The ArchiFuture Design Challenge is an annual Design Competition organised by the Architecture and Sustainable Design Pillar, Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). Students from secondary schools and junior colleges are invited to participate in this challenge to envision the future of Singapore city through innovative architectural and urban design responding to the year’s challenge brief.

Singapore is at a crossroad of development amidst the fast-changing macro environment. Climate change, digital revolution, ageing population, social inequality, and challenges to globalisation are just some of many factors that are going to shape our needs and aspirations in the coming decades. The future of Singapore city needs a new narrative. We need to go beyond building a programmatically prescribed city for Live, Work, and Play. We live because we can Bond with each other and be part of something larger than the individuals, a family, a community, an organisation, a nation; we Work because we Care passionately for our people, animals, and the environment; we Play because it Restores our body and mind, and helps us to learn more about ourselves and the world we live in. We believe these are the new fundamentals the future city should embrace, i.e, an intrinsically motivated city for Bonding, Caring and Restoring, a city that gives us meaning to love and thrive.

New digital tools, building technology, and environmental-behavioural science can assist us in achieving this goal, and offer us multiple ways to live harmoniously with Nature. For example, with technology, a city can be carbon neutral or even climate positive to help regenerate our natural surroundings. It is with this ideology that we introduce the theme “Naturally Urban” for the inaugural edition of the ArchiFuture Design Challenge.