Crowds at the opening of Future Impact 3 Design Nation on April 8
SINGAPORE - Imagine a digital twin of a hospital's emergency department (ED), where designers work with medical professionals to zap bottlenecks while streamlining workflows so trauma patients can quickly get the medical attention they need.
Or a sliding bag designed for people with disabilities to retrieve personal items with just one hand while maintaining their balance on public transport.
Changi General Hospital’s Digital Twin for ED – in collaboration with Farm design studio and Vouse technology firm – and the Wishbone Bag from inclusive fashion designer Claudia Poh are two of the 14 thoughtful Singapore designs on show at Milan’s Chiesa di San Bernardino alle Monache, in the historic Cinque Vie district.
These projects are part of Future Impact 3: Design Nation, presented by DesignSingapore Council (DSG) at Milan Design Week, which is held annually as part of the greater Salone del Mobile.Milano, the world’s biggest design event. In 2025, Milan Design Week is being staged from April 8 to 13.
DSG, a subsidiary of the Economic Development Board and Singapore’s national agency for design, launched the third instalment of the Future Impact series as a special showcase this year to mark 60 years of Singapore’s independence. The series debuted in 2023.
It explores the country’s design evolution and how it has leveraged innovation and creativity through the decades, and how a forward-thinking approach has transformed Singapore into a global design hub.
Future Impact 3: Design Nation is co-curated by Mr Tony Chambers, former editor-in-chief of Wallpaper magazine; Ms Maria Cristina Didero, an independent design curator, author and consultant; and Singaporean Hunn Wai, co-founder of design studio Lanzavecchia + Wai.
Future Impact: Design Nation 3 is co-curated by (from left) Ms Maria Cristina Didero, Singaporean Hunn Wai of Lanzavecchia + Wai, and Mr Tony Chambers. PHOTO: MARK COCKSEDGE
The ambitious 2025 show is a three-part presentation of the past, present and future of Singapore design.
It begins with the Little Island Of Brave Ideas installation, which traces design’s crucial role in nation-building. It spotlights key projects that show how strategic planning has helped put Singapore on the world map, such as its public housing and transport systems.
Little Island Of Brave Ideas traces design’s crucial role in nation-building.PHOTO: MARK COCKSEDGE
There are also beers brewed from Singapore’s reclaimed water and colour-coded plates in hawker centres that show how design helps keep almost every aspect of life humming along nicely.
The second showcase, which is centred on the present, features eight works from Singapore designers such as Poh, Ng Sze Kiat and Olivia Lee.
The final segment, called Virtuoso Visionaires, focuses on works by six young designers and how Singapore’s role as a global design hub empowers the next generation to think creatively about contemporary challenges and cultural shifts.
Future Impact 3: Design Nation, presented by DesignSingapore Council at Milan Design Week, features 14 forward-looking Singapore designers.PHOTO: MARK COCKSEDGE
DSG’s executive director Dawn Lim says 2025’s special edition of the Future Impact series highlights Singapore’s unique design journey for the nation’s diamond jubilee. “Global visitors will gain insights into Singapore as a global design hub that pioneers solutions for pressing challenges.”
For Ms Poh, 29, the Wishbone Bag was designed for a friend who mentioned how difficult it was to access his belongings while using crutches. That sparked the idea for a high-performance bag engineered for mobility.
SG60 and the notion of independence is a core tenet of her clothing brand Werable, a portmanteau of “wear” and “able”.
“As Singapore marks 60 years, we wanted to create something that reflects our values – enabling mobility, freedom and unlocking life’s most meaningful experiences,” she says. “This bag is, in many ways, a tribute to that spirit of independence – both national as well as personal.”
Highlights of the Milan showcase
1. Digital Twin for ED by Farm, Vouse and Changi General Hospital
(From left) Mr Shi Yanjie, a director at Vouse, Changi General Hospital clinical associate professor Lee Shu Woan and Mr Tiah Nan Chyuan, a director at Farm.PHOTO: MARK COCKSEDGE
In the high-stakes hospital setting of EDs, which deal with large volumes of patients round the clock, workflows are key.
