Singapore – The Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA) has picked DP Architects’ entry “RGB Pavilion” as the winning design for Archifest 2016 Pavilion Design Competition 2016.
The RGB Pavilion, a temporary structure and ‘pop-up’ event space, is designed to inspire visitors to rethink architecture and engage in conversations about our urban environment. It will be built on the grounds of Raffles Place Park and it will be open to the public from 23 September to 9 October 2016.
Celebrating its 10th year in 2016, Archifest’s theme for this year ‘Exhale’ seeks to challenge the rapidity and density of activities that define our pace of life, weigh in on the state of Singapore’s built environment and breathe new life into it.
The winning design as well as two merit awards were chosen out of 25 submissions received, anonymously selected by a distinguished panel of four jury members representing Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA), Singapore Institute of Landscape Architects (SILA) and International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA).
Professor Richard Ho, chairman of the jury panel and Chair of Archifest 2016 Organising Committee said, “As with all architectural competitions organised by SIA, anonymity of the submissions were maintained. The quality of the submissions was high and many of the entries were very interesting, taking the issue of sustainability and recycling very seriously. Although the design quality of the pavilion and its expression of the theme ‘Exhale’ are foremost in our minds, we felt that the ability to execute and build it within such a tight budget and limited timeframe are important too. After extensive interviews of the shortlisted submissions, the winner was declared. We look forward with eager anticipation for the Pavilion to be realised.”
The winning design is selected to offer a respite from hectic city life and impressed the jury with its smart approach with zero waste. Composed entirely of construction site materials - safety netting suspended on a frame of steel scaffolding - the gigantic technicolour urban sculpture plays on the interaction of multiple primary colour layers that overlap to create a playful psychedelic pavilion.
“DP Architects is thrilled and honoured to be a part of this milestone year - the 10th anniversary of Archifest. Our firm was founded with the belief in enriching the human experience and spirit, it is thus befitting that this year’s Archifest theme ‘Exhale’ also embodies this same ethos – of breathing new life into the city’s public spaces in order to refresh and uplift its inhabitants,” said Mr Chin Thoe Chong, Director, DP Architects.
“With RGB Pavilion, we envisaged an immense entity - a softly vibrant, luminous, quietly animated yet ethereal form that fills the space and draws people into itself. The pavilion’s character is built on nuance and mutability, it plays on the effect of primary colours which blend into secondary colours, colours that fade, shift, saturate and interact as one moves in and around the space with the sole purpose of making its visitors come alive,” added Mr Chin.
The two-week long Archifest 2016 festival will be anchored at the Pavilion, featuring exhibitions, conversations, Architours and other fringe events. For more information, visit www.archifest.sg.
