studio Juju has collaborated with
clients such as Living Divani, Desalto, WHotels, Foundry, Industry+, the Land Transport
Authority of Singapore and OCBC Bank. It has also exhibited internationally and has been
featured in major design publications and newspapers such as Wallpaper*, Surface,
Monocle, Case da Abitare, Habitus, Axis and Asian Wall Street Journal.
The studio has also received many accolades. Design Miami named it Designers of the
Future. It received the Design Report Award of SaloneSatellite in Milan, and was selected as
one of 15 international designers to represent the SaloneSatellite 15th Anniversary in 2012.
Designers constantly reflect on their everyday lives, the environment, decisions and choices,
Priscilla notes. “Sometimes we get too harsh and become critical of everything that exists
around us. Since design is everything to us, we have to understand that this is our conviction
and use it as a positive trait.”
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The President’s Design Award, Priscilla feels, has created an awareness of design and
rewarded design practitioners with a level of prestige. “Through the creative presentation of
Singaporean designers and their works, it has opened people’s eyes to and changed
attitudes towards beauty [and developed] sensibility and empathy for the non-absolute.
Different perspectives will generate debate and dialogue, and standards will only get better.”
Jury Citation
This elegant collection comprises coffee tables and side tables constructed from 3mm thick
laser cut, polycoated steel with stainless steel legs that are discreetly threaded into the base
of the table. This design feature allows for flat packaging and ease of shipping. The project
gained its designers international recognition from an Italian manufacturer and is an
inspiration to other young Singaporean designers.
The design exudes a poetic elegant reflective of its designers’ approach. Despite its
minimalistic form and simplicity, the product applies well to both an indoor and outdoor
space. The simple, child-like quality allows many possibilities of arrangements.
The execution of the design demonstrates the delicate sensibility of the designers and the
end result is a complementary accent to the surrounding environment.
The Jury praised the beauty that lies in its versatility and ability for integrating with other
furniture, bringing a sense of lightness and energy to a space. This project re-examines the
typology of coffee tables and offers a fresh, alternative perspective.
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Sketches are traced and laser-cut into small
models
Making small models with legs to compose
families of tables in various heights
Rabbit & the Tortoise Collection
Rabbit & the Tortoise Collection
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Design of the Year
8 Sandcrawler
Aedas
Sandcrawler
The Sandcrawler is a sleek, seven-floor, 22,500 sqm commercial development located at
One-North Business Park in Buona Vista. Among the occupants of the tower are the regional
headquarters of the US film and television production company Lucasfilm, The Walt Disney
company (Southeast Asia), and the sports TV network ESPN Asia Pacific.
A spokesperson from Aedas, designer of the structure, explains that the building’s particular
form was not a request from the client, but the outcome of master planning and site
constraints that dictated construction specifications, such as envelope heights, roof
topography, setbacks and elevations. A horseshoe floor plan was the final result.
The building, streamlined with highly-efficient floor plates, maximises leasable office spaces.
It is elevated to 13m above ground to enclose a lushly landscaped and sheltered courtyard
on the ground level. The space invites pedestrians to enjoy the greenery, while offering
office tenants on the upper levels a garden view. On the fifth and sixth floors is a doubleheight space that houses a 100-seat theatre.
In designing the building, the Aedas designers considered materials and form to reduce
energy consumption. For example, the elevations step down, with each floor overhanging
the next. The ends of the wings have exaggerated stepping, which creates shading for the
floors below. Chromium fritted glass on the solar exposed faces, fritted glass and louvered
canopies, terraced vegetation and water features all contribute to sustainability. The outer
skin of low-iron glass with an inner metallic-frit dot layer underneath allows daylight to
penetrate the interior without solar heat gain. The courtyard facade is wrapped in a layer of
highly transparent glass. The design also utilises natural devices to innovatively and
effectively reduce energy consumption.
The Aedas designers believe that the design of the Sandcrawler fulfils the President’s
Design Award vision through the team’s innovative approach to master planning guidelines
and the client’s brief. The building not only offers efficient office space to tenants, but also
provides a generous public park on the ground level, thereby giving a strong civic dimension
to a corporate office tower.
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About the Designer
Aedas is a global firm offering architecture, graphic, interior, landscape, urban design and
master planning services in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the United States.
Established in 2002, it grew to become one of the world’s five largest architectural practices
by 2008 and has retained the position to this day. Aedas has 1,400 employees in seven
countries and 12 global offices.