Well-designed workflows enhance patient experience at these spaces, where people get urgent medical care.
Changi General Hospital (CGH) collaborated with multi-disciplinary design agency Farm and cross-technology company Vouse to come up with a digital twin of the ED.
With the combined knowledge and experience in user design, spatial experiences and game technology, the digital twin allowed the team to consider all aspects of the ED ecosystem – including time, people, activities, workflow and space – to address complex challenges.
This is the first time a digital twin concept is being used in an emergency setting in Singapore, says CGH clinical associate professor Lee Shu Woan, who is principal investigator of the digital twin project. CGH has one of the busiest EDs in Singapore, providing 24-hour emergency care.
“When we were in the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic, we had to handle new directives and translate these into new workflows at unprecedented speed. This adds tremendous complexity to the functioning of the ED, where everything is interconnected,” says Prof Lee, 57, who is also a senior consultant at the hospital’s emergency medicine department.
This is the first time a digital twin concept is being used in an emergency setting in Singapore.PHOTO: MARK COCKSEDGE
CGH saw this as an opportunity to innovate solutions to address such challenges. Its tertiary referral centre, with over 1,000 beds, cares for more than 700,000 people in Singapore, and is also committed to medical research and education and clinical innovation.
CGH’s collaboration with Farm and Vouse started in 2022, aimed at developing an interactive, multi-layered tech tool focused on emergency ward workflows and processes.
Design lead and Farm director Tiah Nan Chyuan, 48, says the alignment with SG60 for the Milan show is a timely reminder of Singapore’s commitment to long-term planning and adaptability.
“While digital twins have seen success in other industries, their use in healthcare, especially for simulating operations rather than just visualising data, is still emerging,” he says.
“Our approach is unique in that the digital twin provides a model based on actual logic and operational workflows. This creates an innovative way for hospitals to explore care model changes, resource planning and protocol testing.”
The project is not designed for real-time monitoring, but rather for forward planning. He adds that having a tool like this offers a powerful way to enhance decision-making and support innovation.
Technical lead Shi Yanjie, 35, a director at Vouse, was inspired by the complexity of hospital operations, particularly in the emergency department, where care teams respond to changing conditions with precision and coordination.
“The joint project began with a simple idea: What if we could simulate hospital operations with the same rigour we see in fields like urban planning or aviation?” he recalls.
There was close collaboration with clinicians, system designers and data experts to build a twin that accurately reflects workflows, and patient journeys within the emergency department.
One challenge was ensuring the simulation was clinically realistic yet flexible enough to explore various “what-if” scenarios.
“We tackled this through extensive prototyping, user feedback and iterative development – an approach that’s ongoing as we continue to refine the platform,” says Mr Shi.
The digital twin could offer deeper insights into how the hospital can plan, operate and respond to various types of ED scenarios, says CGH’s Prof Lee.
She adds: “By running digital twin simulations, the CGH care team is able to observe outcomes, test solutions and find the optimal balance for smoother patient journeys and more efficient healthcare delivery.”
2. Wishbone Bag by Claudia Poh
Werable founder Claudia Poh presents the Wishbone Bag, a sliding bag made of genuine leather, tear-resistant nylon and polyester. PHOTO: MARK COCKSEDGE
Singaporean designer Poh is on a mission to make fashion accessible and easy to wear for every body type. For her Milan debut, the founder of clothing label Werable presents the Wishbone Bag.
The nifty sliding bag is made using genuine leather paired with tear-resistant nylon and polyester. It is sensitively designed for people with disabilities, supports up to 30kg and has a lateral sliding magnetic buckle with easy-to-open compartments for one-handed retrieval of essentials.
The inclusive-design strategist, researcher and fashion designer trained at Central Saint Martins in London and Parsons School of Design in New York.
