DP Design Director Mike Lim invited as panellist in SIDS Conference

DP Design Director Mike Lim spoke on the panel at An Afternoon with TOP DESIGNERS, a conference held by Society of Interior Designers (SIDS). The Asia interior Design Roundtable Forum for interior designers was held over a span of two days from 8 to 9 March at Ritz Carlton Singapore. The other panel speakers included SIDS President Professor Keat Ong and SIDS Honorary Advisors Mr Rajesh R. Shah. Mr Sebastiano Renari and Mr Steve Leung also shared their thoughts as keynote speakers during the forum.
Mike shared his views on design in the global context. He touched on the various challenges and impact that the ever-evolving global context pose for designs, emphasising that cultural diversity and localism is losing its touch in design methodologies. The DP Design director believes that a global design does not necessarily translate to a uniformed design. While the design fabric can be universal, it must also be cultural. One of designers’ responsibilities is to ensure a site-specific design to create a harmonious communication between space and end-users. The user perception and spatial experience are important factors to a good design. A couple of examples Mike’s global experience with major projects such as The Dubai mall and Doha Festival City Mall in Qatar where he applies his philosophy of ensuring that all his designs are culturally conscious.
Bringing the topic closer to home, the DP Design director also spoke about the definition and relevance of Asian Design in today’s global context. Unlike the preconceived idea of what is Asian, he thinks that one must recognise that there is no one way of defining “Asian”.  The vast geographical boundary that makes up Asia means that “Asian” or that which is “Asian Design” inevitably comes with varied identities and definitions. For example, Singapore is unique because it does not possess a singular culture.  Hence, it does not have a singular past.  Our aesthetic signature is characterised by our ability to work the tropical climate by marrying the outdoors with the indoors to create a quality of space.