Singapore Design Week 2024: What To See And Do
This year's Singapore Design Week takes a multi-faceted approach to honouring the everyday heroes of design.
By Carlos Keng,
Singapore's biggest design-led event kicks off this week: Singapore Design Week (SDW) 2024, which runs September 26 to October 6 across various locations. This year's edition goes with the humanistic theme of People of Design, which the organisers say was conceptualised to highlight the everyday people who shape society and enhance life through design.
The latest edition's expanded design districts will cover three main areas - Bras Basah.Bugis, Orchard Road, and Marina Bay - each reflecting the People of Design theme with special commissions, exhibitions, installations, and workshops. Here, we break down how SDW 2024 has done so through its programming:
FIND – Design Fair Asia, which bills itself as Southeast Asia's leading design trade fair will be holding court over at Marina Bay Sands' Expo & Convention Centre with more than 350 furniture and interior design brands taking part. But there are other things worth looking out for, even if you're not in the industry: cue EMERGE @ FIND showcase, which is a special segment within the fair that's dedicated to emerging talents from Southeast Asia, curated by Suzy Annetta, founder of industry bible Design Anthology.
EMERGE @ FIND will feature over 50 designers and recent graduates from Southeast Asia - pictured here is a work from Singapore designer Karyn Lim's So Plast!c series, which transform disposable materials into valuable, artistic objects, shifting the perception of plastic waste from throwaway items to something precious. These designers and new graduates will be presenting new works that explore the theme of These Precious Things - asking pertinent questions like who decides what is valuable? Why make more objects when the planet is overflowing with things? What do we consider to be valuable, and how is value expressed, displayed and communicated?
And if you see something you like, good news - their works will be available for purchase through a new partnership with The Artling online gallery.
WHERE: Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre, 10 Bayfront Ave
WHEN: Sept 26 - Sept 28, 10am - 6pm
ADMISSION: Free with registration - do so here.
Over at Bras Brasah and Bugis, internationally acclaimed Singapore designer Hans Tan is leading a group of collectives and designers to put on ten exhibitions spread across this central area. These showcases will explore everyday rituals like eating, sleeping, and commuting through design, offering imaginative perspectives and inspiring fresh ways of thinking about daily life.
There are some really interesting propositions to check out, such as EAT by Atelier Fang over at National Design Centre, where designers redefine food's purpose by transforming it into practical objects inspired by ancient cooking techniques.
At the National Library, the PLANT showcase (pictured) involves NUS industrial design students examining the complex relationships between people and houseplants, highlighting the recent surge in indoor plant popularity while noting that planter design has primarily emphasised aesthetics, with few technical advancements.
Hans Tan's own R for Repair project, which focuses on the creative restoration of old and broken personal objects, will be restaged at a pre-war bungalow at 42 Waterloo Street. Initially presented by Design Singapore and Tan in 2021 and later displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2022, this new iteration, titled Repair+, emphasises healing the mind and spirit through objects collected in collaboration with Yishun Health Singapore.
WHERE: Various locations across Bras Brasah.Bugis district - check out the full line-up here.
WHEN: Sept 26 - Oct 6, various timings
ADMISSION: Subject to individual showcases' requirements
The main event over at the Orchard Design District is Re-Route: Orchard (RR:OR), an experiential design initiative that takes place throughout Orchard Road, curated by PLUS Collaboratives. Re-Route: Orchard invites festivalgoers to explore and engage with Orchard Road through a series of curated design installations.
Focusing on design as the central theme with the concept of “Be Here Now,” Re-Route: Orchard encourages visitors to actively engage with Orchard Road as it exists today. The festival emphasises design’s role in adapting and transforming spaces, showing how it helps shape the character of a place. Highlights include the Offshoots Route, Orchard Road’s own stamp rally; a design showcase themed around Adaptive Reuse; and a nostalgic playscape for children at Far East Plaza. Additionally, visitors can spot the Re-Route “Giant,” a visual symbol representing significant changes and influences from the past and visions of the future.
WHERE: Various locations across Orchard Road - check out the full line-up here.
WHEN: Sept 26 - Oct 6, various timings
ADMISSION: Free
For the first time, the Marina Design District will expand to include the Marina Central zone, with renowned Singaporean designer Nathan Yong leading the curatorial efforts. Yong's presentation, Neu Folk: Bridging Tradition and Future in Design, combines the collective spirit of communities with forward-thinking design concepts. Key features include the Design Pavilion at Millenia Walk, which will host a curated exhibition, along with a series of talks, retail experiences, and workshops focused on sustainability and innovation. Among the large-scale public installations are Mooncycle - kinetic swings that charge devices - and Kinetics Energy Play, where visitors power human-sized wheels to generate light.
WHERE: Various locations across Marina Central district - check out the full line-up here.
WHEN: Sept 26 - Oct 6, various timings
ADMISSION: Free
Launched at Milan Design Week earlier this year, Future Impact 2 showcased innovative works by seven Singaporean designers, highlighting design's role in promoting a sustainable future. Now returning to Singapore as Future Impact 2: Homecoming Showcase, the exhibition, curated by Tony Chambers and Maria Cristina Didero, presents further developed projects that push creative boundaries. The designers — Christian+Jade, David Lee, Faezah Shaharuddin, Gabriel Tan, Genevieve Ang, Tiffany Loy, and Zavier Wong — integrate new technologies and rethink production methods to minimise environmental impact.
Take for instance Genevieve Ang's work pictured here: titled Reciproco, it is a collection of interactive ceramic pieces done in collaboration with the Interactive Materials Lab that changes colour when heated or activated by touch, thanks to the use of nifty thermochromic paint.
WHERE: Asian Civilisations Museum, 1 Empress PIace, Contemporary Gallery (Level 1)
WHEN: Sept 26 - Nov 17, 10am - 7pm (till 9pm on Fridays)
ADMISSION: Free for Singapore and Permanent Residents
This event is more for industry practitioners and anyone curious to learn how design changes lives. The Design Futures Forum 2024: Designing Our Collective Future will explore the role of design in addressing emerging technologies, sustainability, and care in the face of global challenges like climate change and advancing tech. Featuring thought leaders from Singapore and beyond, the forum will examine how design can make a positive impact, from individual to societal levels, and advocate for interdisciplinary collaboration across fields such as technology, business, environmental science, health, and inclusivity.
The two-day event will cover three key segments: Emerging tech, focusing on human interaction with technology in areas like AI and spatial tech; Sustainability, discussing regenerative futures that heal the planet and support non-human life; and Care, exploring how design can democratise and enhance health and well-being.
WHERE: Victoria Theatre & Chamber at The Arts House, 9 Empress Place
WHEN: Oct 1 - Oct 2, 9am - 6.30pm
ADMISSION: Get your tickets here.