The company’s founders believe that good design can only be achieved through a deep
social and cultural understanding of the communities it is designing for. “We want to create
world-class design solutions that are tailored to the needs of communities around the world,”
according to the firm’s mission statement.
Aedas is also convinced that great design is diverse design, which is why it has a global
platform that allows its creative minds to plug into the information and delivery systems they
need to produce extraordinary architectural solutions for clients around the world. The firm
also thinks great design entails constantly challenging the status quo and looking to
innovation and cutting-edge thinking to push boundaries.
In its approach to urban design and master planning, Aedas is committed to creating vibrant
urban spaces that enhance quality of life. The company believes that architecture and
landscape should be complementary and that great design is a synthesis greater than the
sum of its parts. The design of an urban space must address a broad range of inter-related
factors and, to be successful, it must express the delicate balance between function, climate,
style, budget and culture.
Aedas believes in engaging fully with a client from concept to delivery of the final product.
This allows its architects to respond to the needs of developers and building users and
create cost-effective solutions that make spaces leasable, saleable and attractive. Before
starting any project, the firm would study the needs of the client and analyse the site to
appreciate all the issues and challenges involved. Following several design iterations that
also look at precedents and context, an inspiring vision is evolved that steers the project to
completion.
The Sandcrawler, for example, emerged from its understanding of the constraints, a desire
to maximise leasable floor space, and its determination to create “a building of sophistication
and elegance”.
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Reflecting on the significance of the President’s Design Award, the firm feels that, given the
diversity of the Award, there is a greater sphere of design excellence within the various
creative skills. Additionally, the internationally recognised quality of the Award gives
Singaporean designers a goal to aspire towards and, if successful, the pride in knowing that
the quality of work is comparable with designs from anywhere in the world.
Jury Citation
The Sandcrawler skilfully weaves together an elegant office building and a public garden that
relates well to its surrounding environment.
Nestled in the centre of a horseshoe-shaped building is a publicly-accessible garden. At the
same time, the garden offers office workers in the building a view into the green central
space. The complexity of the large scale project was handled well, from functional
requirements to the material palette and design of details.
The Jury commends the Sandcrawler for the rigour and control exhibited in carrying through
the concept to the details.
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Exterior View
Main Lift Lobby
Theatre Enclosure
Theatre Level Gallery
Typical Lift Lobby
Theatre Interior View
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Design of the Year
9 Sound Blaster Roar SR20
Creative Technology Ltd.
Vince Ang
GiGi Cho
Eddy Toh
Sound Blaster Roar SR20
Vince Ang Huang Pheng, who leads Creative Technology’s product and industrial design
team, calls Sound Blaster Roar “the mother of all portable Bluetooth speakers”. He says:
“The design allows it to produce fantastic audio. It can actually replace the home theatre
system.”
No larger than a portable booklet, the speaker delivers powerful, precision-tuned, highfidelity sound. While most portable speakers use only one amplifier which compromises high
frequencies in favour of low and mid ones, the Sound Blaster Roar boasts a bi-amplified
design. It has one amplifier for lows and mids, and another for high frequencies, transmitting
uncompromisingly clear, high definition, well-balanced sound.
In designing the Sound Blaster Roar, the team had to consider a solid chassis that can
withstand a high surge of acoustic output. “This translates to less energy wastage and better
audio quality. The outlook of the design suggests a clean, high quality built with careful
consideration for details,” Vince explains.
The speaker also delivers audio with space-filling dispersion. Its far-field high frequency
drivers project audio further than most other speakers in its class. Thanks to its box-style
layout, listeners hear “non-sweet, spot-specific audio and amazing tight bass”.
The product also comes with Roar, a feature that delivers instant additional audio power. A
listener wanting sheer audio power can simply press the ROAR button to instantly boost
audio loudness, depth and spaciousness.
There were challenges the team had to surmount to produce the Sound Blaster Roar, Vince
reveals. For example, the device needed a big battery without increasing the speaker size. It
also had to be more “feature-rich” than other speakers, with more components, circuits,
buttons – without increasing speaker size. Ultimately, the speaker had to outperform those
more than twice its price.
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After several dozen design proposals were rejected, the team was left with models ACE1 ACE4, each of which had one of the following four attributes: small and portable; great
aesthetics; powerful with good sound; intelligent. The decision was to focus on ACE3, but
incorporating the qualities of the other three models.
In Vince’s opinion, Sound Blaster Roar fulfils the President’s Design Award’s vision of design
making a difference to people’s lives. “Singaporeans want the best of everything in life at the
best value for money. We strived to create something that reflects this, and the Sound
Blaster Roar is the result. It boasts killer audio, killer looks, killer features and a killer price. It
is an excellent example of a well-designed, innovative speaker product that allows not just
Singaporeans, but everyone to enjoy premium quality wireless audio in music, videos,
movies and games – anywhere, anytime.”
