Singapore – Recipients of the 2018 President*s Design Award were presented the nation’s highest accolade for design by President Halimah Yacob on 17 July 2018 at the Istana.
There were nine recipients in the Design of the Year award category and four of them were architectural projects. Two individuals were celebrated as the Designer of the Year. They were Angelene Chan, the Chief Executive Officer of DP Architects and Hans Tan, Founder of Hans Tan Studio. The recipients were picked from a total of 131 eligible entries.
The 2018 President*s Design Award (2018 P*DA) was jointly organised by DesignSingapore Council and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in Singapore. This year, for the first time, the two organisers worked with a Knowledge Partner – Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), SUTD-MIT International Design Centre (IDC) to assess the claims of impact submitted by shortlisted nominees for non-architectural projects. It was spearheaded by Professor Kristin Wood, Associate Provost of Graduate Studies, Co-Director, SUTD-MIT International Design Centre.
As part of a revamp after a decade, the P*DA now places greater emphasis on outcome-based design impact in addition to the longstanding criteria of excellence in design craftsmanship. As a result of the revamp, the first-ever multi-disciplinary jury panel was appointed to evaluate the non-architectural entries. The esteemed 17-member panel of local and international jurors, which includes past P*DA recipients, are leaders in design, business, and architecture. In addition to selecting the 2018 recipients, the jury also commended Toh Yah Li, Partner at Light Collab LLP, for her work in lighting design.
“The 2018 P*DA recipients represent what we advocate for design in Singapore – an exceptional form of human-centric creativity that goes far beyond the aesthetics. Singapore has always tapped the power of design to meet the many challenges we face as a small island nation. The recipients embody this spirit of transforming and improving lives, businesses, society and even the world through design,” said Mark Wee, Executive Director, DesignSingapore Council.
“We are encouraged to see the architectural recipients continue to forge the way forward in designing thoughtful, transformative and innovative spaces and places. We applaud their celebration of community and greenery in ways that are also respectful to the projects’ contexts,” said Larry Ng, Group Director, Architecture and Urban Design Excellence of URA.
The four architectural projects in the Design of the Year award category are:
- Mediacorp Campus by Maki & Associates and DP Architects Pte Ltd,
- Oasia Hotel Downtown by WOHA Architects Pte Ltd,
- China Fuzhou Jin Niu Shan Trans-urban Connector by LOOK Architects Pte Ltd,
- The Tembusu by ARC Studio Architecture + Urbanism Pte Ltd
The other recipients in the Design of the Year award category are:
- Changi Airport Terminal 4 by Changi Airport Group,
- The Future of Us Pavilion by the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD),
- The Warehouse Hotel by Asylum Creative Pte Ltd,
- weatherHYDE by billionBRICKS,
- Who Cares? Transforming the Caregiving Experience in Singapore by fuelfor and the National Council of Social Service.
