VISIT
Singapore’s highest honour for designers and designs across all disciplines
One of Asia’s premier design festivals that champions design thought leadership
National Design Centre

Address
111 Middle Road
Singapore 188969

Opening hours
Everyday 9am to 9pm

Designer Profile

President's Design Award 2015: Designer of the Year

4 min read
Clockwise from top left: Detail of water feature in a private residence, Singapore;
Park Seven condominium, Malaysia (Photos: Patrick Bingham-Hall); Dr Colin K. Okashimo

DR COLIN K. OKASHIMO

Jury Citation: Dr Colin Katsumi Okashimo’s exceptional career spans over 33 years, during which time he has built a reputation for designing outdoor places of contemplation. He represents a new level in the maturity of design in Singapore and the region. As an antidote to the hectic pace of life in cities today, he introduces us to a process that can be best described as “Slow Design”, a movement like “Slow Food” and “Slow Cities” that shifts our value system from quantity to quality.

View the video about Dr Colin K. Okashimo.

Clockwise from left: Changi Airport Terminal 3 (Photo: Albert Lim);
Lee Kong Chian, Natural History Museum (Photo: Jordan Bates); Franklin Po Sui Seng

FRANKLIN PO SUI SENG

Jury Citation: Franklin Po Sui Seng’s work has been greatly influenced by the International Style. This is partly the result of having spent many years with the architecture masters who worked in California in the 1960s and 1970s. His multi-disciplinary path – beginning with studies in biology, botanical morphology before graduating to his studies in architecture – has informed his understanding of natural systems and holistic intersections. Inspired by the verticality of Singapore’s built landscape and by the progression of modern design, the mastery of his craft is infused with a bionomic sensitivity for humanity’s relationship with nature.

View the video about Franklin Po Sui Seng.

Clockwise from top left: Shophouse at Cuff Road (Photo: Albert Lim);
HortPark Visitor Centre (Photo: Tim Griffith) and Siew Man Kok

SIEW MAN KOK

Jury Citation: Siew Man Kok is an extraordinarily accomplished architect who has spearheaded a wide spectrum of projects ranging from master-planning, institutional and commercial projects to public housing and private homes. Despite the different nature and scale of his projects, he has been admirably consistent in his sensitivity to and exploration of the social, cultural and tropical context. A distinct strand of passion, rigour and commitment runs through his designs. We see, for instance, in the Cuff Road shophouse, a fresh interpretation of the ubiquitous typology that is expressed with finesse and maturity, and achieved through the thoughtful selection of materials and use of light. The HortPark Visitor Centre is another elegant example of an (re)-elucidation of a pavilion and homage to Singapore’s greenery that hides its complexity behind an apparently simple.

View the video about Siew Man Kok.

Next, 17 Dec: Jury citations for Design of the Year – Air+ Smart Masks And Micro-Ventilators; Architect’s Office at Kim Yam Road; Deck – People, Place, Photography.

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VISIT
President*s Design Award
Singapore’s highest honour for designers and designs across all disciplines
Singapore Design Week
One of Asia’s premier design festivals that champions design thought leadership
National Design Centre