She hopes her design invites manufacturers, customers and other designers to think more about inclusivity, accessibility and mobility in fashion.
“The Wishbone has been two years in the making,” Ms Poh tells The Straits Times in an e-mail interview from Milan.
The finished product is guided by three principles: gait, ease of access and grace. It is engineered to make a person feel comfortable while walking, running or simply moving around.
“Of all the things I’ve created, the Wishbone Bag has become the most personal,” she adds. “It’s more than a product as it has become an extension of my body. I carry it with me on my bike, to work and everywhere in between.”
3. Fungariums In Space by Ng Sze Kiat
Mr Ng Sze Kiat’s Fungariums In Space showcases potential applications for fungi, including a line of stainless steel fungariums.PHOTO: MARK COCKSEDGE
Mr Ng Sze Kiat, 44, is a pioneer in the art of growing mushrooms, starting in 2019 with workshops on mushroom cultivation and then establishing mycological design company Bewilder in 2020.
Bewilder – which is positioned at the intersection of design, agritech and sustainability – develops and produces fungi products such as gourmet mushrooms, medicinal mushrooms, mycelium materials and designer mycelium products.
The company cultivates more than 40 gourmet and medicinal mushroom species, with a special focus on ganoderma mushrooms and other native species.
His Milan project, Fungariums In Space, showcases potential applications for fungi, including a line of fungariums developed using stainless steel.
“My inspiration is the mushrooms themselves,” says Mr Ng. “For Future Impact 3, I wanted to present the mushrooms’ innate curative properties through minimal and meaningful products. Bewilder’s fungariums enable the public to regain agency over its health and wellness by growing its own mushrooms in a fuss-free and beautiful way.”
One of the designs includes ganoderma – also called reishi or lingzhi – which is considered challenging to grow. Mr Ng’s tabletop design, priced from $120, enables it to thrive in the comfort of one’s home.
A small ganoderma mushroom typically costs between $120 and $380 at local nurseries.
“Working with mushrooms is very process-driven and attention to causality is necessary,” says Mr Ng. “The design for Fungariums involved a lot of planning, prototyping and refining. No real secret, just hard work towards a clear vision.”
4. Matahari by Olivia Lee
Designer Olivia Lee’s project for Milan is a solar cooker called Matahari, which is Malay for “eye of the day”, referring to the sun.PHOTO: MARK COCKSEDGE
Singapore-based international multi-disciplinary designer Olivia Lee wants more people to think about off-grid, analogue solutions that are sustainable over the long haul.
Her project for Milan is Matahari, Malay for “eye of the day”, which refers to the sun.
It is a solar cooker consisting of tiered earthenware vessels and metal deflectors that collect thermal energy to heat up food. It is inspired by tingkats, curry pots and double-boilers – a nod to Singapore’s diverse culinary influences.
The design is a reflection on the sun’s role as an ancient power and a source of energy. In Singapore, where solar energy is abundant year-round, pursuing solar-based solutions seems natural and essential for the country.
Ms Lee, 40, who graduated in 2008 in industrial design from Central Saint Martins in London, looked at two distinct features of Singapore to fine-tune her design.
Firstly, the island’s location along the Equator makes it one of the world’s more solar-dense cities, with one of the highest solar irradiance rates of about 1,500kWh a square metre annually.
Secondly, Singaporeans’ love of food is a great unifier of cultures and communities.
“My work is also layered with nostalgia for the 1980s and 1990s, when grandmothers would set up red clay charcoal burners along the corridors of high-rise estates, double-boiling soup or toasting banana leaf-wrapped fish cakes, soot and fire hazard notwithstanding,” recalls Ms Lee.
“Matahari highlights the ready availability of solar energy for domestic tasks like cooking,” she adds. “And just as we once spent our days tenderly stoking charcoal fires to prepare food for our families, the idea of harnessing the sun to do the same isn’t so foreign after all.”
