tag:peatix.com,2011:1 2021-11-15T10:40:50+08:00 Peatix Archifest tag:peatix.com,2020:event-1624845 2020-10-09T19:00:00SGT 2020-10-09T19:00:00SGT

Enthusiasm for agriculture - food production has grown in and around cities, while we have seen Singapore’s scene blossom in the last decade alone. As we work hard towards a better food future, it is always good to take a step back and reassess where we are at. While much has been written and built with food as a key tenet of culture in mind, how might we consider the profound implications for the city itself? Perhaps we may draw from the possibilities that present itself with agrarian urbanism: How might we rethink ecological design and practices within cities, thereby questioning our assumptions - unsustainable agri trends, numbers driven indicators. How might we move forward, and build resilient, pluri- worlds for human and our non human allies alike?We would like to use the opportunity to celebrate the farmers that have come before us, with that spirit work towards positioning our home grown produce as superior to those imported. This panel invites practitioners and urban farmers, seeking to convene dialogue and bold imaginations with regards to how we ought to feed our cities, redefining and stretching notions of what it means to be a farmer in the city: as land stewards, community leaders, as designers of ecological principles.Co- curated by Bjorn Low and Michelle Lai __________________________________Live Streaming from Edible Garden City Organiser and Moderator: Bjorn Low | Co-Founder and Executive Director | Edible Garden CityBjorn started his career as an online marketing specialist after completing his MBA. His stint in marketing brought him to London, where during a particularly harsh winter, he realised that he wanted to be a farmer. Bjorn quit his job, and for the next 3 years, travelled and worked on organic farms across Europe. Having obtained a diploma in Biodynamic Agriculture in East Sussex, Bjorn returned back to Singapore with the dream of combining his knowledge of farming and his business training. In 2012, Edible Gardens was started with the hopes of building urban farms to help Singapore tackle its food security challenges. His passion has been the foundation for Edible Garden City Pte Ltd, which today employs a team of 30 full time staff members and is carving out its own niche in a new industry sector in Singapore, having built more than 240 food gardens for hotels, schools, F&B outlets, property developers and home gardens.----Organiser:Michelle Lai | Co-Founder | TanahMichelle Lai (Singapore/ Netherlands) is an urban farmer and forager. She is interested in issues relating to the local agricultural and food system, and explores community-driven innovation and community engagement practices, forming symbiotic relationships through everyday participation, research, and dialogue. She is currently exploring living, organic matter as materials through the lens of design within her practice. ________________ Local Panelists: Mason Tan | Former President ( 1997-2002, 2006 | Singapore Institute of Landscape ArchitectsMason Tan is the Managing Director of Mace Studio Pte. Ltd. a Landscape Strategist, and a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Landscape Architects. He has over 30 years of professional practice in landscape architectural consultancy services covering a wide range of project types and policies. He served the Singapore Institute of Landscape Architects as the, Honorary Secretary from 1993 to 1994, President for the periods 1997-2002 and 2006, and as Secretary-General for the International Federation of Landscape Architects World Congress 2001 held in Singapore. In 2008 he wrote the working paper to facilitate the National University of Singapore Architecture Faculty to set up the Masters of Landscape Architecture programme. He is currently working on developing new landscape architecture concepts of Living Biomes and Ecosystems of Communities. These concepts have generative sustenance, i.e. food, water and soil, integrated with environmental activism, well- being and living communities as crucial ingredients in the planning and design of landscapes.----Kenny Eng | Director | Nyee Phoe Group, Gardenasia  Kenny Eng is the Director of Gardenasia - the hortitainment arm of the Nyee Phoe Group - and a thought leader in the farm entertainment space. Growing up amongst gardens and greens as part of Nyee Phoe's 4th generation, the legacy and values of his family's century-old horticulture business - being evergreen, upholding quality and setting trends - have always been deeply ingrained in the aspiring entrepreneur’s mind. In 2000, Kenny realigned the company’s direction to create holistic experiences as a means to introduce a naturally-inspired perspective to life. This vision, termed as 'HortiTainment', is what drives Nyee Phoe's journey till today. Kenny continues to actively develop naturally-inspired lifestyle experiences, and specialised products and services with a natural touch, for a diverse clientele. Gardenasia aims to draw people closer to nature through curated experiences that are naturally inspired. As experience consultants, we draw upon various lifestyle pillars – Eat, Work, Play – to create a holistic ‘GA Experience’. These include our ‘farm to table’ bistro, ready to eat & ready to cook products by The Local Farm, GAkids programmes, eco-ambassadors Titoy and Morchoo, and our expertise in farmers’ market events; and running a 2-hectare venue along Neo Tiew Crescent, with a Farmstay. One to keep his cultural roots and heritage close to his heart, Kenny took up the position of Kranji Countryside Association's (KCA) President in March 2014 till 2019. Under his leadership, KCA was instrumental in organising the 2016's RASC Conference in Singapore, and the ongoing quarterly Kranji Countryside Farmers’ Market. Previously, Kenny was a council member of the National Youth Council, a *Scape Co Ltd board member, and part of the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee. He holds a Science (honours) degree in Real Estate from National University of Singapore.