$10m grants on tap for design sector - Singapore
By TEH SHI NING
DESIGNSINGAPORE has set aside $10 million over the next two years ‘to help the design sector ride through this downturn and be in a better position for the upturn’, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Lee Boon Yang said at the President’s Design Award ceremony last night.
Innovative space: The Lasalle College of the Arts was one of the building projects to receive a Design of the Year award
The enhanced ‘Design Capability Development Programme’ outlined by Dr Lee has new components encouraging professional and overseas development among designers, design practices and design industry associations.
They may now apply for grants for overseas promotion; international work exposure; participation in competitions; and training to ‘keep them abreast of the newest design developments’. Part of the fund will go into design research and development (R&D) to improve the user interface of products in the education, health care and manufacturing sectors.
At yesterday’s ceremony, the President’s Design Award, deemed the highest local design accolade, was presented to three outstanding designers and seven iconic projects.
WOHA architects Richard Hassell and Wong Mun Summ, whose portfolio includes previous winners in the Design of the Year category - the Church of St Mary of the Angels and residential development 1 Moulmein Rise - clinched the Designer of the Year award this year. Edmund Wee, whose agency EPIGRAM designs annual reports, and Nathan Yong, the furniture designer behind Air Division, were the other two Designer of the Year award winners.
President SR Nathan also handed out seven Design of the Year awards to building projects such as the National Museum and Lasalle College of the Arts, and the Eubiq power outlet system as an example of innovative product design.
Earlier yesterday, DesignSingapore’s International Advisory Panel also shared key recommendations arising from its fourth annual meeting last weekend.
These included the creation of a design knowledge gallery, akin to the multi-disciplinary online portal www.TED.com, as an incubator and platform for new design ideas.
Chaired by Wing Tai Holdings’ deputy chairman Edmund Cheng, the panel’s members include BMW design director Christopher Bangle, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide’s vice-chairman Steve Hayden and Japanese architect Toyo Ito.
As in previous years, the panel emphasised design learning and recommended embedding design education in core curricula at all levels; better training for design teachers; and raising local businesses’ awareness of design’s potential bottom line impact.
Last week, DesignSingapore, IE Singapore and Spring Singapore launched a $12 million programme to help enterprises leverage on design to create business value.
Source : Business Times - 02 Dec 2008
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