About the Designer
Established in Singapore in 1981, Creative Technology, helmed by founder, chairman and
CEO Sim Wong Hoo, had the vision that multimedia would revolutionise the way people
interact with their PCs. Since enjoying huge success with its Sound Blaster sound cards and
setting the de facto standard for PC audio in 1989, the company has been able to leverage
its cutting-edge audio technology, a huge user base of 400 million people, and its strong
solid brand name to expand into the lifestyle Personal Digital Entertainment market.
Its products and solutions are marketed to consumers and systems integrators through a
worldwide distribution network that includes traditional marketing channels, original
equipment manufacturers and the Internet.
After finding the perfect balance between form and function, the company has been
continually striving to make every product “a sensory feast for the eyes and ears”.
Creative Technology is currently blazing the trail for new product categories with Sound
BlasterAxx audio enhancement devices and solutions, Sound Blaster Roar portable wireless
speakers and its Signature Series of modular Bluetooth wireless speakers, Aurvana
premium headsets, Sound Blaster wireless gaming headsets, and cross-platform Sound
Blaster Recon3D for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC or Mac.
In its approach towards a project, the team tries to “create an environment where nothing is
personal. We’re all striving to produce the best and so we understand that sometimes some
ideas work and some don’t. It’s not about who did what, it’s what we do collectively as a
team. Everyone in the team has his or her own strengths, and we see our results as the
combined efforts of all our strengths”, says Vince. “The Sound Blaster Roar is a great
example of this approach,” he adds.
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Commenting on the significance of the President’s Design Award, he notes that it is an event
that puts on display the best that Singapore has to offer in terms of design, as well as the
designers behind them. “This sends a message that great levels of creativity exist in
Singapore. That’s something we can be proud of. It’s an inspiration and a benchmark for
upcoming designers. They can hear the stories of what inspired these designers, and the
journeys they took to get to the top. It shows the level of perfection that we should strive
towards and lets us believe that we can achieve the very best.”
Jury Citation
This is a premium wireless speaker that is extremely well priced in a competitive market. As
an example of industrial design, this is as good as it gets. The execution of the design is
seamless and should be held as a benchmark for others to follow.
The Sound Blaster Roar’s compact form, design language, simple user interface, material
selection, branding, packaging and detailed engineering of the internal components, all show
that this is a world-class product.
Its sound quality is phenomenal and will challenge similar products on the market. The unit
has an excellent user interface, with a considered approach to the grouping of functional
buttons. The use of integrated moulded rubber in the design has been meticulously detailed
and gives the product a premium quality.
The Jury commends the designers and praises the end-to-end design professionalism in this
project.
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Front View
Lending elegance to a bookshelf
Perspective
A handsome touch for the office décor
A welcome companion when night falls
Sleek and easy to operate
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Design of the Year
10 SUTD Gridshell
SUTD City Form Lab
Andres Sevtsuk
Raul Kalvo
SUTD Gridshell
Perched on a sloping lawn behind the circular library building of Singapore University of
Technology and Design (SUTD) at the Dover Campus, the Gridshell provides an extension
for the library that is becoming too small for the university’s growing student population. By
day, the curved pavilion offers students and staff a shaded open-air space to work or to
meet. By night, it transforms into a venue for gatherings, evening lectures and SUTD
community events.
Comprising two basic elements, a base and a canopy, the structure is designed to be
dismantled and recycled after two years. The base, which hovers over the grass lawn to
keep feet dry and provides a place for sitting, is made of a steel structure covered with
timber decking. The Gridshell is made of 12mm marine plywood beams and 2mm galvanised
rolled steel cladding tiles. There are no columns, beams or vertical walls to support the roof;
the canopy works as a curved vault. All the elements of this pavilion are fabricated and
assembled in Singapore, using computational technology, says Andres Sevtsuk, Assistant
Professor of Architecture and Planning at SUTD, who also heads SUTD’s City Form Lab.
This project represents a collaborative effort between the university’s faculty, staff and
students. Andres says: “Over 100 SUTD students and staff participated in the assembly of
the Gridshell. The first-year architecture students who were involved in the initiative, got to
see an architectural project from A-to-Z, right in our backyard. This was a rare experience.”
