IDCS announces the 8th Design Excellence Awards 2021 Winners

Singapore, December 2021 – The Interior Design Confederation Singapore (IDCS) is pleased to announce the winners of the 8^th Annual Design Excellence Awards (DEA) at the Awards Evening on 3 December 2021, held virtually. This latest edition of the prestigious DEA awards saw 153 awards given out across 31 categories, recognising interior design excellence, innovation and talent throughout Singapore, Asia Pacific and the world.

The competition received 202 entries in two tracks: The Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) for completed built projects by industry professionals; and the Spatial Design Awards (SPADE) for completed academic projects by design students. The IDEA section received 133 IDEA entries in 22 categories, while the SPADE section received 69 entries in the nine student categories.

“The Design Excellence Awards 2021 has become an international brand of excellence in the world of interior design. In 2021 we have seen tremendous growth in the number of submissions. IDCS received entries from China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, all of which displayed significant elevation in the quality and standards of interior and spatial design,” said Cameron Woo, President of IDCS.

“It is our pleasure and honour to congratulate, recognise and celebrate the winners of The Interior Designer of the Year, Project of the Year, The Interior Design Firm of the Year and all the Award Winners; these are some of the highest accolades awarded to the Best of the Best Interior Designers in our industry,” he added.

Interior Designer of the Year, Designers’ Choice Winner: Cherin Tan

The title of the Interior Designer of the Year 2021, Designers’ Choice category, one of the most anticipated announcements of the evening, went to Cherin Tan, who was voted by her peers and the Jury Panel with the highest number of votes in the Interior Design industry from a shortlist of six nominees chosen by the IDCS Council. The six nominees include world-renowned designers such as Cherin Tan, Colin Seah, Kelly Hoppen, Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu, Steve Leung, Terence Ngan, and Ed Ng, some of the most talented and respected Designers in the Asia Pacific and the world.

Cherin Tan is the Founder and Creative Director of LAANK, an interior architecture studio based in Singapore with a team that’s spread across Singapore, Thailand & the Philippines. With an academic background in interior architecture, Cherin has almost 15 years’ worth of experience in the fields of architecture and interior design. Covering both residential and commercial, Cherin has worked on a wide range of projects spanning across industries such as F&B, retail, hospitality and offices. With a simple mission to put human needs and brand desires at the core of all that she does, LAANK aims to redefine the way that people view, use and feel space.

Project of the Year, Designers’ Choice Winner: Citi Wealth Hub by Ministry of Design

The title of the Project of the Year 2021, Designers’ Choice category, the first time the industry has voted for their favourite interior design project, was won by Ministry of Design (MOD) for their project Citi Wealth Hub in Singapore. MOD was awarded the highest number of votes by their peers and the jury panel from a shortlist of seven nominees chosen by the IDCS Council. The seven nominees whose project was shortlisted as one of the best in the region include 50% Cloud Artists Lounge Mile City by Cheng Chung Design, Citi Wealth Hub by Ministry of Design, The Hari Hotel by Tara Bernerd & Partners, Hotel The Mitsui by Andre Fu Studio, Nan Bei Restaurant by AvroKO, Ulaman Eco Retreat by Inspiral Architecture & Design Studio, Yi Restaurant by Aedas.

A Banking Conservatory

Here is what Ministry of Design says about their project Citi Wealth Hub located in Orchard Road Singapore, “Our re-casting of the typical Wealth Hub as a ‘Banking Conservatory’ was to challenge the conventions associated with a high net-worth banking experience. Inspired by the site’s soaring glass-lined atrium, our aim was to create a focal point that would anchor the entire experience. We created a lush thriving indoor conservatory and paired it with a series of lifestyle-inspired spaces nestled within or organised around it: observation deck, feature bar, banquette seating, lounge niches and garden meeting pods. Although drawing from the virtues of biophilic design, the scheme aims to create a cultured conservatory with carefully detailed planter-box arrangements, sinuous to allow for pathways and meeting spaces to be carved out amid the landscape. The choreographed verdant and lush greenery evoke an atmosphere where everything seems to flourish in a natural and sustainable manner, a nod to the ideals of wealth management”.

  

Interior Design Firm of the Year, Winner: Laank Pte Ltd

For a second year running, the Interior Design Firm of the Year has been awarded local Singapore firm Laank Pte Ltd, a regular multi-award winner at the Design Excellence Awards for their diverse, quality and colourful interior design projects across the Asia Pacific region.

The winning entries were selected by an esteemed jury panel comprising accomplished and respected interior design professionals, including IDCS President Cameron Woo and Founder of Cameron Woo Design, Bill Bensley, Genevieve Gorder, Laurence Llewelyn Bowen and Niwa Hiroyuki. The judging is according to a scoring band but scored individually in merit.

Best Student Award: Winner: Sheryka Umaya – Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA)

“Without a doubt, the diversity, environmental consciousness and range of projects submitted by the student entries were inspiring and impressive. Certainly, we see progressive improvements year on year with the Student entries. The winner, Sheryka Umaya’s work, displays sustainable practices, sensitivity and maturity in her project Common Ground which was why she received the highest overall average score from the Jury Panel,” commented Cameron Woo (DEA 2021 Judge).

“The SPADE award winners today will no doubt be the very designers who will go on to shape the design landscape of tomorrow, and I will certainly be keeping an eye on their early emerging talent as they progress through their career in Interior Design”, says Cameron Woo.

IDEA Colour Award

Gold: Babel Fit Asia – KLCC by Genius Loci Pte Ltd

Genius Loci Pte Ltd from Indonesia took home the Gold, for the IDEA Colour Awards, for their project Babel Fit Asia – KLCC, to create a new vision for the gym experience, which was nested in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia- KLCC sutra Mall, where the firm’s brief was to ‘create a gym like no other’.

Best F&B Design | ≤ 2,000 square feet

Gold: Set of Six by Hot Design Folks

The Gold winner for the Best F&B Design ≤ 2000 square feet goes to Singapore-based ID firm Hot Design Folks for their project ‘Set of Six’, inspired by Joseph’s Conrad’s Set of Six book. They were tasked to create a speakeasy-esque lounge concept with a strong focus on gastronomic experiences, pairing unique crafted cocktails with elevated finger food.

Best Exhibition Design

Gold Co-Winner: Inside Magritte Exhibition by Design MIDIUM Co Ltd 

The entry from the South Korean Interior Design Firm Design MIDUM Co. Ltd was crowned the joint Gold Winner for the Best Exhibition Design for their project Inside Magritte Exhibition, which was an exhibition of 5 spaces designed to transport visitors between the imaginary and reality as surrealist artist René Magritte’s art world is explored.

Best Exhibition Design

Gold Co-Winner: Park Vera Sales Gallery by A.RK Interior Design Pte Ltd 

The other joint winner for the Best Exhibition Award went to Singapore Interior Design firm A.RK Interior Design Pte Ltd for the Park Vera Sales Gallery. Park Vera is a 1,000 sqm sales gallery that celebrates the past success and history of Rui Hong Xin Cheng in Shanghai and showcases their latest residential development. Congratulations to both the Gold Winners for Best Exhibition Design.

– Construction+ Online