Singapore Design Week 2024: Reimagine The Future of Hospitality with A.I.
WATG’s inaugural student design competition titled “Reimagine The Future of Hospitality with A.I.” is aimed at harnessing the ingenious potential of young minds in redefining the way we conceive and design through A.I. The objective is to empower students’ spirit of experimentation to explore the forefront of innovation and creativity in the rapidly evolving field of A.I.
As the leading integrated design firm for luxury hospitality projects, we have been pushing the boundaries of possibilities since our dawning days in Honolulu in 1945. Ahead of our 80th anniversary in 2025, the competition marks a celebration of our legacy in hospitality and pioneering spirit in constant reinvention and innovation.
The Design Task
Wellness tourism is projected to grow by 16.6% annually, reaching $1.4 trillion in 2027 (source: Global Wellness Institute). As wellness becomes a core offering especially within the luxury hospitality experience, its growing prominence brings evolution, innovation and nuance in wellness programming to include physical, mental and spiritual wellness.
Participants are invited to conjure up a new tourist destination using A.I. tools that is centered around a fresh concept of wellness and explain the design direction and intent.
Think beyond image generation to uncover the potential of a variety of A.I. tools and how they can come together for problem solving with unexpected creative outputs.
How can A.I. enhance the guest experience of the future?
Call for entries ended on 25 September 2024.
Why Join?
- Cash prizes to be won:
Grand Prize SGD 1,500
First Runner Up SGD 1,000
Second Runner Up SGD 500 - Media exposure opportunities in post competition marketing & PR not limited to press release, website and social channels with a regional/ global outreach
- Competition trophy
- Internship/ mentorship opportunity with WATG & Wimberly Interiors
Competition Details
- Competition is open to all tertiary students.
- 10 finalists will be pre-selected by WATG to present their concepts and ideas during an event with a panel of judges and a live audience on 4 October 2024, Friday, at the WATG Singapore office.
- The top 3 finalists will then be selected by the judges to win. Winners will be announced during the event.
Key Milestones
- 25 September 2024 – Call for entries closes
- 27 September 2024 – Finalists announcement
- 4 October 2024 – Finalists presentation event at WATG office. Winners’ announcement will take place during the event
How To Submit
Participants are required to fill up the official competition online submission form. An email inviting you to upload your submission materials will be sent to you within one working day.
Participants are required to upload their files onto the link provided by email. Files to upload comprise the following:
- 1 x A1 PDF board articulating your concept which must include the title of your entry in less than 10 words and a 150 word narrative
- 5 x high res images in 300 dpi
- 1 x video, no longer than 2 min (optional)
Please note that once your files are uploaded onto the provided link, access to amend or edit your submission will no longer be available. Entries will be deemed final at this point.
Meet Our Judges
10 finalists will be pre-selected by WATG’s Global Design Technology team. Finalists will then participate in a final round of presentation on 4 October 2024, Friday in front of our panel of judges and a live audience.
Varun Kapoor
Practice Director | Digital Strategy Group, Adobe
Varun Kapoor is the Director for financial services in the Digital Strategy practice for Adobe across APAC and is based in Singapore office. He is responsible for helping Adobe’s top FSI brands accelerate their Customer Experience and drive digital sales by delivering consistent and personalized experiences across every engagement and channel, which he firmly believes is the #1 driver for brand growth.
For over two decades, Varun has leveraged the potent mix of a clear strategic plan, streamlined processes, integrated platforms, data democratization and cross functional teams to help brands put the customer at the center of everything they do to deliver accelerated business growth.
Immanuel Koh
Assistant Professor | Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)
Director | Artificial-Architecture
Immanuel Koh is an Assistant Professor in Design & Artificial Intelligence (DAI) and Architecture & Sustainable Design (ASD) at the Singapore University of Technology & Design (SUTD) where he also directs Artificial-Architecture and DesignerlyAI. Trained at the Architectural Association (AA) in London and holds a PhD from the School of Computer Sciences and Institute of Architecture at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), he is a key international pioneering figure in AI x Architecture and operates in an original and trans-disciplinary way. He is the Principal Investigator for several funded AI research projects with support from, among others, the National Research Foundation (NRF), Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), National Arts Council (NAC), AI Singapore (AISG), DesignSingapore Council (DSG), Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), DSO National Laboratories, and National Supercomputing Centre (NSCC). Immanuel currently also conducts research for high-profile architecture practices such as Zaha Hadid Architects (London) and MVRDV (Rotterdam) in developing custom state-of-the-art deep learning models. He has published in AAAI, ICCV, CVPR, NeurIPS, DCC, Architectural Intelligence, Architectural Design (AD), eCAADe, and CAAD Futures; exhibited at Singapore’s Arts House, National Design Centre, Venice Architecture Biennale, and V&A Museum; and taught at UCL, RCA, Bauhaus Dessau, Harvard GSD, and Strelka. Immanuel is the chair of CAADRIA 2024, founder of Singapore’s first AI-NITE, and the author of the book ‘Artificial & Architectural Intelligence in Design’ published in 2020.
