We are very pleased and excited to share that ASD’s publication, Forming—Unforming and 粵海清廟：建築與歷史的對話 by Assoc. Prof. Yeo Kang Shua have won the prestigious Golden Pin Design Award 2021. We would like to extend our heartiest congratulations to Prof. Erwin Viray, Assoc. Prof. Yeo Kang Shua and Asst. Prof. Immanuel Koh.

Below are short write ups of the Award and the winning designs.

「金點設計獎」（Golden Pin Design Award）在1981年創立於台灣，現由「台灣設計研究院」（Taiwan Design Research Institute , TDRI）辦理獎項與策劃頒獎典禮及相關活動。2014年起開始走向「全球華人市場最頂尖設計獎項」的新定位，為華人設計產業取得發言權。自2015年起，金點設計獎品牌針對不同目標族群分設「金點設計獎」、「金點概念設計獎」及「金點新秀設計獎」三大獎賽，旨在褒揚傑出的創新設計產品與作品。

今年，主辦單位收到來自全球17地、共2,706件作品參賽，經複審，最終評選出榮獲「金點設計獎標章」作品.

Established in 1981, Golden Pin Design Award is the most influential design award in the global Chinese-speaking market. The planning and handling of the awards, the prize-giving ceremony, and all other related events are executed by Taiwan Design Research Institute (TDRI). In 2015, the Golden Pin Design Award launched three separate award competitions – the Golden Pin Design Award, the Golden Pin Concept Design Award, and the Young Pin Design Award. While each award targets a different demographic, the purpose of each is to commend outstanding innovation in design.

The Golden Pin Design Award jury selected the 2021 Design Mark Recipients out of 2,706 outstanding entries from 17 different countries and regions around the globe.

Forming—Unforming 的設計概念志在表達新興建築設計理念、傳達新加坡科技設計大學建築與可持續設計系所追求的教育目標，並讚頌建築知識的多樣性，即設計、歷史，技術等。隨著人工智能和機器學習在設計界日益普及，系內助理教授 Immanuel Koh 應邀使用 Forming Unforming 系列書籍的內容訓練機器學習模型。機器必須先對內容進行解構，並重新解析，進而再設計出 700 種獨特的封面設計。這些以「機器為設計師」所創造出的封面設計不僅客觀地體現出建築與可持續設計系的理念，亦挑戰了當今世界建築師所扮演的角色。

When conceptualising the design for Forming—Unforming, we asked how can we represent emerging ideas of architecture and to represent what Architecture and Sustainable Design at the Singapore University of Technology and Design aspire to be, while celebrating the diversity of architecture knowledge ranging from design, history, to technology. With the growing presence of artificial intelligence and machine learning in design, we roped in our faculty Immanuel Koh to train a machine-learning model using the contents of all of ASD’s bi-annual publications – Forming / Unforming (2017), Unforming / Forming (2018) and Forming—Unforming (2021) – to decontextualise the contents before being reinterpreted by the machine to generate 700 unique cover designs. With the machine as a designer, these generated covers function as an objective reflection of SUTD ASD’s ethos and challenge the role of the architect in the world today.

Art Direction & Design → Practice Theory (@practice.theory)
Collaborator/Client → ASD@SUTD (Erwin Viray, Yeo Kang Shua & Julie Goh)
Cover AI Design → Practice Theory (@practice.theory) & Immanuel Koh
Publisher → ASD@SUTD
Photographer → Daryl Tan (@daryltanyp)

《粵海清廟：建築與歷史的對話》封面設計以懸掛於粵海清廟的燈籠為靈感，書名的字體以常用書寫燈號的隸書為啟發。風格近似隸書的字體同樣結構扁平、筆畫均勻對稱，橫細豎粗、長短兼備，給予封面設計莊重清麗的視覺效果。字體的輪廓亦如傳統燈籠，由封面延伸環繞至封底，試圖隱喻建築與歷史，以及歷史與修復之間的對話。書內不同章節的分隔頁延續了相同的設計語彙。

The cover design of《粵海清廟：建築與歷史的對話》was inspired by the traditional Teochew lanterns that adorn the front elevation of the temple. The design for the book title adopted the clerical script (隸書) font that is traditionally used on lanterns. This font is strikingly rectilinear with uniformity of the strokes, and is characterised by slender horizontal strokes with broad vertical strokes, which imbues a sense of quiet elegance to the overall aesthetics. The title wraps around the front and back covers, akin to that of a lantern, paying homage to its history and heritage. Likewise, the design for the entire book take reference from the temple’s architectural and social history.

Art Direction & Design → Practice Theory (@practice.theory)
Collaborator/Client → Yeo Kang Shua
Publisher → ASD@SUTD
Photographer → The Gentle Studio (@thegentlestudio)