SINGAPORE: For the first time since the President’s Design Award was launched in 2006, an engineer, Dr Hossein Rezai, was among the three winners of the prestigious Designer of the Year honour.
The awards were handed out by President Tony Tan Keng Yam on Friday (Dec 9) in a ceremony at the Istana, DesignSingapore Council and the Urban Redevelopment Authority said in a joint statement.
Dr Rezai, director of Web Structures and a chartered engineer in civil and structural engineering, has been involved in the design and realisation of projects like Assyafaah Mosque, which uses a reinforced concrete arched frame to create a column-free prayer hall on the ground level and to support three storeys of classrooms and other ancillary spaces.
(Photo: Web Structures)
The arched frame helped to free up more space on the ground, as well as lower construction costs by 6.5 per cent. The total cost of constructing the building was US$43 million.
Dr Rezai told Channel NewsAsia that good design and cost efficiency were not mutually exclusive. “With our structural designs, we think there’s no reason why we should use any more material than is absolutely necessary. You won’t gain anything by spending more or using more material when it comes to structure. As such, we minimise the carbon footprint of our structure by minimising the usage of material.”
The engineer’s other projects in Singapore include Mediacorp’s new 12-storey, 800,000sqft campus at Stars Avenue as well as Tokio Marine Centre and the Ardmore Residence.
(Photo: Web Structures)
Along with Dr Rezai, the Designer of the Year award was also given to architects Rene Tan and Raymond Woo.
Cited as one of the most established and well-respected figures in Singapore’s architectural industry, Mr Woo was behind Singapore landmarks like the old Science Centre as well as Ngee Ann City on Orchard Road.
(Clockwise, from top right) Singapore Science Centre, B747 Hangar and Ngee Ann City. (Photos: RWAA & Max Ooi)
10 projects won the Design of the Year award. They include three architectural projects, as well a medical device to extract blood safely, easily and with minimal pain; an ultrasound scanner designed to assess pregnancy risks early; as well as a washing machine that lets users add items mid-cycle.
A record number of 140 nominations were received this year. An exhibition of the President’s Design Award 2016 will be held at the National Design Centre from Dec 10 to Jan 6, 2017 and at the URA Centre from Jan 9 to 27, 2017. Admission is free.
Designer of the Year
Dr Hossein Rezai
Director
Web Structures Pte Ltd
Rene Tan
Director
RT+Q Architects Pte Ltd
Raymond Woo
Principal Architect
Raymond Woo & Associates Architects
Design of the Year
Bynd Artisan&Larry Pte Ltd
Larry Peh and Team
Enabling Village
WOHA Architects Pte Ltd
Wong Mun Summ & Richard Hassell and Team
HP OfficeJet Pro 8720 All-in-One Printer
HP Inc.Edwin Chin and Team
National Design Centre
SCDA Architects Pte Ltd
Chan Soo Khian and Team
SAFETiCET
NSP Tech Pte Ltd
Joseph Lum and Team
Samsung “AddWash”
Samsung Electronics Pte Ltd
Ken Ding and Team
SkyTerrace@Dawson
SCDA Architects Pte Ltd
Chan Soo Khian and Team
SkyVille@Dawson
WOHA Architects Pte Ltd
Wong Mun Summ & Richard Hassell and Team
Vscan Access
Chemistry Form Pte Ltd & GE Healthcare
Bassam Jabry, Karin Aue & Abhay Nihalani and Team
Wah Son @ Seletar Aerospace
Parkipli Architects
Yip Yuen Hong and Team
