SIA Virtual Conference
28 - 30 Sep 2020
Architecture Saving OUR World - Our conference brings together speakers from all over the world to discuss some of the most pressing issues that we are facing in the architecture industry now. This year, in response to the global pandemic, we will be hosting a virtual conference and exploring three themes: Radical Indigenism, Design Empowerment and Empathic Intervention. These themes have been chosen with special attention to align with the specific expertise from our curated list of inspiring speakers.
Case studies of the speakers' projects and interviews with the speakers are also compiled in a book, view the book here
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About
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Special Dialogue with Anna Heringer

*Limited Seats* 28 Sep / 7:00 - 8:15pm Singapore time
How to Save OUR World while Running a Sustainable Architecture Practice
By Anna Heringer, Studio Anna Heringer | Germany
< DESI Training Center, Bangladesh by Studio Anna Heringer.
Photography: Naquib Hossain
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Conference themes
DAY ONE
28
September
3.00 - 6.00 pm
Singapore time
Radical Indigenism
The CONTEXT of design
/ Local issues, indigenous culture, materiality, ecological sustainability
Building on the term “Radical Indigenism” recently coined by environmentalist designer Julia Watson, the Conference starts with acknowledging the indigenous culture and local wisdom. How can architecture learn from the vernacular system, materiality and philosophy, to improve our environment and our lives? Focusing on the CONTEXT of design, discussion in this session will range from cultural heritage, traditional material, rural development, renewable energy, sustainable habitat, to human existentialism.
Moderator
Low Shi Ping
- Contributing Editor of design and architecture magazine d+a
- Director of content development consultancy LSP Communications
Speakers
DAY TWO
29
September
3.00 - 5.30 pm
Singapore time
DAY THREE
30
September
7.00 - 9.30 pm
Singapore time
Design Empowerment
The PROCESS of design
/ Participatory, accessible, community engagement, social resilience
The second session of the Conference will investigate the PROCESS of co-designing and co-working with communities. How can architects engage the local community through design and construction? And in the process, gaining deeper appreciation of the core value of the community that the architecture ultimately serve? Speakers in this session will share their unique methodology and experience in working with diverse communities, and discuss how architecture could be more collaborative, accessible, empowering, and resilient, whether in time of peace or crisis.
Moderator
Dr. Ar. Lai Chee Kien
Speakers
Empathic Interventions
The IMPACT of design
Humanistic, purposeful, urbanistic, tactical, place-making, transformative
The new post-COVID world presents much more volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. Welcome to VUCA 2.0. How can we design buildings and cities more purposefully so that they can fight against climate change, natural disasters, health risks and future pandemic? The final session of the Conference will examine the IMPACT of architecture from the human level to the urban level, and discuss the meanings of impact, design ethics, and the inevitable trade-offs, while pushing architecture to the frontline of humanity and ecological wellness.
Moderator
Dr. Jeffery Chan Kok Hui
- Asst Prof, HASS, SUTD
Speakers
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Registration and Fees
3 day pass
(Not inclusive of Special Dialogue with Anna Heringer)
1 day pass
(Not inclusive of Special Dialogue with Anna Heringer)
* Limited seats *
Special Dialogue
with Anna Heringer
SIA member
S$155 S$ 80
S$ 35
S$ 35
Public
S$310 S$ 160
S$ 70
S$ 70
SIA student member
S$30 S$ 20
Minimum is a 3-day pass
Student
S$45 S$ 30