Fermob at D’Space, Singapore Expo

A host of events were organised as part of Singapore Design Week this year. Interestingly, SingaPlural, now only in its third cycle, was named the ‘anchor event’ of the week-long festival. No surprises therefore to see that it had programmes extending from the Singapore Expo – where the annual International Furniture Fair Singapore (IFFS) trade show was running concurrently – to several locations around the island.

Asian Star Showcase – Kimu Design, Taiwan, at Singapore Expo

A good portion of SingaPlural’s activities was centred within the Expo (hall 6). Here, we found ourselves spending the bulk of our time at the Asian Star Showcase, which had on display the works of talented young designers, not just from the Southeast Asia region, but also across greater Asia.

Asian Star Showcase – SWBK, Korea, at Singapore Expo

Asian Star Showcase – Golf Jakkapun Charinrattana, Thailand, at Singapore Expo

We then bumped into Japanese designer Nosigner, who was here as curator/director of an exhibition entitled “Design As It Is”. Done in collaboration with other well-known Japanese creatives like Party and Studio Note, the project investigates what happens when designers eschew the idea of changing the forms of things that already exist, and focus instead on existing shapes to create something new and novel.

Design As It Is  – curated by Nosigner, at Singapore Expo

Design As It Is  – curated by Nosigner

Over at the Young Guns showcase, an area housing Singapore’s young talents, we came upon the works of familiar names such as Creativeans and Desinere. Interesting to note that the latter also had a booth at Maison&Objet Asia…

Collaboration between XTRA and George Soo of FLIQ at D’Space, Singapore Expo

At D’Space, the area dedicated to design-led companies, our attention was directed at local designer George Soo’s recent collection of office furniture for XTRA, which have been designed to address the unique work patterns of today.

Design Larger Than Life – Spectrum by Claudio Colucci and curated by Yoichi Nakamuta, at Dhoby Ghaut Green

Design larger Than Life – Spectrum by Claudio Colucci and curated by Yoichi Nakamuta

We then journeyed over to Dhoby Ghaut Green. The field was dotted with installations, the most striking of which was a colourful structure made of strings that had been designed by Claudio Colucci and curated by Yoichi Nakamuta. Entitled “Spectrum” and part of the project “Design Larger Than Life”, the installation moved easily with the wind and visitors could walk easily into the installation to experience the installation from a different perspective.

Other sightings:

Design Larger Than Life – Intimate Dreamscape by Commune, at Dhoby Ghaut Green

30 LifeStories/ irememberParks – Work by Olivia Lee, at Dhoby Ghaut Green

Furniture Design Award Gold winner – Torus Lamp by Clement Zheng, Singapore. Exhibited at National Design Centre