Kelley Cheng
Founder & Creative Director of The Press Room
Kelley Cheng is a modern day polymath who has immersed herself in the roles of editor, writer, curator, spatial designer, graphic designer, video director, interactive designer, and educator. Trained as an architect, she is the founder and creative director of design studio The Press Room, a publishing & design consultancy that designs everything from books, brands, exhibitions, documentaries, and even stage and film set design. From F&B businesses to an art gallery, her “creations” are diverse and unpredictable. An active educator, she has served as adjunct lecturer in Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Glasgow School of Art Singapore and is a Visiting Professor at Hangzhou Academy of Art, China. Currently she serves as the External Examiner for the Master of Architecture course at the National University of Singapore, and is a senior lecturer for the Interior Design degree course at LaSalle College of the Arts. Kelley is also a frequent name in international design judging panels including Red Dot Awards, Nagoya-Do!, Design for Asia Award, Creative Circle Award, James Dyson Award, etc. She was celebrated as one of 2009 Great Women of Our Time and one of the 50 Most Inspirational Women 2010 in Singapore. In 2019, the National Design Centre presented her 20-year retrospective exhibition “Proportion & Emotion: 20 years in Design with Kelley Cheng”, and in 2021 she was conferred the SkillsFuture Fellowship for her achievements in the industry, and the President’s Design Award “Designer of the Year 2020”, both presented by the President of Singapore.
Sean Harry, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, NCARB
Global Managing Principal of Digital Practice, WATG
Sean Harry is an architect with a passion for weaving together design narrative, sustainability, and technical solutions together with the client’s vision. As a Managing Principal, Digital Design, he believes that the benefit of design technology to our clients are immeasurable but must always be balanced with a human-centric approach, and that its role is to support our design process and workflow efficiencies without compromising our craft. His project experience spans more than 14 years and across the globe from Asia Pacific, Greater China, the Americas, and the Middle East. He has led the implementation of architectural and planning projects from visioning and conceptual design through all phases of documentation and construction with a focus on; hotels and resorts, mixed-use developments, retail and entertainment, gaming, high-end residential, golf resorts, offices and civic projects. Sean is a LEED Accredited Professional specializing in Building Design and Construction. Across the firm, Sean leads WATG’s ongoing strategic investment and deployment within the firm’s technology.
Daniel Caven
Computational Design Lead, Information Technology, WATG
Daniel has been with WATG for six years with 11 years of experience designing with parametric tools all over the world. He primarily works with means of 3D printing, scripting, and high-level digital technologies. He has worked with many offices, from master planning to 3D-printed homes and offices. In his professional career, Daniel has worked on many different high-profile projects, such as the Astana World’s Expo, the Office of the Future – Dubai, and the world’s first freeform 3D-printed house. Daniel held multiple scholarships from Illinois Institute of Technology, in Chicago, Illinois, and graduated with a Bachelors of Architecture with high honors in 2013. During this time, he was a full-time intern at Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill, working on urban mixed-use developments and highrise buildings throughout the world. In 2014, he continued his studies in the Post-Graduate Masters Degree program at SCI-Arc, in Los Angeles, California, holding multiple scholarships in the ESTm program. Daniel has taught studio seminars focused on digital fabrication and high-level 3D modeling, in Los Angeles, CA and Chicago, IL.
Judging Criteria
- Creativity and originality of final output
- Creativity and originality of methodology
- Ability to capture the spirit of the design task
- Presentation and delivery of ideas
Bonus: Consideration of ESG, enhancement to social/ cultural/ environmental
Competition Rules
- Students pursuing tertiary education are eligible to participate.
- Participants may submit individually, or as a pair but not as a team.
- Participants may submit more than one entry, with clear creative distinction of each submitted concept.
- 10 finalists will be selected with three eventual winners (Winner, first runner up and second runner up)
- Participants will be required to present on the designated event date 4 October where a timing to present will be allocated at least a week in advance.
- All judges’ decisions are final.
- The organiser reserves the right to make any changes to the programme without prior notice.
Please refer to the competition’s full terms and conditions here.
Here are our top 10 finalists:
- Hyunjin Song + Ronnan Irfan Bin Mohamad Zain (Lasalle College of the Arts)
- Janessa Kwan Su Hui (Singapore University of Technology and Design)
- Vy Tran (Raffles College of Higher Education)
- Ziyi, Liu (Singapore Polytechnic)
- Nayeon, Ko + Roan Kristofer Reyes Domingo (Lasalle College of the Arts)
- Amily Chou + Chan Wei Ching (Temasek Polytechnic)
- Angus Tung (Royal College of Art)
- Fu, Pei-Ching + Kuo, En-Fan (National Cheng Kung University)
- Chih Hung, Cheng (National Cheng Kung University)
- Nguyen Viet Manh (Hanoi Architectural University)
For information about the finalists’ presentation event on 4 October 2024, 5 to 8pm SGT, please email to Eileen Tan, Regional Marketing & Communications at WATG, on marketingapac@watg.com
Event is kindly supported by PTC System (S) Pte Ltd.