An Exhibition, Discussion & Installation at the National Design Centre, Singapore

10th September 2014 | Pomeroy Studio, award-winning designers and thought leaders of sustainable built environments, opened their curated exposition Design Green! Skycourts & Skygardens on September 1st. The 3-week event at the National Design Centre (NDC) consists of 3 integrated components: ‘The Exhibition’, ‘The Discussion’, and ‘The Installation’. Held in conjunction with the Singapore Green Building Week 2014 and supported by the DesignSingapore Council, the exhibition and related events are conceived to celebrate the incorporation of greenery and open spaces within buildings for social interaction.

The official launch on September 2nd featured British registered architect and the host of Channel NewsAsia’s “City Time Traveller”, Jason Pomeroy. His latest book,  “Skycourts & Skygardens: Greening the Urban Habitat”, formed the basis of the exposition. Tan Tian Chong, Group Director, Technology Development Group of the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore, Peter Hoad, Singapore Office Leader of Arup, and Guest-of-Honour Roland Davies, Director of The British Council, gave inspiring addresses relating to collaboration and the collective efforts of promoting sustainability. Invited local and overseas guests from the built environment community, leading academics and researchers, and award-winning designers were treated to a scrumptious ‘edible thematic installation’ by Gastrogig, unique cocktails by Reyka Vodka using the herbs from the rooftop planters, as well as free flow Heineken beer.

The evening concluded with Pomeroy, who holds a Professorship at Nottingham University, awarding Alex Balchin & Constantin Milea with the 2014 ‘Design for a Sustainable Future Award’ – an award programme established by Pomeroy Studio in the interests of encouraging and promoting green design amongst the best global design students.

‘The Exhibition’, running until the 21st of September, highlights the socio-cultural benefits of skycourts and skygardens through local and global projects in graphic murals. The buildings are further brought to life by scaled massing models and student projects. An ‘Interactive Charette’ encourage visitors to build their own skycourt and skygarden creations, engaging the public’s imagination on visionary green building designs of the future.

‘The Discussion’ brings together students from three leading universities in a 3-day Design Masterclass to rethink Singapore’s Orchard Road in 2050. Andrew Grant (Landscape Architect for Gardens by the Bay), Ken Yeang (Design Architect of The National Library) and Mike King (Engineer for the Sports Hub) were also featured in a daily forum entitled, ‘Inside the Designer’s Studio’. The famed individuals presented insightful design perspectives from their various fields through an intimate question and answer session with Mike Staley, Editor of Pacific Rim Construction Magazine. A ‘Design Talk & Tour’, led by Jason Pomeroy, also brought about public awareness on sustainable design by showcasing the National Library.

‘The Installation’ features the second edition of ‘Transitional ___’ by Shophouse & Co. Designed in collaboration with Pomeroy Studio, this edition activates the National Design Centre’s roof terrace into a social space while shining a spotlight on using the power of design for good. Adib Jalal, Creative Director of Shophouse & Co. said, “In Jason’s book, he talked about skycourts and skygardens as alternative social spaces, and as Transitional ___ is a platform to activate spaces in the city for the community to be involved in, we felt there was an opportunity to prototype the idea.” 30 solar panels from ReZeca Renewables fit out the rooftop trellis to power lighting installations by Arup and LightCollab, as well as performances, talks and workshops over the three week long period. The belief in ‘Design Green’ as a lifestyle manifests itself in the integration of green walls by Consis Vertical Greenery System, urban furniture made from recycled tires, including a rooftop farm by Edible Gardens to create a harmonious synergy of ecological enjoyment.

Jason Pomeroy, also the founding Principal of Pomeroy Studio added, “I am delighted to be able to bring ideas from my book to life through the collaboration with some of the World’s leading architects and academic institutions. As a creative studio that balances design and research, we are looking forward to bringing this exhibition to the general public in order to highlight the importance of greening our urban habitat for present and future generations”.

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NOTES TO EDITOR:

Selected Photo Highlights

Row 1: Design Green! Launch on September 2nd 2014, Guest-of-Honor Roland Davies (British Council), Raffles Design Institute student scaled models

Row 2: Design Green! Exhibition models, Interactive building Citiblocs, Ken Yeang (T.R. Hamzah & Yeang) & Jason Pomeroy

Row 3: National Design Centre Roof top Installation (designed in collaboration with Transitional ___ by Shophouse & Co), Design Green! Masterclass workshop  (with The University of Nottingham, Tianjin University and Singapore University of Technology and Design) with NParks, Peter Hoard (Arup)

Row 4: “Inside the Designer’s Studio” with Andrew Grant (Grant Associates) and host Mike Staley (PRC Magazine), Design Green! Info graphics, NDC Rooftop Party

Row 5: Tan Tian Chong (BCA), Audience Q & A, “Inside the Designer’s Studio” with Mike King (Arup) hosted by Jason Pomeroy

About Design Green!

