THE organisers of the annual SingaPlural, the anchor event of Singapore Design Week, are on a hunt for a new home next year, as this year’s venue – 99 Beach Road, the former Beach Road Police Station – will go on sale next month.
Organised by the Singapore Furniture Industries Council (SFIC) since 2012 and held in conjuction with International Furniture Fair Singapore/ASEAN Furniture Show, The Décor Show and Hospitality 360°, SingaPlural was hosted at multiple venues across Singapore in previous editions. This year, however, main programmes were held in a single location.
Speaking to TTGmice e-Weekly in an interview, chairman of SingaPlural 2015 and vice president of SFIC, Mark Yong, explained that having key activities in a single venue allowed for a better concentration of visitor traffic, closer interaction between exhibitors and visitors, and a longer stay by attendees.
Attendance figures were unavailable at press time.
The former Beach Road Police Station, which sat vacant for more than two years, was chosen as it provided a “raw canvas” of a backdrop for the design installations.
“The venue is very important, as sometimes we need it to be there before content can flow in,” Yong said, adding that while Singapore has many convention venues, and hotels and malls with event spaces, these are “too glossy” and will take away the “flavour of the installations”.
“Singapore is land-scarce and it is very hard to find the right space. In fact, we looked at 15 locations before setting our hearts on 99 Beach Road this year. We will speak with the Singapore Land Authority and other parties for venue ideas. It could be an old school, or perhaps the Gilman Barracks,” said Yong.
