Singapore Design Week 2025: Designing More-than-Human Futures
Schedule
Thu Sep 11 2025 at 01:00 pm to 05:00 pm
UTC+08:00Location
Raffles Hotel Arcade | Singapore, SG
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A nation is far more than just its human population. We often overlook the perspectives of other species that are essential to our communities. Singapore, with its green mission and leadership in sustainable development across ASEAN, is home to about 65 species of mammals, 390 species of birds, 110 species of reptiles, 30 species of amphibians, over 300 butterfly species, 127 dragonfly species, and more than 2,000 marine wildlife species.Yet, Singapore’s ambitious ‘30 by 30’ strategy—aiming to produce 30% of its nutritional needs locally by 2030—faces a critical challenge: the interdependence between biodiversity and urban agriculture. As urban farming scales up, designing multispecies habitats that support pollination and ecosystem regeneration is vital.
In this panel talk and immersive workshop led by Queensland University of Technology, DSG School of X, and ThinkPlace (Singapore), we will explore design strategies that move beyond human-centred approaches. Through a cross-cultural panel discussion and an immersive workshop at Fort Canning Park, participants will collaborate with experts from Singapore and Australia to investigate the role of AI and Strategic Design in imagining post-anthropocentric futures for multispecies justice and sustainability.
The workshop will feature a citizen science experience using AI-powered bird song monitoring and photography to create non-human personas. A speculative design session will then reimagine urban spaces that integrate human and non-human needs, addressing food resilience and ecological health for Singapore as a nation led by design.
FORMAT & ACTIVITIES
The event consists of two parts: a panel discussion and a workshop.
PANEL DISCUSSION – MC: Prof. Lisa Scharoun, Head of School, QUT School of Design
- Ms Tamsin Greulich-Smith, Director, DSG School of X, Singapore
- Dr Debbie Ng, Managing Director, ThinkPlace Singapore
- Mr Dickson Ng, Senior Research Executive, Temasek Polytechnic
- Prof. Marcus Foth, School of Design, QUT
Afternoon Break
WORKSHOP AT FORT CANNING PARK (45min)
- Participants will engage in citizen science, using AI-powered bird song monitoring (Birdweather app) and smartphone photography to document local biodiversity.
- The activity highlights how data collection can inform non-human personas, expanding conventional design thinking.
SPECULATIVE DESIGN IDEATION (45min)
- Participants will apply speculative design methods to reimagine highly urbanised spaces as habitatinclusive.
- Using generative AI tools, they will create utopian and dystopian future concepts, envisioning sustainable urban ecologies that support both human and non-human life.
DE-BRIEF: Prof. Lisa Scharoun, Head of School, QUT School of Design
REGISTRATION
https://bit.ly/sdw25-qut
Cost per ticket: SGD 80.00 ($95.83 AUD)
WHEN
1:00PM-5:00PM 11th September, 2025
WHERE
The Great Room, Raffles Arcade, 328 North Bridge Road, Level 02-20 Raffles Hotel Arcade, Singapore 188719
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Where is it happening?
Raffles Hotel Arcade, 34 Seah St, Singapore 188390, SingaporeEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
