01 September 2011

The Scoop on Asia

Indesignlive.asia brings you a roundup of the events, people, projects and more that made its headlines in August.

Singapore's creative scene took a nocturnal turn last month, starting with the re-launch of the flea market MAAD, now a bigger monthly night-themed art and design extravaganza at the red dot design museum – complete with the works and products of some 70 artists and designers, live music and a makeshift bar.

Not to be outdone, Night Lights 2011, which goes on for 9 evenings and ends this weekend, involves multiple light installations at different cultural venues, including a performance by rows of parked cars, luminous floating jellyfish, and other unique and interactive projects by artists and designers from France.

The country will also make its debut at Paris' Maison&Objet in September with homegrown creatives such as d.lab, FARM and hans tan studio, to name a few, all housed within the new Singapore Design Pavilion.

Design's leading lights, in town to judge Singapore's President's Design Award recently, placed meaningful emphasis on 'design for the people'. Julia Chiu, executive director of the Japan Institute of Design Promotion, told us how social design in Japan has gained greater momentum in recent years, while Ogilvy's worldwide creative head, Tham Khai Meng, gave examples of how design can make a difference.

Julia Chiu

Work by Tham Khai Meng

Two very different projects caught our attention in August. Orbit's fit-out of USAID's Southeast Asian headquarters in Bangkok impressed us with its sustainable design – and dedicated sustainability centre – while AgFacadesign wowed us with the way it has transformed a bare-boned atrium into a green, stimulating space.

In other important news, HASSELL has announced 3 new significant appointments, a move that signals greater expansion and growth for the practice in Asia and Europe.

HASSELL's Ken Maher

And coming right on the heels of the first Saturday in Design in Singapore in May, the event returned to Sydney on 19 and 20 August, bigger than ever with 7000+ visitors, 90 different exhibitors, and covering 36 locations across 7 precincts!