Outdoor furniture design competition spurs young designers to bring to life their creations at Mapletree’s flagship business development.

Singapore – Leading Asia-focused real estate company, Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd (“Mapletree” or “the Company”) today announced that eight designers have been shortlisted to vie for the two grand prizes of the Mapletree Business City “Design in the City” outdoor furniture design competition. The competition is a platform for budding designers from Singapore tertiary institutions to realise their creative visions and showcase the finished works in a public space of Mapletree Business City (“MBC”).

Commenting on the competition, Mr Ho Seng Chee, Mapletree’s Group Chief of Corporate Services said, “We are delighted that through Design in the City, we can contribute to nurture design in Singapore. As a real estate developer that values good design, we always strive to create modern, cutting edge spaces that will improve the way we live and work. MBC is a flagship project that truly showcases Mapletree’s development expertise, and organising a competition to commission one-of-a-kind furniture for MBC is most appropriate.”

Mr Ho added, “Our appreciation for innovation and creativity extends beyond Singapore. In our continued support for design, we aspire to create a signature Mapletree furniture design competition that recognises artistic excellence in Asia. Design in the City is the beginning of this journey.”

Mapletree received a total of 64 entries for the competition. The submissions were from local tertiary institutions: LASALLE College of the Arts, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Nanyang Polytechnic, Nanyang Technological University, National University of Singapore, Raffles Design Institute, Singapore Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic.

After a thorough review by the distinguished judging panel of highly-regarded design industry personalities: Edmund Cheng (Chairman of Mapletree as well as National Arts Council), Jeffrey Ho (Executive Director of Design Singapore Council) and Lim Choon Hong (Managing Director of Xtra Designs Pte Ltd), eight talented designers were selected to progress to the final round of the competition.

“Besides fulfilling the criteria to be innovative, functional, buildable and sustainable, these shortlisted designs were further able to capture the essence of MBC, which is a hi-spec business development that is also enriched with artistic style. We now take this competition to a higher level; the finalists have to produce a prototype of their design. It is always challenging to bring a concept to life but we are confident that they will be able produce a piece that will inspire people to come together at MBC.” said Mr Lim Choon Hong.

The finalists will compete to win two grand prizes of $12,000 cash each, and have the opportunity to have their designs fabricated and installed publicly in MBC.