5. Tera by Namjot Kaur
Ms Namjot Kaur’s Tera design is a sleek two-part plant watering system comprising a terracotta pot and water-storing funnel.PHOTO: MARK COCKSEDGE
Product designer Namjot Kaur found inspiration for her Tera plant self-watering design when she saw plastic pots at a local nursery in 2024 with unsightly makeshift structures for climbing plants such as the money plant and butterfly pea creeper.
Her creation is part of Virtuoso Visionaries, showcasing the works of young designers.
Tera comprises a sleek two-part system – a terracotta pot and water-storing funnel – which require refills just once in three weeks.
The clay’s porosity allows it to absorb and slowly release water through evaporation, preventing overwatering and promoting healthy plant roots.
“I sketched out a concept for a terracotta-based system that could water air roots naturally while providing a more aesthetic support system,” says Ms Kaur, 24, a final-year product design student at Lasalle College of the Arts.
The challenge in fine-tuning Tera came during prototyping, as finding the right clay mixture for water diffusion without leakage took around three months.
Collaborating with local craftsmen and experimenting with firing temperatures helped her finalise her concept.
Ms Kaur says Singapore’s 60th anniversary is a powerful reminder of how far the city-state has come in shaping a forward-thinking, eco-conscious society.
She adds: “Tera is a celebration of the progress we’ve made in sustainable design, a small but meaningful contribution to Singapore’s journey towards net zero emissions and regenerative living."
Other works by home-grown designers and studios
Modular by Randy Yeo
Mr Randy Yeo’s project Modular, crafted from used and discarded paper, is an idea for repurposing industrial printing by-products. PHOTO: MARK COCKSEDGE
Crafted from used and discarded paper from the printing industry, Modular presents a creative and sustainable idea for repurposing by-products of industrial printing.
Mr Randy Yeo, 39, is the founder and creative director of creative agency Practice Theory. He worked with local book art company The Other Workroom to create sculptural objects for the Milan show.
The design sits between sculpture and function, made of individual modules that come together to form two logos.
Mr Yeo’s project seeks to unearth a Singaporean visual language that currently exists in fragments.
He says graphic designers shape identity through building systems, refining forms and creating meaning from abstraction. But what happens when that process is turned inwards and design is used to explore a nation’s graphic identity?
By looking back at Modernist-era logos found in housing estates and public institutions, he seeks to uncover a visual language unique to Singapore’s past while also speaking to its present and future.
Oku Screen by Sacha Leong
Mr Sacha Leong’s Oku Screen is a simple woven screen that can be used to divide a room and to display objects.PHOTO: MARK COCKSEDGE
In response to growing urban populations and overcrowding, Oku Screen is a simple woven screen that can be used to divide a room and display objects.
Inspired by the Japanese concept of “oku” – a spatial theory centred on “inwardness” – the screen is utilitarian and ornamental.
Mr Sacha Leong, 45, co-founder of design studio Nice Projects, is Singapore-born but based in London. The screen was made in partnership with Indonesia-based BYO Living, a weaving atelier specialising in sustainable solutions for the global community.
Using handmade and computer-based processing methods, it celebrates the potential of partnering technology with artisanship, while offering an elegant solution to urban challenges.
Kintsugi 2.0 by Supermama
Lead designer John Tay, from Supermama, pictured with the Kintsugi 2.0 design.PHOTO: MARK COCKSEDGE
Kintsugi is the Japanese traditional art of repairing broken ceramics using lacquer and gold dust, transforming cracks into “veins” that celebrate resilience and imperfection.
Home-grown lifestyle and gifts brand Supermama reimagines kintsugi for the modern age, extending it to objects with missing pieces by using gold-plated 3D-printed resin to reconstruct rather than merely repair.
Founded by Mr Edwin Low, 45, with principal designer Priscilla Tan, 33, and lead designer John Tay, 30, the process explores how lost fragments can be reimagined through algorithmic growth patterns, structural reinforcements and digitally generated textures.
