Curated by Singapore-based inter-disciplinary group PLUS Collaboratives and led by Cheryl Sim and Mervin Tan, Re-Route Festival returns with its second edition, Re-Route: Orchard (RR:OR).
First held in 2022 at Little India, during Singapore Design Week, Re-Route Festival is a placemaking festival that immerses visitors in an alternate storytelling of a place through a collection of creative activations. This year, RR:OR brings an investigative design lens to deepen visitors’ experience of Singapore’s famed shopping belt.
RR:OR, themed “Be Here Now,” is inspired by adaptive reuse — a concept in architecture that involves repurposing old structures for new uses. The festival showcases installations that highlight the idea of adaptation, showing how design can change and respond to new needs in scales other than architecture such as programmes, and behaviours influencing how we experience a place.
Taking place from Thursday, 26 September to Sunday, 6 October 2024, the festival will host curated experiences, installations, programmes and other design activations, to probe topics under an overarching curatorial framework and create stops within Orchard Road that spark curiosity and explore the topic of adaptability.
Re-Route: Orchard focuses on the theme of adaptability
Adopting a forward-looking voice, RR:OR’s theme, ‘Be Here Now’, explores what potential design has for the future and how its current state is a culmination of its legacy and influences. RR:OR wants to send a message of constant evolution, reminding visitors of design’s power to shape, transform, and chart directions.
To guide visitors through the story, RR:OR will be adopting a visual metaphor of a playful giant mascot, affectionately named Charrdo, representing Orchard Road’s illustrious past and a forward-looking mindset to take giant leaps of innovation.
Festival Director Cheryl Sim, the co-founder and Creative Director of Plus Collaboratives, said: “As one of the most-visited iconic shopping belts in the world, Orchard Road remains well connected and thrives as a vibrant urban space. To further enhance its appeal, we’re focusing on strengthening its sense of community to deepen its relationship with the people. Over the years, we’ve seen the continued rejuvenation with new developments in Orchard. With the evolving needs of modern-day society, the festival aims to reinforce a sense of adaptability and innovation through unique collaborations and installations.”
RR:OR is a key event of Singapore Design Week 2024 (SDW 2024), organised by the DesignSingapore Council (DSG). SDW 2024 will traverse the city-state with a rich and thought-provoking programme curated around this year’s festival theme “People of Design”.
“Design defines the space we inherit, from streets to entire neighbourhoods, with the power to shape how communities connect and evolve. With Orchard being one of the three design districts at this year’s Singapore Design Week, we are excited for festival goers to experience how design is incorporated and applied throughout the various programmes along this iconic shopping belt,” says Ms Jody Teo, Acting Director, Marketing Communications and Programming of DesignSingapore Council, who’s also the festival director of Singapore Design Week 2024.
RR:OR is also supported by Singapore Tourism Board, which aims to get people to move around and in the process, discover something new, engaging them in a deeper discovery of the district.
Ms Guo Teyi, Director, Retail and Dining, Singapore Tourism Board, said: “It is increasingly important for stakeholders to offer fun and differentiated lifestyle experiences to cater to varied visitor interests beyond retail on Orchard Road. These are ongoing efforts to rejuvenate Orchard Road and solidify its position as a must-visit lifestyle destination. Re-Route: Orchard highlights Orchard Road’s rich history and significant moments, while looking forward to the future. RR:OR’s Pocket Park at Somerset – Orchard Fountain Corner will be a test bed to create a node for that area as one of the key centres for Orchard Road and maximise the precinct’s placemaking potential.”
Re-Route Festival – Award-winning experiential activations
The Re-Route Festival, a placemaking initiative that has garnered multiple design awards, invites visitors to explore neighbourhoods through unexpected paths. More than just a festival, Re-Route is an invitation to discover hidden gems and engage with a community in a fresh way.
The inaugural edition, held in Little India in 2022, attracted over 21,000 visitors from 12 different countries. Visitors experienced a different Little India through 8 installations and 19 experiences created by 16 creatives. The festival’s programmes were a hit, with 70% of the 8 programs selling out. These programmes provided visitors with unique opportunities to connect with the local community.
Re-Route: Orchard encourages rediscovery of the street through design activations
Across multiple locations spread across Orchard Road, visitors can view the street from a whole new perspective and appreciate the ‘invisible’ design that shaped the space and experience. Site-specific key narratives will be curated into experiences such as design installations, activities and workshops by various creatives.
