Singapore’s President*s Design Award (P*DA), the country’s highest accolade for designers and design projects across all disciplines, is marking its 20th anniversary with a new public exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore.
PDA20: Power of Singapore Design runs from 18 September to 1 November 2026 and was officially opened by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Guest of Honour and patron of the PDA.
Conferred by the President of the Republic of Singapore and jointly presented by the DesignSingapore Council (Dsg) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), the award has recognised designers and projects that have made an impact on Singaporeans and communities around the world since its establishment in 2006.
Over the past two decades, the P*DA has become a platform for recognising design that contributes to economic competitiveness, quality of life, Singapore’s cultural identity and community, as well as innovation across different disciplines.
The anniversary exhibition brings together more than 130 Designs of the Year and 47 Designers of the Year, highlighting how award-winning works have become part of everyday life in Singapore.
Curated by creative agency BLACK, led by 2007 PDA recipient Jackson Tan of design collective Phunk, PDA20: Power of Singapore Design takes visitors through a multimedia exploration of Singapore’s changing design priorities and community needs.
The exhibition features completed works alongside sketches, prototypes and working materials, including some that have not previously been shown publicly. Reflections from P*DA recipients also provide insight into the ideas and creative processes behind selected projects.
At the centre of the exhibition is a 27.5 square metre interactive LED installation presenting an atlas of Singapore design. Visitors can explore the works and stories of every P*DA recipient to date before moving through four zones based on the award’s key impact areas.
The first zone, Enabling Economic Transformation, looks at how design can support innovation across businesses, workplaces and industries. Featured works include the AIR+ Smart Mask and Micro Ventilators by Innosparks, which turned an engineering breakthrough into a market ready product designed to provide more comfortable protection against haze and airborne pollutants. The zone also features architect Angelene Chan, Executive Chairman of DP Architects, whose portfolio includes projects such as Wisma Atria, Temasek Club and Sunray Woodcraft Construction Headquarters.
Raising Quality of Life focuses on inclusive and human centred design across healthcare and community life. Khoo Teck Puat Hospital by CPG Consultants demonstrates how architecture can incorporate nature and natural light into healthcare environments, while Silver Pride Lion Troupe by NextOfKin Creatives uses service design to encourage seniors to remain active and socially connected. Architect Chan Soo Khian and SCDA Architects are also featured for projects including SkyTerrace @ Dawson, which incorporates multi-generational living into public housing.
The third zone, Making Groundbreaking Achievements in Design, highlights designers who have pushed creative and technical boundaries. Works by Hans Tan Studio, including the Spotted Nyonya Collection, Pour and R for Repair, showcase reinterpretations of heritage craft and everyday objects. WORK founder Theseus Chan is featured for his experimental approach to visual communication, including WERK magazine.
Singapore architectural practice WOHA is also highlighted for projects such as The Met in Bangkok and the School of the Arts in Singapore, which incorporate greenery and open spaces into high density environments.
The final zone, Advancing Singapore Brand, Culture and Community, examines how design can contribute to cultural identity and bring communities together. Singapore Icons by Supermama explores Singaporean identity through objects beyond familiar national symbols, while School of Tomorrow by Kinetic Singapore presents sustainability education through an immersive school environment.
The anniversary programme will also extend beyond the exhibition, with public programmes planned to offer visitors more opportunities to explore the stories and ideas behind significant Singapore design projects. Further details will be announced in the coming weeks.
As part of PDA20, Dsg is also pairing past PDA recipients with winners of Challenge X and Challenge Y, two national design challenges focused on community led solutions to real world issues.
This year’s Challenge X brings communities, care partners and people from different disciplines together to explore how neighbourhoods can better support healthy ageing. Challenge Y is a national youth design challenge that invites students as young as seven to develop ideas for building friendships, connecting across differences and creating a stronger sense of inclusion and belonging.
Through mentorship from past P*DA recipients, shortlisted winners will further develop their solutions into new ideas and prototypes, with Dsg aiming to present them to the public at the Singapore Design Biennale 2027.
The anniversary also marks a new effort to preserve Singapore’s design history. The National Library Board (NLB), Dsg and URA will work together to document the country’s design legacy, with NLB inviting P*DA recipients to donate works and share their stories for preservation in the National Library of Singapore’s archives, subject to their permission.
NLB already holds donated materials from P*DA recipients including Andrew Gn and Mok Wei Wei. URA will separately continue working with NLB and the National Heritage Board (NHB) to collect and preserve architecture related materials under the Singapore Architecture Collection.
Together, these initiatives aim to preserve the work and stories of Singapore’s designers while making the country’s design heritage accessible to future generations.
