Nippon Paint fields Sri Lanka to Asia Young Designer Award

• Architecture and Interior Designing students from Sri Lanka compete for the first time with 15 countries

Asia’s leading coatings manufacturer, Nippon Paint, recently hosted a three-day Asia Young Designer Award (AYDA) 2016 Regional Learning Programme & the Platinum Award Competition in Yogyakarta (Indonesia), which serves as the grand finale where the winners of each the 15 participating country compete for the prestigious regional Platinum award. The event was attended by approximately 300 design students and leading industry professionals from across Asia.

The AYDA Regional Learning Programme also provides various platforms for all participating winners such as coaching sessions, study tours as well as sharing sessions with some of Asia’s leading design practitioners and architects. This year, various industry experts ranging from architects to urban planners and entrepreneur joined forces to speak at the 9th instalment of AYDA 2016 Regional Learning Programme, comprising Dato’ Dr Arch. Ken Yeang (Malaysia), Arch. Colin Seah (Singapore), Arch. Sibarani Sofian (Indonesia) and Malaysian entrepreneur Ee Soon Wei, all of whom shared their experiences and interpretation of AYDA 2016’s theme of “Be Bold. Be Free. Be You.”

Sri Lanka was able to participate for the first time at AYDA 2016, as a result of the initiative taken by Nippon Paint Lanka Ltd. The Sri Lankan phase of AYDA 2016 commenced on the 13th of June 2016 and the competition took place under the total supervision of Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (SLIA), the country’s apex body on Architecture who took the leading role of selecting the winners under different categories. 

Whilst the competition was open to all 3rd and 4th year students of architecture, 2nd and 3rd year students in Interior Designing were also given the chance to participate. Two Gold Winners from Sri Lanka – one from the Architecture discipline and one from Interior-Designing discipline, were selected to participate in the 3-day Learning Program and the Award Competition in Yogyakarta. 

The keynote speaker of the day, Dr Arch. Ken Yeang who is the Principal of Hamzah & Yeang, spoke on the importance of seamless integration of four key elements in a design concept – nature, human, water and built environment. 

Other speakers during the AYDA Learning Programme include Arch. Colin Seah, Founder and Director of Ministry of Design, and recipient of Singapore’s highest design accolade, the President’s Design award. 

Arch. Sibarani Sofian, Director of Urban+ and part of the design planning team executing national scale projects such as the Soekarno Hatta International Airport spoke on his passion on creating sustainable townships based on an amalgamated multi-disciplinary approach between urban development and architecture.

Twenty-three-year-old Malaysian, Chai Min Li, was crowned the Platinum Winner for the Interior Design Category of the regional instalment of AYDA 2016, beating 14 other countries in Asia, with her concept of “The Common Place: Regeneration of Pudu Market”, taking home the $ 1,000 prize. 

The Platinum Winner of the Architecture Category is twenty-five year old, Ueda Mitsumori from Japan, whose concept idea of “The Old Matsuo River School” looks at a seamless integration of the old town with the new town, through building schools on the site replicating the path where the river used to flow. Chandima Gawarammana from University of Moratuwa and Pratheepan Kalaieesan from City School of Architecture (CSA) from Sri Lanka nevertheless delivered strong and unique concepts at AYDA. Design statement of Chandima Gawarammana from the Faculty of architecture of University of Moratuwa was on an Interior of an urban house in Colombo for a Wife-and- husband duo who is an artist and a wildlife photographer respectively in which the colour scheme of the built environment would evoke a sense of calmness and tranquilly whilst being appealing to the husband and the two teenage children. 

In the case of Pratheepan Kalaieesan from City School of Architecture (CSA), it was a design of a Water Purification Plant inspired by the filtration and cleansing characteristics of Sri Lankan wetland. Water was used as an architectural element as well as a functional element. The design fused the architecture of the water purification plant with the landscape to a public park. 

AYDA was first introduced in Malaysia in 2008 and has witnessed increased popularity year after year. In its first year, AYDA received 87 entries, and in 2016 alone has received more than 4,500 entries. This premier Award for interior design and architecture students is currently being competed in countries namely Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Taiwan, India, Sri Lanka and Papua New Guinea. The theme for AYDA 2016, “Be Bold. Be Free. Be You.” rewards participants to get out of their comfort zones, to strike out on new paths, and deliver original and unique design identities without boundaries.

“What we provide is a platform that allow young designers to gain much more than just a trophy. Beyond the competition, we have brought together a group of passionate people, be it from academia, to industry partners carrying the spirit of AYDA. We even have judges who had been with us year on year since we first started. On top of this, we have coaches that meticulously mentors each and every participant to further sharpen their presentation skills and prepare them not just for this regional competition, but also for the real-world,” said Wee Siew Kim, Chief Executive Officer of NIPSEA Group. Nippon Paint Lanka has already commenced work on AYDA 2017 which will take place in 2017/ 2018.