archifest 2019

For those who love design and architecture, Archifest is mecca. This year’s edition takes place from Sept 27 to Oct 9 and was curated by renowned Singapore architecture firm Formwerkz Architects to center around the theme of “craft”.

To that end, this year’s Archifest will be offering a diverse line-up of exhibitions, forums, film screenings, and hands-on workshops by some of our favourite local artisans. Here, some of the highlights that caught our eye:

Architours

Always a key event at Archifest, Architours allow you to get up close and personal with some of Singapore’s most unique spaces – both public institutions and private homes. Here, you’ll get to hear from the architects behind each space on the rationale behind the designs – tickets always tend to sell fast for Architours, so we wouldn’t dawdle.

Film screenings

There are only three films in the line-up but they’re pretty solid – including the debut of McQueen (2018), a well-received documentary that tracks the late designer’s seminal career from his scrappy roots to his tragic suicide. Architecture fiends will of course, not want to miss out on Tadao Ado: From Emptiness to Infinity and Bauhaus Spirit: 100 Years of Bauhaus.

Exhibitions

The URA Centre (opposite Maxwell Market) will be the nexus for at least nine exhibitions. Some interesting ones examine topics such as ergonomics (the science of designing or arranging workplaces, products and systems so that they fit the people who use them), conservation of Brutalist buildings, and how architecture itself can also be seen as a craft. There are also satellite exhibitions held outside of the URA Centre, including Journey by Zarch Collaboratives that aim to re-establish the Asian narrative in architecture, which has long been dominated by Western ideals.

Workshops

As befits Archifest’s theme of “craft”, there will be a plethora of workshops offering lessons on everything from indigo dyeing, artisanal tea blending, photography and even a new take on kintsugi – the traditional Japanese technique that uses gold to repair broken ceramics.