The three-day Public Summit brings together a prominent group of architects, theorists, researchers, curators, and community groups to share ideas about sustainability, food and energy sources, spatial practice, and social relations in the urban fabric. Programmed as a series of Structured Conversations, the Public Summit attempts to bridge artistic practices and academic research with bottom-up initiatives and explore various strategies and participatory approaches, projecting solutions and desires for future “cities for people”.

Thursday, 19 January 2017

3.00 – 4.00pm

4.00 – 6.30pm

Welcome address

by Paul Tan, Acting CEO, National Arts Council and Ute Meta Bauer, Founding Director, NTU CCA Singapore, and Professor, School of Art, Design and Media (ADM), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore

Structured Conversation #1: Food, Air, Water

This session opens up the debate surrounding sustainability in relation to food sources, water resources, and air quality. As elements that possess fundamental significance for all life, how has urban development and technology impacted and intervened into these resources? Can sustainability be achieved only with improved technology? Is sustainability sustainable? (from a conversation with William S. W. Lim) How can we better understand and work with regenerative processes of nature to create a more informed way of living for all?

Host: Paul Teng (Singapore), Professor and Adjunct Senior Fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, NTU

With Joshua Comaroff (United States/Singapore), Assistant Professor, Singapore University of Technology and Design and Design Consultant, Lekker; Eugene Heng (Singapore), Founder and Chairman, Waterways Watch Society; Conrad H. Philipp (Germany/Singapore), Project Coordinator, Cooler Calmer Singapore, ETH Future Cities Lab; and Marjetica Potrč (Germany), Professor for Social Design, University of Fine Arts (HFBK), Hamburg

Respondent: Cecilia Tortajada (Mexico, Spain/Singapore), Senior Research Fellow, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore (NUS)