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canvas print on Operation Void Deck
Impressive blog. Thanks for writing
Conrad McKee on Wishing all our friends a Blessed Christmas!
Same to you
waiting room furniture on Operation Void Deck
Thanks for sharing this Joshua, good job.
Our very first intern speaks up!
Joshua Teo on Mon, July 6, 2009
Over the last 2 months, re:ACT had the great pleasure of accepting Daniel as our very first intern! It was a great experience working together with this passionate and self-motivated young man. And as much as he would tell you about how much he has learnt, we too learned a great deal from him being with us. We had a blast hanging out with you Daniel! Well, we decided to get Daniel to share his experience with our readers, so read on to find out what it was like for him."The past two months spent with re:ACT can be described as nothing short of exhilarating. From preparing for workshops, meeting key people in the industry, helping to maintain the websites and blogs, it is almost a dream for a freshman like me who has not even started his formal journey in architecture school.
My journey as an intern at re:ACT began shortly after the CUBE Workshop in March 2009. Although I was holding a more supportive role in terms of logistics, I knew that there was something very different about this workshop from others that I had been exposed to. I thought to myself, the people who came up with this programme must really want to make a difference in the community by pushing young minds to brainstorm new ideas for a brand new master plan of the area. My curiosity led me to link up with Joshua, who opened the door for me to come in and learn the ropes.
Just like a fish out of water, I was thrown into an environment where I had little prior experience and everything seemed rather uncomfortable at first. My first few tasks were to set up a blog and do some basic designing, things which I knew I had to learn eventually, but at that point I had no clue how to execute. With much guidance and tutelage from Joshua, I managed to find my way round the various software and was decently successful in my first foray into the world of design.
With the arrival of Sernhong from Beijing, things started to pick up a notch. With the little office transforming into something akin to a Command Post, the daily objectives were set and all our energies were focused to the tasks at hand. The most thrilling part was the many meet-ups with various groups of people. From meeting key influencers in the local architecture scene such as William Lim and Tay Kheng Soon, to government organisations (URA, STB etc), as well as some of my future professors in NUS, it was a great privilege for someone like me to meet with so many key players in the industry.
It has indeed been a very eventful two months spent with re:ACT. I have learnt so much from the meetings with the various groups, as well as from Joshua, Sernhong and the rest of the re:ACT team. My knowledge of architecture has grown tremendously, and my interest in it has grown even more. It’s been an honour and great privilege for me to have this opportunity to learn, and I will continue to support re:ACT’s cause in the future!"
Design2050 Studios - Call for Studio Coordinators
Joshua Teo on Tue, June 30, 2009
The Icsid World Design Congress 2009 will be held from 23 to 25 November for the first time in Singapore. Theme “Design Difference – Designing Our World 2050", the Congress will directly address today’s global challenges in an attempt to deliver powerful propositions that will shape the world of 2050.
This year, the event will go beyond the conventional congress and reduce the one-too-many speaker effect, by approaching and engaging keynote speakers, design leaders and delegates to interact and collaborate before, during and after the Congress. In the months leading to the event, a group of renowned creative experts will head up seven highly interactive and participative “Design2050 Studios”, each of which consists of four to six individuals from multi-discipline backgrounds. They will create Design2050 propositions by imagining, conceptualizing and visualizing a desired future. Delegates will be invited to discuss and refine the propositions in partnership with the Design2050 Studios during the Congress.
As part of their commitment to to raise design capabilities and expand design capacities in Singapore-based designers and design firms, DesignSingapore is having an open call for Studio Co-ordinators to be matched with each Design 2050 Studio, under its Capability Development Programme. This is a rare opportunity for designers/design students to participate fully as members of cross-disciplinary design ‘dream’ teams and network, as well as enhance their project management skills.
The dateline for submission had been extended to 1 July 09, Wednesday and you can download the official public call in pdf format below. Find out more too about the designers involved in the DesignSingapore 2050 Studios at the Icsid website.
