(Editor: Leona) SingaPlural returns for its 4th edition from March 10th – 16th at 99 Beach Road, to showcase the best design elements from the multi-faceted creative spectrum – advertising, architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture, as well as interior, furniture, graphic and fashion design. Organised by the Singapore Furniture Industries Council (SFIC) since 2012, SingaPlural 2015 is the anchor event of the Singapore Design Week by DesignSingapore Council.

This week-long design celebration is hosted together with 8 other network partners of DesignS, representing an international platform for talents across the creative industries to engage and evoke the design senses of visitors; through installations, exclusively curated design spaces, symposiums and many other exciting activities. It will be held in conjunction with the International Furniture Fair Singapore 2015 / 32nd ASEAN Furniture Show, The Décor Show 2015 and Hospitality 360°.

“We are really excited about SingaPlural 2015 as we gear up towards an inspiring line up of original design content presented within the evocative environs of 99 Beach Road. This fourth edition marks several firsts. It is the first time SFIC has appointed a local team of curators – PLUS Collaboratives and GOVT – to bring cohesiveness to SingaPlural through a well-defined festival construct. It also marks the first time SingaPlural’s main contents are presented within one iconic location,” says Mark Yong, Vice-President of SFIC and Chairman of SingaPlural.

Themed ‘Process’, this year’s edition is a manifesto of creativity at its peak, celebrating the important elements of design beyond the end product.

The Festival Pillars

Shaped around a set of pillars that streamlines the festival, SingaPlural 2015 features a total of 6 pillars. Each and every pillar allows for a holistic celebration of design, both local and global, and serves as a platform to connect designers and manufacturers of various disciplines together.

Project X - Dot your I’s and Cross your T’s

A collaborative project as the key expression of ‘Process’ for SingaPlural, a single manufacturer is paired with selected designers of different fields to push the extent of the material and capabilities of the manufacturer to create a series of lifestyle products, which will be exhibited at SingaPlural. The process of creation starts early before the festival dates of SingaPlural 2015 and is closely documented.

Design Installations – Connect the Dots

Design installations target at engaging the design and non-design affiliated audience in a conversation about the said theme. Undertaken by designers, makers, manufacturers, builders and design schools alike, a curated route through the design installations demonstrates different perspectives and voices, expanding the possibilities and mind-sets towards “Process”.

 
Talks + Symposium – The Little Red Dot

Targeted at a design-centric audience, talks and symposiums discuss subjects of relevance to the design community and connect with the audience on different levels. A key focus of this pillar is the symposium organised by the Design Business Chamber Singapore (DBCS), the Singapore Design Business Summit 2015, which is themed “Celebrating Our Design Journey” and invites pioneer designers to share their experiences.

Tours – Follow the Dots

Curated through the process journey of design, the tour participants will be led through designers’ studios where designers could share their work approaches and ideas, to manufacturers’ production facilities where prototyping and production take place, and finally to design retailers where creations are sold with a story. This experience accords participants a holistic view of the design industry.

Recognition – On the Dot

Through a collective showcase of design works created in year 2014, SingaPlural aims to recognise and celebrate design ideas of designers from all walks. Submitting to an open call, selected creations of designers and manufacturers will be curated into a showcase featuring a year’s trove of design works from Singapore.

Partnering Events – Dot by Dot

An inclusive festival, SingaPlural welcomes the affiliations of various partners. Capitalising on the design audience, SingaPlural invites different partners of the industry to participate in the celebration during SingaPlural as part of the larger Singapore Design Week.

The Festival Site

For the first-time ever, the main programmes of SingaPlural will be housed within one iconic location at 99 Beach Road, the former Central Police Station. Located in proximity to Singapore’s Arts & Heritage District, this move purports to consolidate the festival’s contents into a single venue, allowing the public to have an immersive experience of SingaPlural and its theme ‘Process’.