The works displayed feature Supermama’s best-selling ONE Singapore 2024 plate restored using Kintsugi 2.0, where missing icons are reconstructed and held together by a skeletal lattice structure.
There is also a traditional vase, revived using Kintsugi 2.0, with a generative batik pattern filling in the unknown artwork of its missing section, preserving its design.
4 Knots Stool by Tan Wei Xiang
Mr Tan Wei Xiang was inspired by Singapore’s landscape and cultural narratives when he came up with his 4 Knots Stool. PHOTO: MARK COCKSEDGE
The 4 Knots Stool is a simple yet impactful design that encourages upcycling and sustainability. It reimagines how people interact with old textiles, such as blankets or offcut curtains, by transforming them into functional furniture without the need for sewing, construction or technical skills.
Mr Tan Wei Xiang, 33, a furniture designer whose work explores Singapore’s evolving identity through materiality, sustainability and emotional connection, was inspired by the city’s landscape and cultural narratives when he came up with the stool.
By tying knots at the corners of the textile and draping the piece on a lightweight stool frame, the design idea transforms everyday materials into something purposeful and bespoke.
He says it also highlights that sustainability begins with small, personal actions, and demonstrates how upcycling can be accessible and easy for everyone to embark on.
Projects by up-and-coming young designers
In the third and final segment of the Virtuoso Visionaires showcase, young designers think about contemporary challenges and cultural shifts.
Standard Singlish by C.J. Tan
Designer C.J. Tan’s Standard English explores cultural and societal themes, using design to look at alternative futures.PHOTO: MARK COCKSEDGE
Designer C.J. Tan’s works explore cultural and societal themes, using design to look at alternative futures that challenge perspectives and help spark conversations.
With 27 Singlish words already recognised by the Oxford English Dictionary, Ms Tan, 24, gives form to the quirky colloquial form of English by transforming its fluid vernacular into a structured visual language.
This is done through a typographical system that captures the nuances of “lah, leh and lor”. It reimagines a future where Singlish is not just spoken, but formally acknowledged and visually expressed.
pNEWmatics by Eian Siew
Industrial designer Eian Siew explores the untapped potential of air in his pNEWmatics designs: (Air)ssembly and Auxobrace. PHOTO: MARK COCKSEDGE
Industrial designer Eian Siew, 26, explores the untapped potential of air as both structure and function, redefining how people assemble, support and heal through two exhibits that make up his pNEWmatics design.
He is a PhD student at the National University of Singapore’s Division of Industrial Design.
His projects illustrate Singapore’s bold pursuit of innovation, combining advanced technologies with compassionate design solutions.
(Air)ssembly reimagines joinery by using inflatable air bladders to secure solid components, challenging conventional material systems and offering a sustainable, adaptable alternative for design and construction.
The second exhibit, Auxobrace, which won the James Dyson Award 2023, applies soft robotics and vacuum dynamics to post-surgical rehabilitation, providing adaptive compression to stabilise the sternum, reduce pain and enhance mobility after open-heart surgery.
Celia by Kalinda Chen
Exhibition designer Kalinda Chen reimagines air purification by harnessing fungi’s bioremediating qualities.PHOTO: MARK COCKSEDGE
The humble fungi holds immense potential in shaping the future of environmental resilience, according to exhibition designer Kalinda Chen.
Her Celia design project reimagines air purification by harnessing fungi’s bioremediating qualities.
Bioremediation happens when natural micro-organisms such as bacteria and fungi break down pollutants in soil and water, transforming them into non-toxic substances.
Ms Chen, 24, uses oyster mushroom mycelium – a root-like network – to absorb pollutants, purify air and help create a deeper connection between humans and the natural world.
By integrating living ecosystems into urban spaces, the project challenges conventional ways of filtering air and shows how biophilic design can lead to regenerative, sustainable solutions.
Tapestree by Nazurah Rohayat
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