-           Toyo Ito and Zaha Hadid anchor the Singapore Architecture Forum

-           Visitors to Singapore Pavilion in Venice will be among the first to see the Gardens by the Bay Master Plan Exhibition

-           Singapore launches International Art Seats Design Competition for 26 new underground train stations

Venice, 6 September 2006 - The Singapore Pavilion will be the stage for three significant Singapore design events during the 10. International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia.

Singapore Architecture Forum

The Singapore Architecture Forum to be held on 9 September 2006 at 11.00 will have leading international architects Mr Toyo Ito and Ms Zaha Hadid sharing their perspectives of 'The Unbuilt City' from the outside looking into Singapore.  Addressing their views from the inside looking out will be Singapore architects, Ms Rita Soh and Mr Richard Hassell.  The forum will be chaired by Singapore Institute of Architects' Council Member, Mr Tai Lee Siang, who is also a director of the established Singapore firm, DP Architects.

"Extending from the pavilion theme of 'Singapore Built & Unbuilt', the forum will address the premise that cities will continue to place their faith in competitions to create icons and landmarks and that with each competition a wealth of more ‘unbuilt’ ideas are born.  Starting from the macro view of Singapore as a city that has learnt from unbuilt ideas, the forum will end by looking at unbuilt ideas and personal pursuit of an architect", shares Mr Tai Lee Siang.

 Mr Ito, recipient of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement from the 8th Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition in 2002 and a DesignSingapore International Advisor, is the architect behind Singapore’s largest lifestyle and entertainment hub, VivoCity.  His firm was also among the finalists for the one-north Master Plan and Condominium @ one-north competitions featured at the Singapore Pavilion.  Ms Hadid, 2004 Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, is the architect behind the winning entry for the one-north Master Plan.  Ms Rita Soh is the President of the Singapore Institute of Architects and a Director of RDC Architects Pte Ltd.  Ms Soh is a jury member of the Gardens by the Bay International Design Competition.  Mr Richard Hassell is a member of the DesignSingapore Council and a Founding Director of Singapore architecture firm WOHA.  WOHA's winning entries for the Singapore Arts School and Marina Line – Museum Station projects will be shown at the Singapore Pavilion.

Unveiling of the Winning Schemes of the Gardens by the Bay International Design Competition

Alongside the Singapore announcement of winning teams of the Gardens by the Bay International Design Competition on 6 September (9.00 Singapore time), the Singapore Pavilion unveils the proposed schemes of the two winning teams when it opens its doors for preview by the officials and media on 6 September. Visitors to the Singapore Pavilion in Venice will be among the first to see this inaugural public exhibition. 

Grant Associates, a landscape architecture consultancy in collaboration with Wilkinson Eyre Architects, Atelier One, Atelier Ten, and Land Design Studios from the United Kingdom (UK); as well as Meinhardt Infrastructure Pte Ltd and Davis Langdon and Seah Singapore Pte Ltd from Singapore, is one of the winning teams.  Grant Associates’ recent projects include the New Islington Millennium Village in Manchester, a sustainable township near Granada in Spain and Chongqing Botanical Garden in China. In addition, Wilkinson Eyre Architects have an impressive array of portfolio, including the Re-development Master Plan of Kew Gardens, the Gateshead Millennium Bridge in Newcastle, UK, and the Guangzhou Twin Towers in China.

The other winning team is led by Gustafson Porter, an international landscape design practice based in London, in collaboration with Ove Arup from the UK and Davis Langdon and Seah Singapore Pte Ltd.  Gustafson Porter’s recent projects include the Westergasfabriek Culture Park in Amsterdam, the Great Glass House at the National Botanical Garden of Wales and the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park, London.  For more information on the winning teams, please refer to the press release by NParks, which can be found at www.gardensbythebay.org.sg.

Launch of the International Art Seats Design Competition

The Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) and DesignSingapore Council are launching the first International Art Seats Design Competition to invite designers from all around the world to submit their ideas for innovative seat designs to transform the travel experience of commuters on Singapore’s new Circle Line when it opens in 2010.    The Circle Line is the latest addition to Singapore’s expanding urban rail network, providing an orbital route around the suburban and Central Business District. The stations are designed by renowned international and Singapore architects such as RMJM, Aedas, DP and WOHA, to offer quality architecture, interior, urban spaces that will greatly enhance and stimulate the commuter’s experience.

The competition calls for ground-breaking ideas that fuses art and technology.  It is looking for innovations that can transform a mundane object into a piece of art as well as furniture.  The winning design will be produced for installation at 26 Circle Line stations. The competition is also part of LTA’s Circle Line Art In Transit programme that seeks to integrate public art as an essential component to the overall design concept of making mass transit more appealing to communities they serve. 

Art Installation by Terence Yeung at the Singapore Pavilion

Singapore Built & Unbuilt

The contemporary, yet future-oriented exhibition, 'Singapore Built & Unbuilt' will feature new Singapore architecture representing winning works and finalist entries from recent competitions and projects. By presenting an exhibition of built and unbuilt proposals, the Singapore Pavilion demonstrates the visions, ideas and thought processes of leading Singapore and international architects.  The rich range of architectural concepts offer unique typologies for existing urban conditions, addressing issues of the urban city in a garden.  The featured projects are either upcoming projects or alternate possibilities drawn from three growth centres of Singapore architecture.  They are 'Perspectives of the City', 'Possibilities at Marina Bay' and 'Prototypes at one-north'.

DesignSingapore Council, a division within the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (Singapore), is the organiser for the Singapore Pavilion in 2006. This presentation is supported by Urban Redevelopment Authority and the lighting design is sponsored by FLOS.

ISSUED BY DESIGNSINGAPORE COUNCIL,

MINISTRY OF INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS & THE ARTS

6 September 2006

Supported by: Urban Redevelopment Authority

Lighting Sponsor: FLOS