This May, get ready for the 18th edition of Archifest, Singapore’s premier architecture event, as it brings together organisers Singapore Institute of Architects’ (SIA) marquee awards and conferences trade-related events and fringe events such as the ever-popular Architours in one grand celebration of architecture.

One of the highlights taking centrestage during this year’s edition is the homecoming of the Singapore Pavilion, featured at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale. Titled When is Enough, Enough? The Performance of Measurement, the exhibition seeks to demonstrate how traditional architectural standards of quantity and measurement are insufficient for assessing the lived experience of our cities. Archifest 2024 as a whole will also be basing its theme off the Pavilion: The Performance of Measurement: When is Enough, Enough?

Said Ar. Adrian Lai, Singapore Archifest festival director and one of the curators of the Singapore Pavilion: “This year’s theme epitomises the crossroads we are at as an industry, and the inherent tension of decisions we have to face on a day to day basis. It also highlights the opportunities to elicit inclusion, connection, freedom, attachment, attraction, and agency in our built environment. As we saw at the Venice Biennale, these are compelling issues we face. We hope that, through Singapore Archifest, we can create the space for these ideological yet essential conversations, and chart a path for the current and future generations of architects to navigate.”

Led by curators from SIA, Ar. Melvin Tan, Ar. Adrian Lai and Ar. Wong Ker How, the Singapore debut of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023 Singapore Pavilion will mark the first time that a Singapore Pavilion will be part of the Archifest. The Pavilion aims to visualise how we can measure the intangible, unmeasurable qualities of a community’s interaction with their urban environment as encapsulated by six qualities – agency, attachment, attraction, connection, freedom and inclusion. At the centre of the Pavilion is the Values Measurement Machine, a series of analogue plotting machines marking data on five-metre-tall calligraphic scrolls. Visitors are invited to respond to six questions that relate to the intangible elements of the city and reflect on the qualities that can enhance our urban landscape to a more loveable one.

Navigating through a spectrum of artistic renders, visitors will pinpoint the critical balance of qualities to evoke their desired habitat, weighing their preferences and registering these values at the Pavilion. These acts of weighing and registering values form the body of the artwork and their choices will be plotted on the large calligraphic scrolls over the six months of the exhibition, creating a dynamic display of the audience’s desires, telling the story of consensus and contradiction over the six months in real-time. Accompanying the machine are exhibits containing over 40 other questions for visitors to learn more about the research and work done by practices, in how they expand the definition of architectural outcomes. In particular, their work in measuring intangibles while designing for topics such as dementia and neurodiversity, rewilding, biodiversity, nutrition, and biomimicry ecosystems, all in the hopes of exploring the notion of lovability; as architects design functional and livable spaces, how can buildings and spaces also factor in intangible traits like the attachment and connection people have with these spaces.

This new Singapore Archifest 2024 also aims to provide architects with a dynamic platform to engage in discussions and address industry challenges such as SIA’s Value Articulation Framework (VAF) and the ongoing work by SIA to tackle talent retention and fair and equitable fees. Said SIA President Ar. Melvin Tan: “The VAF was conceived to address the perennial issues professionals in the industry face, including low wages, a lack of work-life balance, and a high level of stress under project deadlines. Through the VAF, architects will have an appropriate tool to calculate the cost of services with an evolving climate, and enable architectural institutions to conduct open and frank dialogues with key agencies as codes and regulations develop.”

Other highlights of the festival aim to delve into conversations to relook into the profession’s scope to meet the demands of Singapore’s built environment sector and ensure industry sustainability, where government agencies will introduce a series of architecture competitions as part of their participation. Elsewhere, the SIA Architectural Design Awards, the epitome of recognition from the Singapore Institute of Architects, serves as a guiding light for excellence in architectural design. This year, they will be introducing a new award category – the Young Architect Award 2024, which recognises and honours emerging talent in architecture which is vital in driving innovation and inspiring the next generation of architects. The award also serves as a platform to acknowledge the achievements, leadership, and contributions of individuals who have made a significant impact early in their careers.

These awards will alternate yearly with the SIA Gold Medal Award, which was presented at the last Singapore Archifest. These awards recognize excellence across generations, paying homage to the whole spectrum of architects, from seasoned professionals to emergent talents that ultimately shape Singapore’s architectural landscape Chair of SIA Young Architects League (YAL), Chio Wen Tian shared: “I am thrilled to see the launch of the Young Architect Award 2024. This award is not just a recognition of individual achievements, but a celebration of the innovative spirit and potential that these young architects bring to the industry. It is a significant milestone for our industry, highlighting the importance of nurturing and supporting emerging talent.”

SIA will also be tweaking the concept of the highly successful Architectural Specifier Market. Now rebranded as the Singapore AF Expo and transitioning into a trade exhibition format, the programmes aims to unite architects and leading players of the built environment. Elsewhere, the Archifest Conference, SIA Practice Convention, SIA Young Architects Forum, and selected Professional Knowledge Series (PKS) also make welcome returns this year, bringing together speakers from China, Malaysia, Thailand and the UK presenting over three days. Singapore Archifest 2024 features a lineup of distinguished speakers offering diverse insights into the field of architecture. Dato Dr. Ken Yeang, as a pioneer of ecological architecture, will present a framework for designing and building thriving architecture businesses that are multi-faceted – able to address the talent retention, capability nurturing and sustainable practice thrusts that successful practices enable. Richard Kuppusamy will discuss the impact of technology on architectural design, while Alex Toh will explore the legal implications of AI in architecture.

The event also includes sessions on designing for the common good, featuring speakers such as Beijing’s Dong Gong and Singapore’s most recent President’s Designer of the Year awardee Tan Kay Ngee, who will share their experiences in creating architecture that enriches communities and adds to the soul of the city through their work. These sessions promise to inspire architects to think beyond bricks and mortar, emphasising the importance of designing to evoke the intangible qualities of lovability, community, beauty, awe and for common good. Singapore Archifest 2024 will also host the 4-Nations Architect Meeting with representatives from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, as well as observers from the United Kingdom and Australia. This will also be the first time that the 4-Nations partnership will be invited to participate in the “Overseas Residential Projects” category. The meeting will bring together architects from different nations, providing a platform for discussion on common challenges, sharing best practices, and exploring opportunities for regional cooperation. This will also shed light on sustainable fee structures that will address the talent drain that the industry is facing worldwide.

With a total of eight key events, spanning over five exhilarating days, Singapore Archifest 2024 is set to become the largest gathering of the architecture community in the country, where education, design, practice, networking, business opportunities, and international collaboration take centre stage. More information to come regarding fringe events and Architours.

Archifest 2024 will take place from 15th to 17th May 2024 at Marina Bay Sands, with Architours and other fringe events set for 18th and 19th May. More information available here