The Singapore Prize honors outstanding projects in interior design that have made a significant contribution to the city. Winners receive a trophy and a cash prize of US$30,000, and will be given the opportunity to showcase their work at the 2023 WAFX international trade show. The prize has previously been awarded to a post-earthquake reconstruction in Indonesia, a stacked apartment building by OMA and Ole Scheeren in China, and a public park by local architects Budi Prajot and Tito Supriatna.
The prize will also be honoured at the 2023 WAFX trade show in Shanghai, with the winning project to receive a bespoke exhibition booth and free admission for up to four members of their design team. This will give the winning team an opportunity to meet with international buyers and potential partners, and showcase their work to a wider audience.
A jury composed of leading figures in the design and property sectors will select the final winner. The judges will be looking for a project that has been innovative in its approach and has contributed to the quality of life in Singapore, including its social and cultural dimension. The project should demonstrate a strong link between design and functionality, and highlight the way in which the design has been integrated into the urban landscape.
The NUS Singapore History Prize is open to non-fiction and fiction works on any subject relating to the history of Singapore, written in English or translated into it. This year, the prize organizers have broadened the definition of history to include not only political events and movements but also personal stories of Singapore’s past. The shortlist includes Sembawang by Jeremy Tiang (2019, available here), which follows an extended family through the leftist political movements and detentions of Singapore and Malaysia in the 1950s.
In the poetry category, two directors of the Singapore Writers Festival—one former, one current—are vying against each other, as are poets Yeow Kai Chai and Mok Zining. The nonfiction category has a distinct scholarly feel, with works by historians and geographers vying against those by journalists and sociologists.
The President’s Science and Technology Awards were first conferred in 2009, and have since grown into the premier scheme for publicly recognizing world-class researchers and developing a vibrant community of science talent in Singapore. The winners will be honoured at a ceremony in May, and are given the prestigious Presidential Medal in silver. It features, on the obverse, a stylised roseette of undulating folds topped by a crescent and five stars, and the reverse, the State Arms. This medal is minted by the Government of Singapore. The awards were formerly known as the National Science and Technology Awards, and were elevated to Presidential status in 2009. The award is supported by the Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation.