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| Conceptualised by creative agency Kinetic Singapore, the festival campaign this year articulates how intentional design has been the fundamental building block in shaping Singapore's spaces, culture, and identity over 60 years. |
Singapore Design Week (SDW) is back this September, and this year’s edition is extra special. From 11 to 21 September 2025, the city will transform into a giant playground of creativity, celebrating 60 years of Singapore’s nation-building journey with the theme “Nation by Design”.
Organised by the DesignSingapore Council (Dsg), the festival pays tribute to Singapore’s design spirit – from our UNESCO Creative City of Design status, to the way thoughtful design has shaped everything from our skylines to the food we eat.
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| Left to right: Pann Lim, cyborg cockroaches that will be featured in the Unnatural History Museum of Singapore, and key visual for Unnatural History Museum of Singapore. Photos courtesy of Pann Lim and HTX, visual by Kinetic Singapore. |
Nation by Design: Spotlight Exhibitions
At the heart of Bras Basah.Bugis Design District, two exciting new commissions will take you on an imaginative dive into Singapore’s design DNA.
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The Unnatural History Museum of Singapore at the National Design Centre is led by Pann Lim (Kinetic Singapore). Expect the unexpected: a six-metre Merlion “fossil,” hybrid flora and robotic fauna like cyborg cockroaches, plus bold reimaginings of how Singapore thrives despite limited natural resources.
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| Left to right: Carolien Niebling and Mortadella with vegetables. Photo by Marvin Zilm and Emile Barret. |
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The Sausage of the Future: Singapore Edition at NAFA’s Fashion Gallery brings Dutch designer Carolien Niebling’s quirky food design project to Asia for the first time. With sustainability in mind, it presents sausages inspired by our local culinary culture – yes, complete with models, ingredient prints, and even tasting sessions!
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| Left to right: OuterEdit, The Canopy at Geneo at Singapore Science Park, key visual for Singapore Science Park. Photo courtesy of OuterEdit and CapitaLand, visual by OuterEdit. |
Four Design Districts to Explore
This year, SDW spans four precincts, each with its own unique take on the festival theme:
Singapore Science Park (new!) – A “living lab” of experiments and inventions under the theme REINVENTION, with installations from global innovators like DENSO, KONE, and Merck, alongside homegrown creatives.
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| Left to right: Randy Chan and key visual for Marina Central. Photo courtesy of Randy Chan and visual by OuterEdit. |
Marina Design District – Curated by architect Randy Chan, it spotlights Design for Care with thoughtful spaces like an inclusive indoor playground for neurodivergent children and a pavilion built from iconic Unica Plastic Stools.
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| Jerry Goh and key visual for Orchard Design District. Photo courtesy of Studio Grain, visual by Studio Grain. |
Orchard Design District – SCAPE and Somerset Belt take the lead with Open Design Dialogue (ODD), featuring a pavilion co-created with botanical, architectural, and kinetic artists, alongside in-store collabs with MUJI, Beyond The Vines, and more.
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| Left to right: Aric Chen, Ong Ker-Shing, and key visual for Design Futures Forum 2025. Photo courtesy of Aric Chen, photo by National University of Singapore, visual by OuterEdit. |
Bras Basah.Bugis – The cultural heart of the festival, home to the headline commissions and heritage-driven explorations of design.
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| EMERGE @ FIND at Marina Bay Sands during SDW 2024. Photo courtesy of Design Anthology and AlvieAlive |
Festival Highlights You Can’t Miss
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Design Futures Forum (17 Sept, Victoria Theatre) – A big-picture conversation on sustainability, care, and technology, curated by Aric Chen and Ong Ker-Shing.
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| FIND – Design Fair Asia at Marina Bay Sands during SDW 2024. Photo courtesy of dmg events |
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FIND – Design Fair Asia (11–13 Sept, Marina Bay Sands) – Featuring 300+ global brands, national pavilions, and the return of EMERGE @ FIND, which now includes creatives from across Asia and retail pop-ups at Supermama and Enabling Village.
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| Left to right, clockwise: Co-curators Maria Cristina Didero, Hunn Wai, and Tony Chambers, Future Impact 3: DESIGN NATION at Milan Design Week 2025, and National Museum of Singapore. Photos by Mark Cocksedge, photo courtesy of National Museum of Singapore. |
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Singapore River Festival x SDW – An after-hours design-infused celebration by the river.
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Friday Lates & Saturday Extensions – Night-time activities across all four districts, perfect for date nights or creative hangouts.
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| A render of East Coast Parkway, Singapore, as conceived by WOHA, that will be among nearly 100 works exhibited as part of Another World is Possible. Picture courtesy of WOHA and Obilia. |
A Celebration for SG60
As Executive Director of Dsg, Dawn Lim, beautifully sums it up:
“As Singapore turns 60, this year’s Singapore Design Week invites us to reflect on how far we’ve come — not by chance, but through deliberate and thoughtful design.”
Whether you’re here for futuristic experiments, playful design moments, or thought-provoking exhibitions, Singapore Design Week 2025 is a city-wide festival that shows how design has shaped our lives, and how it will continue to inspire Singapore’s future.
📅 Mark your calendars: 11 – 21 September 2025.
For more information, go to sdw.sg
#SDWSG25 #SingaporeDesignWeek #NationByDesig