Design Green! Skycourts & Skygardens is an exposition curated by Pomeroy Studio that consists of 3 integrated components focused on skyrise greenery: 'The Exhibition', 'The Discussion', 'The Installation'. Held at the National Design Centre from September 1-21, the public event will showcase global design projects, engage students in research and dialogue, and activate the Centre’s rooftop through 'Transitional ___’ by Shophouse & Co, their travelling creative platform that brings life to various spaces around the city. In conjunction with Singapore Green Building Week 2014, the exhibition and related events are conceived to celebrate the incorporation of greenery and open spaces within buildings for social interaction. www.designgreen.sg

About Pomeroy Studio

Pomeroy Studio is an international team of designers and thought leader of sustainable built environments. A rigourous academic approach to the quantitative and qualitative research complements an interdisciplinary design process that lies at the foundation of their creative design and decision-making. This has allowed the Studio to generate award-winning, people-centered places that push the envelope of design and research by balancing a ‘creative vigour with an academic rigour’, and deliver innovative sustainable solutions from the microscale of dwellings to the macro scale of cities.

www.pomeroystudio.sg

For more information about Design Green! or Pomeroy Studio, please contact Chloe Li by phone +65 6592 6827 or email: [email protected]

In Collaboration with Transitional ___ by Shophouse & Co

Transitional___ by Shophouse & Co is a traveling creative platform that brings life to various spaces around the city. Existing as site-specific temporal setups, Transitional___ inhabits underutilized spaces or ones in transition to a new lease of life and unlocks its potential for landowners through partnerships with the creative community to showcase & prototype new concepts. Through this, we hope to create new opportunities and lower barriers to entry for those bursting with great ideas and be a platform where space owners and the creative community can work together in a mutually beneficial manner. www.transitional.sg

Partners

The vision of the DesignSingapore Council is for design to differentiate Singapore from global competition. As the national agency for design, the Council’s mission is to develop the design sector, and to help Singapore use design for innovation and growth, as well as to make life better. The DesignSingapore Council is part of the Ministry of Communications and Information.

The National Design Centre (NDC) is the nexus for all things design. This is where designers and businesses congregate to exchange ideas, conduct business, use its facilities and obtain assistance from the national agency for design, the DesignSingapore Council. Centrally located in the arts, cultural, learning and entertainment district in the Bras Basah-Bugis area, it is well placed to invite the public to learn about design through its exhibitions and programmes. More information about the DesignSingapore Council and the National Design Centre is available at www.designsingapore.org.

ReZeca Renewables is a pioneering Singapore based company in the field of renewable power and energy efficiency. They develop and deliver viable and proven renewable energy solutions for the long-term benefit of the environment. Having established themselves as a leading provider of grid-tied solar power systems and LED lightings in Singapore, they are passionate and committed to promoting renewable energy www.reZeca.com

Lightrus is a Singapore-based Light Gauge Steel (LGS) manufacturer and engineering designer of steel frames for buildings and solar mounting structures. Combining the realms of technology, design and business, Lightrus strives to create lighter and faster design options which serve as cost-competitive alternatives to other structural systems. www.lightrus.com

Consis specializes in creating inspirations of nature with innovative vertical greening solutions. The award-winning Consis Vertical Greenery System (Consis VGS) is the preferred vertical greenery solution among industry experts for its superior features. The system is fully integrated with automatic irrigation, drainage and fertilization functions. Consis has built a solid reputation for quality work and service in Singapore and overseas in the past few decades. www.consis.com.sg

With Special Thanks To:

MML for supporting the Design Green! “Inside the Designer’s Studio” discussion series. MML is a leading ceramic tiles brand of Malaysian Mosaics Sdn Bhd, who specialize in manufacturing cutting edge homogenous tiles in Malaysia. www.mymml.com

Arup for supporting and co-hosting the Design Green! Launch Event. Arup is the creative force behind many of the world’s most important projects in the built environment and across industry. In Singapore, Arup’s success is founded on delivering Arup’s global expertise and specialist disciplines. www.arup.com

Wilkhahn for supplying high-quality chairs and tables for the Design Green! Masterclass. Their products are benchmarks for the furniture industry, renowned for being innovative, durable, functional aesthetically pleasing and environmental friendly. www.wilkhahn.com

ERCO for supplying ambient interior and external illumination to the greenery installations. Regardless of building types or architectural concepts, ERCO is able to enhance the soft touch of structures and does so to contribute to the culture of the community. www.erco.com

JUNG Asia for supporting the Design Green! Talk & Tour at the National Design Centre and National Library. JUNG is one of the biggest German manufacturers of electrical installation devices and Smart control systems providing customized solutions.  www.jungasia.com

Far East Organization for supporting the featured architecture building models. As one of Asia’s largest real estate groups, Far East Organization develops, owns and manages a diverse spectrum of projects in the residential, hospitality, retail, commercial, healthcare and industrial sectors. www.fareast.com.sg

Supporting Partners

Building and Construction Authority of Singapore (BCA), Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC), National Parks (NParks), Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), National Library Board (NLB), Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, City Architectural Models Studio, Notch Studio, Salt Designs, Peatix, Mine Minds, ANSEL Media

Media Partners

Pacific Rim Construction (PRC), Property Report, Grand Prix Season Singapore, InDesignLive Singapore, Cubes, Art4d Asia

For more information, please contact Chloe Li by phone +65 6592 6827 or email: [email protected]