Minister for National Development Mr Mah Bow Tan said: “The President’s Design Award for  Architecture and Urban Design (A&UD) will be the most prestigious award of its kind for local architects and designers. It   emphasises the value of good design, including architecture and urban design, recognises the significant achievements and contributions of Singapore’s design talents and is a clear signal of the level of support that Singapore accords to design and design practitioners. I believe this Award will drive  the members of our architectural community to aspire to A&UD excellence, so  important in developing Singapore into a vibrant global city�E

The President’s Design Award aims to:
(a) recognise the significant achievements and contributions of Singapore design talents to Singapore’s physical environment, economic competitiveness, quality of life, and artistic and cultural heritage.

(b) engender national pride among Singaporeans for outstanding designs and leading designers in Singapore; and in turn nurture among Singaporeans a greater awareness of and interest in quality designs in all areas.

(c) demonstrate the Singapore Government’s commitment to design development and promotion and growth in the next phase of Singapore’s development.

             The disciplines to be awarded include Architecture and Urban Design, Fashion Design, Industrial and Product Design, Interior Design and Visual Communications Design.  There will also be two merit-based categories:

(a) “Singapore Designers of the Year�E- awarded to individual(s) or design team(s) to recognise their design creativity and achievement in any discipline, demonstrated by a sustained body or portfolio of works.

(b) “Singapore Designs of the Year�E- awarded to project(s) or product(s) in any discipline, to recognise their national significance and creative value to Singapore.

             In the discipline of architecture and urban design, the Award aims to promote design excellence and encourage high quality architecture and urban design projects to be built in Singapore so as to shape it into a distinctive global city.  In parallel, the Award also recognises the increasing number of excellent works executed overseas by Singapore architects. 

             Potential award candidates are selected from public nominations followed by assessment by an appointed jury of specialists. The eligibility criteria for the President’s Design Award can be found at Annex A. 
 
             The Award will be administered by DesignSingapore Council and the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore.

             More details of the Award, including a call for nominations, the award process, terms and provisions, will be announced during the inaugural Singapore Design Festival in November 2005. The recipients of the inaugural President’s Design Award are expected to be announced towards the end of 2006.

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY MINISTRY OF INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS & THE ARTS
AND MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

2 September 2005

ANNEX A: Eligibility for the President’s Design Award

A) Singapore Designers of the Year

Only Singapore citizens and permanent residents of Singapore, including those who have produced their designs overseas and/or who live overseas, are eligible for the “Singapore Designers of the Year.�E

B) Singapore Designs of the Year

Architecture and Urban Design Category
The Architecture and Urban Design (A&UD) category is intended to achieve the following objectives:

i. To encourage the development of high quality local A&UD projects which will contribute to shaping Singapore into a distinctive city;
ii. To raise Singapore’s international standing as a centre of design.

To meet these two objectives, separate awards will be given out for the following projects involving Singapore citizens and permanent residents of Singapore:

i. Built-in-Singapore projects; and
ii. Overseas projects.

In both cases, projects that involve foreign collaborators are also eligible.

Other Categories, including:
- Fashion design
- Industrial and product design
- Interior design
- Visual Communications design

Two types of designs are eligible for nomination for this Award:

i. Designs that are designed in Singapore -
Regardless of place of execution and nationality of the lead designer for the design.

ii. Designs that are designed overseas -
Where lead designers are Singapore citizens and permanent residents of Singapore, regardless of place of execution.