Society of Interior Designers Singapore Unveils Winners of 20 UNDER 45 Awards

July 21, 2021

The Society of Interior Designers Singapore (SIDS) held its inaugural 20 UNDER 45 awards ceremony on 16 July in conjunction with the Singapore Interior Design Festival 2021 (SIDFest). The ceremony, held at the National Design Centre auditorium, was attended by Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling.

From designing housing pods for the poor in India to leading design mentorship programmes, the inspiring works of 16 best and brightest in Singapore earned them the nod for the inaugural 20 UNDER 45 Awards. A showcase in the National Design Centre will also highlight these most promising and influential designers’ works, ranging from retail, F&B, residential and more, in both Singapore and beyond.

“With the maturity and the strengthening of the Interior Design profession in Singapore, this is an appropriate and inevitable move by the national Interior design association to celebrate the best young design minds in the ID industry and to pay tribute to some of the great works they do, both in Singapore and internationally,” said SIDS President Keat Ong.

Said Brandon Fee, Chairperson of the 20 UNDER 45 Awards: “We want to empower more designers to push and challenge themselves in every future edition of the 20 UNDER 45 Awards. This allows us to continually spotlight the best of the best the industry has to offer, reflecting the ever-changing interior design fraternity.”

“Being the inaugural award, we wanted to make sure we set the standard for future awards. It would have been nice to have 20 winners for the first award, but we were deliberately strict with the entries, ensuring that all the winners this year check the right boxes so as to set the expectations for future editions.”

Notable winners include Jackie Lai, known for his innovative futuristic design and humanitarian design work. His work includes a mobile library for children to read in war-torn Afghanistan and low-cost housing pods to uplift the homeless and people in India’s urban slums.

 

“I am very excited to win the award,” said Jackie Lai. “I love being an interior designer who can make a difference on the wellbeing of the user while focusing on creating spaces that feel as good as they look. Winning this award motivates me to continue to make a difference to the people in other parts of the world who are just looking for hope and dignity.”

Another 20 UNDER 45 awardee, Matilda Sung, currently leads a design mentorship programme by gathering mentor volunteers in the industry to mentor students. She has also previously volunteered as a mentor to teenage girls both in and out of design school.

 

Ar./Mr. Larry Ng, Registrar of the Board of Architect and part of the jury panel of the 20 UNDER 45 said the award is important because it will raise the profile and prestige of interior designers in Singapore. Mr Ng, who was a key figure in starting the 20 under 45 awards for architects during his time at the Urban Redevelopment Authority, said: “Recognition is very important because it’s one of the biggest motivating factors for architects and designers on the whole. I think that is one way to push the work forward, and also with the recognition, they will develop wings to fly both locally and internationally.”

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