SINGAPORE - Two local projects have won at the Design For Asia (DFA) Awards this year.
The first winner is a 37-room boutique hotel in Havelock Road, The Warehouse Hotel. The other is the Enabling Village in Redhill, a community space that combines retail, lifestyle and technology to facilitate the participation of visitors with different abilities.
Both of these projects bagged the Grand Award with Special Mention.
Established in 2003, the DFA Awards are organised by the Hong Kong Design Centre. It aims to recognise creative talents and innovative design projects with the potential to improve the quality and vibrancy of life in Asia.
This year's call for entries saw the Hong Kong Design Centre receive over 1,000 responses from over 20 economies around the world.
The DFA Awards Presentation Ceremony 2017 will be held on Wednesday (Dec 6) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The Enabling Village was designed by home-grown architecture firm Woha, and launched in December 2015. Prior to the DFA Award, it has received six other local awards, including the 2016 President's Design Award, where it was lauded as a project that demonstrated heartland rejuvenation and encouraged community building.
The Warehouse Hotel opened in January this year, and is the first hotel here to be housed in a charmingly restored godown along the Singapore River. In the cavernous hotel lobby, pulleys - common fixtures in old warehouses - and naked lightbulbs hang from the ceiling.
A project undertaken by award-winning home-grown design agency Asylum, The Warehouse Hotel has also won other design awards, including two at Perspective: A&D Trophy Awards 2017, in the Best of Category (Hotel, Resort or Leisure Destination) and Best of Best (Interior Design) Award.
Created in 2004, the A&D Trophy Awards 2017 celebrate excellence in architecture, interior and product design across Asia-Pacific and beyond. The awards ceremony for this year's winners was held last month in Hong Kong.
Says founder of Asylum, Mr Chris Lee: "Both the DFA Awards and the A&D Trophy Awards are big platforms for Asia. These are great wins for our company, and for the hotel."