Re-Route: Orchard’s anchor site – Design Orchard
One of the main sites of Re-Route: Orchard, Design Orchard houses several design collaborations to provide a good glimpse of the festival:
Re-think
“Re-think” invites you on a journey of discovery, where creativity meets adaptability in unexpected ways. View a curated selection of products from innovative brands, each one embodying our five core themes: Sustainability, Relevance, Preservation, Behaviours, and Innovation. Don’t miss the chance to see how products are transformed through adaptive reuse, offering fresh perspectives on what it means to rethink design. Come by and be inspired!
Street Fashion: Rain Ready
Responding to a fictional brief inspired by Orchard Road’s past as an open canal, Raffles Design Institute students showcase their “Rain Ready” creations at Design Orchard. Guided by Daniel Boey, Re-Route Curators, and Design Orchard, the event highlights unique designs that blend functionality with style, offering fresh perspectives on addressing environmental challenges. Their innovative garments explore how clothing might evolve if we lived in a watery environment.
Time-Honoured Backdrops
“Time-Honoured Backdrops” is a captivating photoshoot by Nikko Pascua, where the timeless charm of Orchard Road comes to life. This unique journey captures the essence of stylish individuals against the backdrop of iconic establishments that have withstood the test of time. Discover how these beloved spots continue to resonate with people from all walks of life, showcasing Orchard Road’s diverse appeal that transcends demographics and eras. Witness the harmonious blend of high fashion and everyday living, as this photoshoot unveils the stories, memories, and emotions that make Orchard Road truly unique.
The other activations across Orchard Road include:
Chairs Reimagined
Visit Chairs Reimagined and see iconic Kopitiam chairs transformed through creative modifications. This exhibition highlights adaptability and the interplay between design and function. Dive into a fun guessing game to uncover the concepts and uses behind these forms that respond to social behaviour.
Adaptations: Design in Motion
“Adaptations: Design in Motion” brings together designers from Singapore and the region for Re-Route: Orchard, focusing on the relevance and rethinking of everyday objects. This showcase emphasises how ordinary items can be approached and understood in new ways, highlighting the creativity and adaptability inherent in design. It offers fresh perspectives on how design can transform our relationship with familiar objects, celebrating their potential for reinvention and renewed relevance.
Adaptations: Design in Motion at Cineleisure
Nostalgia Play
Step into Far East Plaza’s atrium space for Nostalgia Play. Experience a playful tribute to the aesthetics of the 80s and 90s, now integrated into whimsical playground structures. Slide and see the vivid colours and iconic designs that blend past and present, allowing both adults and children to connect with the nostalgic styles that shaped a generation. This interactive installation celebrates our collective sense of place, rooted in memory.
Re-Route Festival: Hidden Gems
“Re-Route Festival: Hidden Gems” invites you to uncover the distinctive and trendy stores hidden along Orchard Road. Embark on a journey through more obscure and charming spaces, collecting stamps at each stop. As you explore, discover the unexpected and reroute your usual path to experience Orchard Road in a new light. After collecting stamps from all different sites, you can redeem an exclusive set of keychains of Charrdo! This adventure reveals secret treasures and uncovers the area’s diverse character, offering a fresh and immersive way to engage with the vibrant street scene. Rediscover Orchard Road like never before.
Re-Route: Orchard workshop tickets available
Re-Route: Orchard includes free activations, as well as ticketed events. Tickets to workshops and other activities are available at Re-Route website https://www.reroutefest.com/events. Ticket holders will get to obtain meaningful insights from collaborating creatives such as Nikko Pascua, The Projector and many more
Interview with festival directors Cheryl Sim and Mervin Tan:
How is this year’s Re-Route Festival different from the 2022 one in Little India?
It’s very different. The premise is the same, like the idea of exploring the ways we usually go by, like the studies that we do. So that covers, like people movement built from history and sounds and voices, which is about perspective. So the framework is the same, but the outcome is very different.
Because in Little India, when we researched using the same framework, what was uncovered was the idea of connectivity, because there were clusters of hotspots, and between the hotspots, there really wasn’t anything very much for people to move around, for tourists, especially. But there was actually a lot of culture that was inside. So that was the insight that led to how we designed the different installations and the different events that were going on.
But in Orchard, the research was quite different. So when we used the same framework to do research, what came out of it was the idea wasn’t really so much of productivity. Because Orchard was very linear and it was quite straightforward, but it was the idea that, because it was linear, we kind of miss out on all the little things along the way.
