The reimagination of Singapore as a global city with the world as its hinterland was more than two decades ahead of its time. This re-vision of Singapore’s place in the global economy is foundational to today’s Singapore.

The most courageous – and creative – thing is the derring-do of our home-grown bookstore owners. These home-grown bookstores are a vital part of Singapore's urban texture – they are the guardians of our stories, memories and multi-racial togetherness.

In the next 60 years, I hope we'll rediscover the value of using our hands – where traditional crafts are still honoured and practiced, not 'for nostalgia’s sake' but because it satiates an innate need to slow things down, take our time to learn to make something tangible, and to make it well.

Our nation’s improbable beginning has instilled in us a unique psyche where imagination meets hyper-pragmatism. Growing up at the confluence of East and West – tradition and progress – offers a unique perspective that gives us both adaptability and originality.

For Singaporean architects, design isn’t just a profession – it’s a way of life. As creative, critical thinkers, we’re trained to respond to complexity with clarity and to turn constraints into possibilities. On the global stage, this strength positions us not just to participate, but to lead, inspire, and meaningfully shape the future.

Singapore works behind the scenes for our food security and food safety. Not only have we designed a diversification strategy by having multiple food supply sources alongside a regionalisation arrangement with selected countries, we were the first country to approve cultivated meat and also developed a regulatory framework for novel foods. While these are significant, it is not about being the first. It is about having the courage to push boundaries and be on the forefront of food innovation – to ensure a supply of safe food for Singapore.

One of the most underrated solutions that Singapore has designed is our network of green spaces. Despite being a densely populated city, parks and gardens are always within reach and accessible to anyone. It’s a quiet and powerful way to support our physical and mental well-being and a thoughtful and inclusive commitment to public health.

If I could open my own school in Singapore, students will practise resourcefulness, not as reaction, but as a creative orientation. It would be less about what is taught and more about how we pay attention: to the mundane, the messy, the momentary. Not to control chaos, but to work alongside it, with care, reflection, and a readiness to unlearn.

As we celebrate 10 years of Enabling Village this year, we honour the past not through grand gestures, but through quiet determination, collective effort, and a vision for a more inclusive and caring Singapore in the future. The impact of Enabling Village lives on in every small step, thoughtful innovation, and meaningful connection. Singapore must be continually shaped by those who believe in a society where everyone belongs.

Singapore's multiethnic culture is our greatest untapped creative resource. We would benefit so much if we venture more into creative realms beyond what we are familiar with. Boldly. Fearlessly. And lovingly.

Living in a highly regulated environment, we are not natural-born creatives. But Singapore is a very open economy – and there's stiff competition – so we are driven to be creative out of the need to survive.

Singapore design is optimistic, idealistic, and pragmatic. We care and we always seek to enable both the hardware and heartware in the design of our environment!

Being Singaporean is actually a creative advantage. Every Singaporean grows up in a big melting pot of cultures, and those colourful backgrounds sharpen our thinking, storytelling, and our ideas. They make our work globally resonant and relatable. There may be a well-known stereotype that we’re too scared of taking risks, but I don’t buy that.

Singapore is a young nation with no established design history, industry, style, or identity to reference and work with. But at the same time, because we don't have a lot of cultural baggage to carry, we are open and free to create and adopt new ideas and designs to tackle problems from a fresh perspective and shape our own identity.

As a highly efficient society, we are programmed to be extremely goal-oriented and process-homogenous. At times, our lives can be encapsulated into various 'templates'. However, as technology advances, being inclusive, comfortably unique, and constantly learning will become the new 'template'. In the next 60 years, I believe Singapore would have designed the first work process that truly honours creativity at its finest. This new 'template' will be our invaluable contribution to the new world.

Singapore is a city that anticipates rather than reacts – a place where technology, design, and policy are seamlessly integrated. We will not only build a smart city, but a wise one, where liveability and efficiency co-exist, and every design decision – from urban planning to digital infrastructure – reflects care, foresight, and long-term thinking.

Imagine how a young nation like ours maintains a seat on global platforms. We've re-appropriated the term 'Little Red Dot' with pride by overcoming the odds. I hope we’ll continue investing in homegrown talent, ideas, and projects that represent the very best of Singapore's pragmatic idealism – they’re not mutually exclusive!

We come from a generation that faces challenges head-on. And we will continue to design for an uncertain future, creating an island that is resilient and adaptable to the challenges of climate change and urban growth. In the next 60 years, Singapore will be a leader in the concept of a liveable three-dimensional city where man and nature co-exist in harmony.

In the next 60 years, Singapore would have designed a radically inclusive way of living – from multi-generational housing to universally accessible public spaces and technologies that empower all abilities, proving that even a small nation like us can create an outsized impact.

Design matters simply because it shapes the way we live and interact with the world around us. When design loses sight of its purpose, it often results in a waste of materials, energy, and resources, which contributes to unsustainable living. Thoughtful design balances function with restraint, offering solutions that serve people without burdening the planet.

We’ve grown from being consumers of culture to active contributors. It’s especially visible in the new wave of talent – creatives who are not afraid to blur the lines between disciplines and to dream bigger. The scene feels open, energised, and full of momentum.

The boldest creative act is pursuing what truly matters to yourself – whether that's becoming a stay-home mum, joining a nonprofit, opening a hawker stall, or finally becoming an artist. In Singapore's achievement-focused society, this requires both creativity and courage: the vision to imagine a different life and the bravery to choose meaning over conventional success.

Singapore has positioned itself as one of the design epicentres of the East, championing design not merely as a profession, but as a mindset. In the next 60 years, I believe Singapore will fully embrace design as both a tool for innovation and as a way of life – for people of all ages.

Singapore’s public transport system is already in a good place – efficient, accessible, and ever evolving. Being a part of its progress has been incredibly fulfilling. We’re committed to keeping standards high and making thoughtful improvements – especially for seniors and those who need a little extra support. I’m proud of how far we’ve come, and even more excited about where we’re headed next.

Play is a crucial aspect of creativity that emerges only when there is no fear of failure. As a nation, we need to learn to sit with the discomfort of failure and to appreciate the value of the process. Only then can designers (or creatives of any discipline) truly learn how to play.

At DBS, design is deeply woven into our ways of working and our cultural fabric. Design enables us to act with purpose, offer amazing solutions and experiences that make a lasting difference, and create an impact beyond banking.

In the next 60 years, Singapore would have designed a version of itself that dares to be soft, strange, and deeply human – with neighbourhoods and public spaces that are as emotionally generous as they are precise. In a world of sameness, good design becomes a form of quiet resistance that invites us to feel, linger, and belong.

Some might look to art and design for 'creativity', searching for the avant-garde and ground-breaking. I think that is a narrow perspective – creativity is found in the everyday life of Singapore, from the way coffee is packed for takeaways or how plastic chairs are designed to be stackable in coffeeshops, to the ingenuity of a homemade irrigation systems for plants in a flat. Such creativity is often invisible, but it is there.

There’s a curiosity about this island nation that is small yet adventurous. We took on the first, the greatest, the tallest, and the best in construction technologies, public housing, and transport in bold yet carefully considered ways – from the experimental use of giant, air-filled ETFE umbrellas to transform Clarke Quay into a climatically controlled street, to redefining the airport arrival experience with Jewel Changi Airport. We've made people notice Singapore's designs!

Let's invite a bit more delightful messiness into our city, and allow those layered, organic textures to emerge by letting places evolve with their communities. It’s the cracks, corners, and contrasts that give a place – and its people – character. A city that allows for serendipity, improvisation, and a bit of beautiful chaos is one where heritage and creativity truly thrive.