Archifest 2018 Announces Lineup of Keynote Speakers At SIA Conference

Archifest 2018 marks the 12^th edition of Singapore’s annual festival celebrating architecture and the built environment, and aptly enough, has announced a line-up of 12 eminent experts from Southeast Asia speaking at the festival’s anchor event the SIA (Singapore Institute of Architects) Conference.

Photo Credit: Kite Studio Architecture

Taking place on 2nd October 2018 at the festival’s ArchXpo at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, the conference gathers some of the industry’s biggest established and up and coming names to provide the space for conversations on issues pertinent to the urban environment here and around the world. In accordance with the festival theme of Design for Life, the conference is set to address topics of livability, sustainability, well-being and life satisfaction, as well as how design can gives back to the community.

The SIA Conference features four main panels divided across the festival’s main theme and three sub-themes, Design for People, Design for Time, and Design for Environment. Speakers include Vietnamese architect Đàm Vũ at Design For People, which aims to promote better life and well-being by exploring how design can create spaces that promote people’s health, happiness and well-being, while heritage architect Gerard Lico from the Philippines will speak at the panel for Design For Time, discussing the ongoing extensive restoration of the Manila Metropolitan Theatre, the only existing Art Deco building of its scale and integrity in Asia.

Photo Credit: Kite Studio Architecture

Meanwhile, in Design for Environment, look forward to eco-friendly and locally-sourced material using designer Markus Roselieb from Thailand’s Chiang Mai Life Construction, who will discuss the responsibility of architects to promote sustainability by devising smart solutions that reduce our strain on the environment in order to leave a smaller footprint on the environment, while the overarching Design for Life panel will feature Singaporean architect Siew Man Kok as he explores how good design should not only improve individual lives, but also change the way a community or even entire societies live.

Photo Credit: Kite Studio Architecture

Says Archifest director Yann Follain: “We are very excited to ignite this year’s conversations on architecture and design with a strong line-up of speakers from around the region. It is also deliberate to involve our next generation of architects and future champions of our industry early in the conversation on how design gives back to the community and how it can enhance the world we live in.”

Archifest 2018 runs from 28th September to 10th October 2018 at the Festival Village at Maina Bay Sands Event Plaza and other locations around Singapore. For more information, visit their Facebook here