Frame
Frame #136

Reporting From
Justin Zhuang asks Singapore architects to bridge the divide with the migrant workforce that constructs their designs, making the city more liveable for all. And Emmanuel Oni writes an unsolicited letter to the mainstream architecture and spatial design industries and academia.

Business of Design
Why the car may soon become a key consumer channel. How livestreaming will impact the design of luxury retail spaces. What Sidewalk Labs’ setback means for the smart city. How the gap between the virtual and live fan experience is disappearing. And: Why, post-pandemic, the office will be distributed – not dead. 

In Practice
Bjarke Ingels talks about how he was destined to be a graphic novelist, designing his own curriculum, get-rich-quick schemes, the importance of partnerships and why 150 is a magic number. % Arabica CEO Kenneth Shoji explains how to simultaneously go hyper-local and global, why he collaborates on the design of every store and what he and his team are doing to prepare for coffee’s next pandemic-induced wave. 3D artist Santi Zoraidez talks about the unlimited possibilities of computer-generated imagery, why it’s important to find a balance between the real and the surreal, and how digital channels can transform product presentation. And the foursome behind MLKK discuss balancing commercial aspirations with social responsibilities, resurrecting elements from their Hong Kong heritage, and what it means to be designers in today’s crisis-plagued climate. 

Spaces
Semiotics agency Axis Mundi looks at how a typology of spaces offer clarity and sanctuary from the heated distortions of the world outside. What’s more, we explore what the rise of gender-neutral beauty mean for the design of salons, why exhibitions head to cyberspace, how the public can play a role in prototyping the future museum and why lab-like interiors are newly relevant in light of the Covid-19 crisis. 

Streetscape Lab
Frame may deal almost exclusively with the indoors, but that’s one place in which most of us have spent far too much time over the past months. As lockdowns lift in many areas, heading out into the city streets has exposed fundamental flaws in the structures beyond our front doors – cramped pedestrian areas and a lack of green space among them. Now, we’re faced with the rare opportunity to renegotiate the relationship between indoors and out, turning the latter into an extension of the former. 

The Challenge: The Liveable Street
In the lead-up to each issue, we challenge emerging designers to respond to the Frame Lab theme with a forward-looking concept. In the early phases of lockdowns being lifted, we saw a variety of usually indoor activities extend and transition outdoors – from dining to exercising. Simultaneously, city councils and governments have been encouraging a more local lifestyle that eliminates the need for constant commutes and lowers the risk of spreading the virus. Public streets are suddenly in high demand. Their layout and facilities may need to change drastically. So how can we transform street life to meet our ‘new normal’? We asked three creatives to share their ideas.