DESIGNING SINGAPORE…

Part 1:
Singapore Design Festival
The Singapore Design Festival, held at the end of November 2007, was another potent reminder, as if one were required, of the city-state’s explicit support of the design industries. Dozens of exhibitions and events were held all over the urban map, and all over the creative one too, with contributors including architects and urbanists, interior designers, graphic designers, fashion designers, toy designers, industrial designers and even installation artists. The Festival, to be mounted biennially, intends to grow into the kind of event other cities have branded their city with, such as London’s 100% Design, or Venice’s famed Biennale. Aimed at visitors and resident citizens, the event took an approach so inclusive it may have suffered from eclecticism. But one thing is for certain: there was something for everyone.

Not that Archie
Who would have thought architects could inspire a comic strip? Meet Archibald, the cartoon version of flesh-and-blood Belgian architect Mike Hermans. Followers of the strip are invited to share in the trials and tribulations thrown Archibald's way as he runs an architecture practice with his friend Gerald, a character whose personality and ideas are amusingly different from the protagonist's. Otherwise available daily through subscription to Hermans' Arch Maaik Network, a web community of architects and construction workers, the comics now appear in a book, the fourth to be produced by Arch Maaik. Hermans' genius lies in the fact that Archibald's musings, dilemmas and ambitions, often characterised wryly, resonate with readers not just in the building.
www.archmaaik.com

Time for Recognition
Each year, the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) fetes its own in architecture and interior design. This year's top accolade in the architecture category went to Steven Holl Architects' Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (see fulcrum, vol 145), while Leeser Architecture's World Mammoth and Permafrost Museum (see project news, vol 150) was among the honoured in the (unrealised) Project category. Though the spotlight shone on numerous architectural veterans such as the said practices, several emerging players were also recognised; they included WORK Architectural Company and Zakrzewski + Hyde Architects.
www.aiany.org

It's Easy Being Green
Although the prospect of recognition and reward ought to figure the least in our making buildings greener, the Green Building Awards nonetheless gives the sustainable architecture industry a good shot in the arm. Presented by the Professional Green Building Council (PGBC), this year's Awards will be the second ever and will attract both Hong Kong and foreign candidate projects to its three categories: New Construction, Existing Building, and Research and Planning Studies. The jury panel is a stellar cast of notables including Legislative Council member Prof Hon Patrick Lau, President of Hong Kong Institute of Architects Ronald Lu and President of Hong Kong Institute of Landscape Architects Leslie Chen. Winning projects will have a chance to shine internationally at the Sustainable Building SB08 World Conference in Melbourne in September. The deadline for project nominations is 19 May.
www.hkpgbc.org