SINGAPORE - Brand consultant Larry Peh, 38, architect Tan Kok Hiang, 54, and designer Peter Tay, 43, have been honoured as Designers of the Year. They received their prizes at the Istana this evening from President Tony Tan Keng Yam, patron of the annual President Design Award.
At the ceremony, an eclectic group of 11 entries also clinched Design of the Year awards. These winning designs ranged from an innovative lens frame that allows people to easily switch lens to the neatly planned ponds and streams that gird Jurong Eco-Garden.
Into its ninth edition this year, the awards were started by the DesignSingapore Council of the Ministry of Communications and Information and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
Noting how three of the winning projects were architectural, URA chief executive Ng Lang said: "Our local architects have been contributing to make Singapore a tropical city in a garden by masterfully incorporating greenery into their designs. This is a trend that bodes well in creating a distinct local architecture identity."
The Designer of the Year award is given to Singaporeans or permanent residents. The Design of the Year prize is awarded to either projects completed here or those helmed by lead designers who are Singaporeans or permanent residents.
Previous winners for Design of the Year include food pavilion Satay by the Bay, as well as the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park.
A total of 133 nominations for both designer and design categories were assessed by a 16-member jury comprising both local and international industry experts, who whittled the names down to the eventual winners this year.
