Archifest 2017

Date: 4–15 October 2017
Company: Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA)

Archifest, the annual architecture festival organised by the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA), was held from 4 to 15 October. In its 11th edition, Archifest took on a new festival format this year, featuring a lineup of more than 50 events taking place at various locations island-wide over two weeks.

Archifest 2017’s theme, Building Agency, emphasised the facilitating and building up of agency and citizen participation through architecture. It foregrounds the agency of buildings as important materials and spaces of urban life and is about empowerment of the people as active agents in the making of the built environment. The festival was a platform to create a network of multiple stakeholders of the built environment to engage in meaningful conversations and creative coproduction.

Eunice Seng, co-festival director of Archifest 2017 and founding principal of SKEW Collaborative, said, “There is a fundamental shift we wish to bring about in Archifest, to guide the general public to realise that they have a role and a capacity to think about, and hence participate in the making and altering of the built environment.

“We arrive at the notion that there is a question of agency in architecture and not everyone is aware of this agency in them. This can be a frightening thought because the average person doesn’t feel particularly empowered in an environment like Singapore, but we think we can gradually improve on this,” Seng continued.

Archifest 2017 was built upon the five pillars of the festival: Archi-Interfaces, Archicraft, Architours, Conversations and Conference. Through a greater collaboration with various institutions and communities, Archifest hosted an inclusive and diverse programme that was accessible to all.

HIGHLIGHTS
Festival highlights included exhibitions Architecture & Photography of the Pioneer Generation to showcase images of the built environment captured by seniors above 55 years old, and Architecture in Print which presented a diverse collection of print media of Singapore architects on their projects and design processes at the National Library; specially curated Architours to explore Singapore’s hidden architectural gems; an Archi-Feast featuring edible installations; An Eye for Details architecture photography workshop by Darren Soh; ArKID Build! workshop for children to play architects and build their imaginative buildings; The Great Architectural Bake-Off challenges design firms to create the best interpretation of a building or landmark entirely out of cake; as well as a series of Conversations discussing topics such as ‘The Future is Now’, ‘Why Architect?’ and ‘Women In Architecture’.