No Longer Apart, but A Part Of

When a landscaped pedestrian mall was introduced along Orchard Road in the 1970s, it seemed like a perfectly good idea. A tree-lined retail boulevard would bolster Singapore’s then emerging ambitions to become a ‘Garden City’, and offer shoppers shade as they went from mall to mall. Today, the stretch (over two kilometres long) is invaded by thousands of birds. Roosting on the canopies of the Angsana trees, the birds poop on the mall, terrorise patrons at the alfresco cafes and declare their presence every evening with a deafening cacophony.

A greener environment has made Orchard Road ‘A Great Street’ (as its tagline goes) not just for people, but ‘pests’ too. As urbanscapes become increasingly designed with and for nature, such conflicts are sure to grow. Trees and shrubs are not objects designed for users. Nor are they simply another material on a mood board. These living organisms are part of an ecology that architects, designers, clients and users must become more aware of for us to truly live in works that embrace nature.

➜ Read the full column in CUBES #97 — Re-Nature (Oct/Nov/Dec 2019)

Dear Friend

Dear Friend,

It has been two weeks since I returned to tropical Singapore. The sweltering heat outside makes me yearn for the cooler weather during my recent trip to Tallinn, Copenhagen and Helsinki. More than comfort, I find that living with the seasons makes one more sensitive to the environment. The daily need to respond to the weather — be it making plans or dressing accordingly — reminds us of how we relate to nature. But weather along the equator is significantly less drastic. In fact, I used to think we had no seasons until I attended a discussion on produce in Singapore last week. One of the chefs reminded us that different species of fish thrive in the seas around our island depending on the time of the year. But as few of us cook and shop in supermarkets selling only imported produce, we have lost such knowledge of how nature works…

➜ Download a PDF of the letter and read other issues here

#ADesignLibrary: Values of Design (2017)

How can we think about “design”? This catalogue for the “Values of Design” (2017) exhibition at Shenzhen’s Design Society offers an insightful introduction using the collection of the Victoria and Albert (V&A) museum. Seven aspects—Performance, Cost, Problem Solving, Materials, Identity, Communication and Wonder—are elaborated upon by a line-up of design thinkers who each tackle one using the eclectic design objects. From Chinese Manchu “Horse Hoof” shoes to the Apple iMac, its a brave attempt by lead curator and editor Brendan Cormier to encompass designs from East to West for this V&A initiative to establish an outpost in China.

#ADesignLibrary spotlights lesser known design books, and invites public access to my personal collection of titles that focuses on Singapore architecture and design, Asian design, everyday design, critical and speculative design as well as design theory and philosophy. I welcome inquiries and physical loans.