It was, in fact, a team of freshmen students who came up with the concept of an open-air
catenary canopy. The SUTD library had launched a competition to invite ideas for extending
its space, and the team won the competition. City Form Lab then collaborated with the
students to develop the design, conduct structural tests, coordinate its fabrication and
supervise the site works with an appointed contractor.
As gridshells are traditionally very expensive and labour intensive, Andres thinks that the
SUTD Gridshell’s greatest functional value is that it demonstrates a new way of making grid
structures cheaply and rapidly using standard, off-the-shelf materials. “We see a lot of
potential for this new solution in new structures using all kinds of materials.”
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Reflecting on how the project realises the President’s Design Award’s vision for design,
Andres says: “The design of the structure involved a healthy dose of both structural
engineering and design, and I think the project fits very well with the vision of SUTD to blend
technology with design. It also demonstrates that there is enormous know-how in Singapore
for design, engineering and fabrication. Everything for the project, except raw material, was
available in Singapore.”
About the Designer
SUTD’s City Form Lab, in collaboration with the School of Architecture & Planning at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), focuses on urban design, planning and
architectural research. Andres leads the team to develop new software tools for researching
city forms; use cutting-edge spatial analysis and statistics to investigate how urban
infrastructure affects the social, environmental and economic quality of urban environments;
and develop creative design and policy solutions for contemporary urban challenges.
By bringing together multi-disciplinary urban research expertise and excellence in design,
City Form Lab develops context-sensitive and timely insights about the role of urban form
affecting the quality of life in 21st-century cities. Among its major partners are Singapore’s
Urban Redevelopment Authority, Housing and Development Board, as well as the World
Bank, ARUP and MIT.
Andres holds a PhD in Urban Design & Planning and a SMArchS in Architecture & Urbanism
from MIT, among other tertiary qualifications. He joined SUTD in 2011 as a student before
becoming a lecturer in architecture and urban studies, and planning. He has worked as an
architect, urban designer, consultant and researcher in Europe, the United States and
Singapore, and led a number of international research projects. He has also published
articles and book chapters, and presented his work at various international events, including
TEDx, the World Cities Summit and the Venice Architecture Biennale.
When implementing the Gridshell, the team’s approach was to work closely with the
fabricators and contractors, even visiting the factories to meet and discuss the factory
workflow with the technicians and machine operators. Assembling the Gridshell, Andres
says, was basically like “putting together a huge three-dimensional puzzle”: the contractor
had to follow single construction drawing, which depicted a numeric key to how the
numbered pieces fit together. “As soon as the men on site learned the system, they moved
rather fast to put the whole structure together. It was important to keep an open mind and to
learn how the different professionals involved in construction do their job. That is a good
starting point in trying something new together,” he says.
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Asked how the President’s Design Award (PDA) has influenced Singapore’s design scene,
Andres says, “Some awards celebrate work that is already well known and highly regarded.
Others use the opportunity created by the award to draw attention to new ideas that may not
be widely known yet. I think the latter approach, which seems quite characteristic to the
PDA, is more interesting as it helps us discover new things every year.”
Jury Citation
As a temporary structure, the pavilion is a model of the possibilities when human-centered
design, innovative engineering and computation solutions meet with an incredibly low
budget. It is a kit-of-parts project that revolutionises the way we conceive and define how we
make things.
The project reflects the continuing study of prefabrication ideas. It is another step forward for
mass produced technologies that have resolved the inherent contradiction in the
prefabricated and bespoke.
The undertaking is the collaboration of students, faculty members and professionals. They
started with the engineering of the structure using low-tech 2D plywood and achieved a
complex form successfully using cut steel plates. Together, the flat linear elements take on a
compound form with a natural ease and simplicity.
We look forward to seeing this exemplary project inspire progress in prefabricated
architecture.
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Location behind the SUTD Dover campus
Side View
Gathering Area, Interior View
Double Curvature Gridshell, Interior View
Main entryway to the Pavilion
The Gridshell offers library-size tables,
seating, Wi-Fi and power plugs for outdoor
work
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Design of the Year
11 T House
Linghao Architects
Ling Hao
T House
T House resides on a compact plot of land six metres by 22 metres, in a residential area
near Peirce Reservoir. The interior and exterior of this rebuilt two-storey home come
together to make each individual space feels like it is both the inside and the outside.
Sticking to the original levels, architect Ling Hao has allowed the first level to drop about 1.5
metres from the entrance road. A few small rooms here share a garden-like covered court
where birds fly through while the homeowners sit and chat or watch television programmes.
