Ventura Lambrate

As we in Singapore and Southeast Asia march on in our search for a unique creative identity, there is no denying that the international design scene continues to be a useful reference point for us – there is still much that we can learn from the Italians, the Scandinavians, the Japanese, and so on and so forth. It is why we still make the trek to Milan for the Salone del Mobile every year. It is where the best of the best go to present the results of the past year’s research and development. On a few rare occasions, it is revolutionary. Most of the time, the designs are evolutionary in nature. But both serve their purpose and are important in their own ways.

Shown at the Milan Furniture Fair – Bikini Island by Werner Aisslinger for Moroso

In light of this, we present our massive report on this year’s Milan Design Week, with our top product picks from the fair, as well as the best places we visited in the city. We hunted down three new-generation designers who are poised to be household names in the near future, and get the inside scoop from Singapore-based designers who had presentations of their products in the design city.

An interview with Benjamin Hubert in Milan

Singapore-based design studio Desinere, in Milan

After years of watching its construction in the heart of Singapore’s Central Business District, ParkRoyal on Pickering finally opened its doors to guests. The WOHA-designed hotel makes for a daring new urban proposal in the city and, we suspect, might draw equal amounts of fans and detractors. Read about it in this issue and decide for yourself.

ParkRoyal on Pickering, designed by WOHA

In a tri-lateral partnership, FARM, Locus Associates and Studio Terre come together to create a suburban home that is anything but suburban. The Wall House is a highly poetic take on domestic living, and tackles the idea of privacy and scale with aplomb.

 
The Wall House by FARM in collaboration with Locus Associates and Studio Terre

Other highlights in this issue include the thought-provoking conversation between Erik G. L’eureux of Pencil Office and Joshua Comaroff and Ong Ker-Shing of Lekker Design, as well as our profile on the quiet and reserved Yip Yuen Hong of ip:li architects.

Joshua Comaroff (left) and Ong Ker-Shing (right) of Lekker Design, and Erik G. L’eureux (centre) of Pencil Office

All this and more in Issue 62 of Cubes Indesign!

Note from Rachel Lee-Leong, Managing Editor of Cubes Indesign