And that’s why we wanted to highlight the small businesses like Kurasu with our Hidden Gems. We wanted all these little things and the nuances of how the character has been built up over time, with places like the chicken rice store, all of these little things kind of get a bit lost.
When you say research, what exactly do you mean?
Actually, it is part of our core business that we do this research process. So there’s a lot of mappings that were done, like, for us, our background is in architecture, so we usually start with site mappings. So we look at how people moved into the site. We look at several points of history, like how it has possibly changed over time.
From there, we mapped out what is needed for this particular Orchard version. We also did focus group surveys, interviews. They gave us interesting insights, like they talked about wanting the streetscape to be a bit more visible.
Our research started from there. So, it’s a combination of hard research data, which I think a lot of people can understand. But then there’s also the softer, intangible side. We’re talking about people and communities. How people react is not necessarily the same as say how does the traffic move? Right? So when you do certain metrics like this, you add on, kind of like a creative lens, wanting to find opportunities.
We use that lens coupled with whatever we have created as a framework. With all these data to be embedded in, we are able to then say, okay, there are maybe six core values that we want to talk about. And then we will choose one that we really want to do.
Who do you focus on? The locals or the tourists?
We do both. There’s a little bit of science behind it. We want to target one that’s wide enough where Singaporeans are able to relate to. At the same time, when tourists come in, they shouldn’t feel like they don’t follow the story. It’s the way we present it. We are trying to find the best that pertains to everybody.
In the press brief, you mentioned the concept of investigative design, what do you mean by that?
You mean creative investigation? It’s the idea to explore a topic. We wanted to put up a topic that creatives can interpret in different ways, and so that’s how we wanted to see how they can take it, using their own mediums, or taking their own perspectives, and that’s why we call it an investigation.
How we started and we facilitated that process is really through this idea of, pulling out that common thread of what we wanted to talk about in Orchard, and from there, speak to all the different designers and give them this premise and get their take on what they think about it, and eventually how they can explore this topic together with us.
About Re-Route Festival
Helmed by creative brains, Mervin Tan and Cheryl Sim from Plus Collaboratives, Re-Route is a creative placemaking festival that encourages people to walk around and explore topics that are relevant to place. The key objective of Re-Route is to deepen the understanding of space through ground-level engagement and using design as a core, to deep dive into topics within the community that are close to heart. Re-Route Festival is in its second edition. Its first edition in Little India has been recognised at several award platforms such as the most recent Gold at Singapore Good Design Mark, Silver at DFA Awards, Gong Awards for best of experiences amongst other communication awards such as Golden Pin Awards.
Connect with us on our platforms for more updates:
Re-Route Festival – Website: https://www.reroutefest.com/ | Facebook https://www.facebook.com/reroutefest | Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reroutefest/ | #reroutefest
About Plus Collaboratives
PLUS is an award-winning interdisciplinary group that designs, curates, and develops experiences for clients. From curating and creating an event, researching and developing a space, or conceptualising visual communication strategies to formulating a communications campaign, PLUS believes in a data/research-based approach to ensure that they will always be able to deliver their clients’ brand messages.
Using a 360-approach, PLUS customises experiences ranging from designing experiential productions in the areas of audio visual lighting (AVL), project management, built supervision, to capturing moments and unique experiences through photography and videography. Since its inception, PLUS has worked with various government bodies and private companies, such as People’s Association, Chanel, Krisflyer, Wildlife Reserves, and Fujifilm Business Innovation.
In recent years, PLUS has been recognised internationally for their creativity and unique approach towards user-centred design processes in their projects. They are also recipients of local and international awards, which include, Singapore Good Design Mark 2024, DFA Awards 2024, IDA Awards 2023, K Design Awards 2023, The Drum Awards 2022, iF Design Awards 2022, Indigo Design Award 2022, A’Design Awards 2022, etc.
Plus Collaboratives – Website: https://plus-group.sg/ | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pluscollaboratives/ | Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/plussg |
About Singapore Design Week
One of Asia’s premier design festivals, Singapore Design Week (SDW) celebrates Singapore’s distinctive brand of creativity, exploring design through three defining festival pillars: Design Futures (the design of the future and the future of design), Design Marketplace (lifestyle trends with a spotlight on Southeast Asia), and Design Impact (innovative solutions for a better world). Organised by the DesignSingapore Council, SDW is a celebration of creativity and innovation, championing thought leadership and showcasing the best of design from Singapore and beyond.
For more updates: sdw.sg