The dining area extends into a side garden bounded by money plants that soar skywards on
a high wall. At night, one hears crickets chirping in the side gardens. Around and through the
space are various paths. One of them threads through an open kitchen with a palm garden
and a staircase leading to a bedroom. Rooms in this home have big openings that allow
family members to feel one another’s presence in the natural light, among the plants.
Throughout the day, the airy interior courtyard “records” weather conditions: the movements
of the sun, the sudden appearance of clouds, gusts of winds.
On the roof of the residence is a garden six metres by 12.5 metres covering the entire
buildable footprint. The relaxing realm offers the homeowner and his family the space for
planting, weeding and cultivating, as well as enjoying morning tea, evening chats and
occasional parties. It also encourages gardening to continue, from one end of the house to
the other.
It is a house that has made a difference to the lives of its inhabitants. “The environment that
was made is also a way for the inhabitants to imagine a different kind of everyday
experience, one where the family could go about doing things intimately around gardens that
change ‘silently’,” says Ling Hao.
While Ling Hao has completed the project of building a small house for the owner and his
family to do some gardening, the client is taking the project further on his own by cultivating
the plants. “He has since started a garden company to do work outside the house as a
hobby,” the architect adds.
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This is an abode where the everyday is intimately related with the external environment,
offering an open and simple way for the homeowners to relate to the tropical world.
About the Designer
An architecture graduate from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, Ling
Hao is receiving a Design of the Year award from the President’s Design Award for the
second consecutive year. He also earned the honour in 2013 for the Satay By The Bay
project for which he worked with fellow architects Tan Kok Meng and Satoko Saeki of KUU.
Born in Kuching, Sarawak, Ling Hao first joined Tangguanbee Architects in Singapore after
completing his studies. It was Tang Guan Bee who taught him to question what architecture
means, and to build what he wants to build. Ling Hao next established Ham Architects with
Kok Meng in 1998 before founding his own company, Linghao Architects, in 2000.
Linghao Architects makes projects by imagining fresh settings in relation to everyday life. In
implementing projects ranging from interiors to installations and architectural works, the
firm’s architects consider scales of intimacies and how to allow for liveliness. Most of Ling
Hao’s projects pertain to movement and letting the user experience the space created. The
T House typifies this.
Besides running his own firm, 46-year-old Ling Hao also lectures at the Royal Melbourne
Institute of Technology (RMIT)/ LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts and is a studio master at
the National University of Singapore.
He has also exhibited extensively in Singapore and abroad, for example, at the Housefull of
Dreams (with KM Tan & J Chia) video installation for Asian Comments Festival in
Copenhagen (2002); the Singapore Pavilion at the Venice Architectural Biennale (2009); the
URA 20 under 45 exhibition in Singapore and Aedes Gallery, Berlin (2011); the
House@SEA exhibition at Datum KL (2011); the Ghostwalking table (with Spell 7) at Prague
Quadrenniale (2011); and the President’s Design Award exhibition at National Design Centre
and Urban Redevelopment Authority (2014). In addition to the President’s Design Award,
Ling Hao’s work has won numerous national accolades such as the SIA Architectural Design
Award Honourable Mention (2008, 2012); the URA Architectural Heritage Award (2007,
2013); and the National Parks Board Skyrise Greenery Excellence Award (2013).
Building T House successfully entailed his working with the client, engineer, quantity
surveyor and the builders. “Everybody must share a similar objective in working hard on the
project – which we all did,” says Ling Hao.
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Commenting on how the President’s Design Award has influenced the local Singapore
design scene, Ling Hao says: “It provides a public recognition of design work. Bringing
together experienced architects and design industry figures from different kinds of
backgrounds and worlds is a great thing as they bring openness, yet abilities to relate the
work to their experiences.”
Jury Citation
T House stands out from other houses as it challenges the norms of today’s design and
construction of homes in Singapore, and offers a unique and different experience of living in
the tropics
The house is an open airy structure that incorporates multiple courtyards and gardens within
a small space. It is organised around a central double-volume internal courtyard, which
allows air and light to penetrate the entire space. The open structure and humble material
palette evokes the memory of old Singapore houses. At the same time, it accommodates the
modern lifestyles of its inhabitants. Indoor planting strips with creeper plants keep the
naturally ventilated environment cool.
The Jury commends the radical simplicity in the interpretation of the tropical house which
offers a different way of life in today’s society. It is a model for how to live life simply.
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Entrance Garden
Airy Interior with view of
Entrance Porch
View of Interior Court from Bathroom
Roof Garden, East View
Stairway down from the Roof Garden
Garden Court
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