Aiming to be the first Super Low Energy (SLE) resort in Singapore, active steps will be taken to adopt sustainable and environmentally-friendly best practices. The design will incorporate a host of energy saving measures including the use of natural ventilation, mixed mode air conditioning and solar panels. The treehouses will also feature passive displacement ventilation, a solution that cools air using chilled water rather than traditional air conditioning compressor units. www.wow.sg

Founded in 2016, Forest & Whale is a multi-disciplinary design studio founded by Gustavo Maggio and Wendy Chua. They design products and spatial experiences, with a focus on social design, pedagogies to instil creativity in children and young people, as well as museum design and curatorial research.

The Singapore and Buenos Aires based practice’s Harvesting Colours from Nature project is a series of workshops designed for the Red Dot Design Museum. The duo’s research found that by simply picking up flora during a walk in nature can yield discoveries that would ignite the curiosity of children. Creating colour and textural compositions from the veins of a leaf or the spores of a fern, through a macro lens on a tablet or smartphone, the workshop project combines both sensory experience and the use of technology for our tech-savvy kids.

With these principles of harnessing and preserving nature in mind, the studio has recently designed Tropicals, a collection of rugs from the similar process of harvesting colour composition from foraged flora. Designed for The Rug Maker, the duo used leftover wool yarn into felted jewellery that evokes discoveries from a nature walk.

The studio has also created the new Citrus Juicer for EKOBO, an ecologically driven small business that uses sustainable materials. The juicer is made in bamboo fibre, a highly renewable natural resource, and 100% food-grade melamine binder. It is an object of morning ritual and an alternative to 100% petroleum-based kitchen tools.

www.forestandwhale.com

ROGER&SONS: THE LOCAL TREE PROJECT
World Earth Day is a reminder to be responsible, however that might look like for you. For us, it’s keeping it local. We try to utilise and celebrate what’s from our region, rather than shipping things from across the globe to create well-considered, functional objects. - Lincoln Yeo, Head of Sustainability at Roger&Sons

The Local Tree Project is an ethical furniture initiative by Singaporean designer-makers, Roger&Sons. Based on the massive stockpile of unused logs from felled trees cut down for urban development, the project salvages abandoned logs by turning them into fine, hand-crafted furniture and objects. By using trees that have already been cut down for urban development - instead of importing new raw materials - the project highlights an important issue, whilst restoring the aesthetic pleasure that these trees once provided for Singapore.

Roger&Sons utilise every part of the tree in a conscious effort to minimise waste. From the logs themselves, to the sawdust, shavings and wood chips, which get a new life as fertiliser, packaging material or used to soak up any spillage.

www.rogerandsons.sg

ABOUT DESIGNSINGAPORE
DesignSingapore Council was established in 2003 to help develop the nation’s design sector. This follows from the Economic Review Committee’s report which identified the creative industry as one of the three new sectors (including education and healthcare) for economic growth. Developing the design sector can help to enhance Singapore’s value proposition; as well as contribute to the country’s economic growth and social progress.

The vision of the DesignSingapore Council is for Singapore to be an innovation-driven economy and a loveable city through design by 2025. As the national agency for design, the Council’s mission is to develop the design sector, help Singapore use design for innovation and growth, and make life better in this UNESCO Creative City of Design. Our work focuses on three areas. First, we help organisations and enterprises use design as a strategy for business growth; and for excellent delivery of public services. Second, we nurture industry-ready talents skilled in design and innovation; and engender a design-minded workforce for the future economy. Third, we advance the Singapore brand through raising design appreciation on home-ground; and making emotional connections with people across the world.

Singapore was designated a UNESCO Creative City of Design in December 2015. This designation supports the development of a creative culture and eco-system in Singapore that fully integrates design and creativity into everyday life. It is also an opportunity for Singapore to collaborate internationally with the cities of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN). The City of Design Office is sited within the DesignSingapore Council to coordinate and implement programmes that contributes towards the UCCN mission.

www.designsingapore.org / @designsingapore