Download Design2050 Studios - Call for Studio Coordinators
Find out more about the Design2050 Studios
Announcements / Competitions / Events, Design, News 0 comments
The Time Is Now!
Joshua Teo on Thu, June 18, 2009
“It’s I, It’s You, It’s We, who build Community”, a song that we all used to sing in kindergarten and perhaps a mindset that has slipped off our mind as we have marched into a modernized world. Really Ar? 3 held at the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA) Theatrette, brought together about 50 people to discuss how architects could play a bigger role in building community by actively engaging the public in the design and making of our built environment.
re:ACT invited 3 speakers with different backgrounds and diverse professional engagements to share their perspectives and details on some of the projects. The evening kicked off with Mr. Yong Teck Meng, National Director, Habitat for Humanity Singapore, sharing with the audience the “pass it on” spirit of having neighbourhoods in poor and disaster-stricken places being built up together by volunteers and the local community themselves. Ms. Ong Swee Hong, Lecturer, Temasek Polytechnic, and her students Damien and Noel, (participants at the recent CUBE workshop organised by URA and ran by re:ACT), shared their understanding of participatory design and how education is able to equip and empower the public to be more involved in the physical building and growing of their neighbourhoods. Mr. Khoo Peng Beng, Principal, Arc Studio revealed to the crowd his first-hand experience of permaculture during his field trips to the rural areas in Malaysia. Mr. Lee Siang, Director, DP Architects was the moderator for the evening and led the lively discussion after the three presentations.
To sum up re:ACT's third design sharing session, this first collaboration between re:ACT and SIA, has hopefully set the tone for future discussions and critical thinking regarding the role of architects in modern times. The open dialogue between the audience and presenters suggested that times are changing and that by creating more platforms to facilitate channels for the community's voices to be heard, we could truly look forward to designing spaces in a way that is interactive, participatory and impactful and meaningful to the larger community. That, together with the current openness and encouragement from the various government and private bodies, suggest that the time is NOW! All that is required, is the initiative and motivation of just a few active voices in the architecture field to rouse up an awareness and create small ripples of change. Would you be one to be counted for that? Like I said, the time is NOW.
Click here for more photos
Discourse, News, Urbanism 0 comments
Really Ar? 3 - “It’s I, It’s You, It’s We, who build Community ”
Joshua Teo on Mon, June 8, 2009
Really Ar? 3 raises the awareness of humanitarian and community Projects which the larger architecture community are not commonly associated with. It aims to explore what these social/community projects are like and how architects go about doing them? It seeks to question the role that architecture plays, in all these.
We are pleased to announce that for the first time, Really Ar? is being organised as a collaboration between re:ACT and SIA. As a result, 3 CPD points will be accorded to all registered architects (i.e. SIA members and BOA members) who come for this session! We hope that gives you that little more incentive to come and be part of Really Ar? Cheers!
Venue: SIA Theatrette - Level 1 (Singapore Institute of Architects | 79, Neil Road)
Date: Thursday 11 June 09, 7.30pm - 9.30pm.
(Light refreshments and drinks will be provided.)
Presentation Line-up
1.The Good Earth
Speaker: Mr Khoo Peng Beng (Principal, Arc Studio Architecture + Urbanism)
2. Urban spaces and its community: is participatory design the new urban design direction?
Speaker: Ms Ong Swee Hong
3. Changing the world through community involvement
Speaker: Mr Yong Teck Meng (National Director, Habitat for Humanity Singapore)
Announcements / Competitions / Events 0 comments
re:ACT Annual Report 2008
Joshua Teo on Wed, May 27, 2009
Our very first annual report is out! This inaugural issue documents the work that we have done since we started and takes a peak into the future to see where we are headed. Download a copy for yourself and help spread the word on what re:ACT is doing! What we have heard so far from those who have seen the printed copy is that it makes reading it that much more pleasurable! So, for your reading pleasure, we would like to encourage you to print out your digital copy, bind the pages together to make a little coffee table book, read it from cover to cover and when you are done with it, print another ten and distribute it excitedly to your friends and family!
see you
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