WY-TO: two initiatives for the Singapore Design Week

The fifth Singapore Design Week (SDW), from 05 to 18 March, offers a rich cultural programme. Among its offers is ba(N)g!, the eco-initiative and urban installation created by the WY-TO studio, that also organises the third edition of WY-TO Connects to encourage collaboration between different creative disciplines.


Collaboration and sustainability are the two keywords describing the initiatives of the young WY-TO architectural studio based in Singapore and Paris, among the 40 award-winning European architects aged less than 40 years (link) of this fifth edition of the Singapore Design Week (SDW). This event, organised by the DesignSingapore Council, directed by Agnes Kwek, will close on 18 March.
The two proposals by WY-TO were presented here. The first proposal is part of the Urban Design Route, an exploration of urban design through a series of temporary projects situated around the Tanjong Pagar district to activate the public space and encourage the people to stay and play. It is the eco-initiative and urban installation ba(N)g!, which is aimed at effectively facing one of the greatest environmental issues of our times, the excessive use of plastic. For their project, the architects resorted to used plastic bags, that were then processed during several workshops according to traditional artisanal techniques, such as knitting, stuffing and weaving, transforming this omnipresent material into colourful poufs and cushions complementing the existing street furniture.
A playful way to raise awareness relating to the issue of plastic and of its threat to our planet, especially among the youngest generations, through a participatory initiative encouraging a shift towards a more eco-friendly attitude.
The Singapore Design Week (SDW) also hosts the WY-TO Connect event. It is a series of presentations by experts from the architecture and design industries, focussing on the aspects related to collaboration among these disciplines. The theme of this third edition, “Environmental Design and Visual Communication”, is extremely interesting for Livegreenblog. On Saturday 17 March, the talks moderated by Yann Follain, the Managing Director and Head of Design of WY-TO, will examine how architecture and advertising investigate and observe their surrounding and the client’s identity with the aim of translating a vision into space, product or content. Contributions will be presented from different disciplines, all aimed at creating and communicating a creative project, including branding, photography, storytelling and design talent.

Christiane Bürklein

Singapore Design Week (SDW), from 05 to 18 March 2018
ba(N)g!, eco-initiative and urban installation byWY-TO
WY-TO Connect, Saturday 17 March, at 2 p.m.
Images: courtesy of WY-TO
For further information: https://www.designsingapore.org/