----Chua Ping Yit (Bing Yu) | Kampung Architect | Ground Up InitiativeAt Ground-Up Initiative (GUI), where Bingyu has been since 2011, he is known as the Kampung Architect. Starting off as a volunteer, he now takes charge of all things related to the built environment at GUI. Together with the GUI team, they built the Kampung Kampus and the Heartquarters. Bingyu is trained as an architect and practices part time at a small firm. Bingyu is a firm believable of learning by doing, getting your hands dirty and being grounded in everything you do. Bingyu aspires to be a better father, husband, son & human on this earth.Chintan Raveshia | Design Leader | ARUP Cities Planning, South-East AsiaChintan is a trained architect and an urban designer and leads the Cities Planning + Design team for Arup in South East Asia. With over 16 years’ experience living across 3 continents, his projects in SEA range from planning the new capital city for Indonesia to developing a vision for the future of Smart HDBs in Singapore. Under Arup Singapore’s Future Cities Hub, his research projects focus on future of urban food manufacturing, walkability and autonomous vehicles in cities. LinkedIn Profile：https://www.linkedin.com/in/chintan-raveshia_____________________International Panelists:Andrew Tsui | Co- Founder | Rooftop Republic Hong KongAndrew is an entrepreneur and urban farmer following his previous roles in both the public and private sector served in Operations, Supply Chain and Asset Management respectively. Having grown up in both Hong Kong and Singapore which are highly urbanised and heavily reliant on imported food he embarked on the mission to make urban farming accessible for cities since 2012. Since then, he has contributed to over 100 urban farms projects on skyscrapers, shopping malls and among neighbourhoods in Hong Kong and China. Andrew is a practitioner excited about topics around entrepreneurship, corporate social partnerships and sustainable food systems. ----Sarah Williams | Programme Director | Sustain United KingdomSarah is Programme Director for Sustain having joined in in 2009, as part of the Capital Growth team who successfully supported 2,012 new community food growing spaces in London. Sarah has developed new areas of work at Sustain including the national Big Dig programme and work on our Growing Health project. She currently oversees most of the London programme of work, run under the London Food Link umbrella and represents Sustain on the London Food Board. Prior to Sustain her roles have included running community regeneration projects, including at Groundwork East London where she lead on a series of environment based projects. Sarah was also the Strategic Manager of the Newham Food Access Partnership, where years she coordinated the implementation a Food and Nutrition Strategic Plan. Sarah has a Masters in Leadership for Sustainable Development, achieved through the Forum for the Future programme.----Khim Joe | Founder/ Permaculture Landscape Architect | Children of SoilKhim Joe’s involvement in Kebun-kebun Bangsar started when she was exploring the opportunities of Urban Farming in the year 2014. Led by Seksan, the team of approximately 25 members was formed to kick start the project in late 2014. It takes about 3 years to finally gain official approval from the local authorities to start operating the community garden. As a practicing Permaculture Landscape Architect, she was very much involved when Kebun-kebun Bangsar started operating in 2017. The same year, she founded Children of Soil, a social enterprise that provides environmental consultation and education, aspiring to bridge the gap between Human and Nature.----Sammie Ng | Resident Member | New Farm (日新農圃), Hong Kong UniversitySammie is a final year Urban Studies student from Singapore currently studying at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). She is involved in various socio-environmental causes, mostly taking an approach which emphasises intersectionality and public participation. Sammie co-founded Speak for Climate, a group which advocates for systemic climate action and greater transparency, inclusivity and accessibility in climate policy. She also heads Accommodate, an initiative which raises awareness about the interconnectedness of social, environmental and cultural issues surrounding land-use redevelopment through a role-playing workshop. In HKU, she is a Green Ambassador for the Sustainability Office where she has interned for previously. She also farms in her residential college and shares sustainability-related thoughts via @greenpeas_hku. Currently, Sammie is interested in ideas of degrowth and regenerative cultures in the context of a just transition. In her free time, she also enjoys organising book clubs.  ____________________Important to Note:- We may provide your contact information to Event Partners / Sponsors for any sessions or activities you have attended involving our Event Partner / Sponsors.- The Forum join link and password will be sent via email 1 day before the session.- The Forum join link and password will be sent via email latest 1 hour before the session for last-minute sign-ups.- The Forum will be opened for registered participants to enter 30 minutes before the session.- The Forum will be locked 10 minutes after the session begins.- For purchase of more than one ticket, please provide the details of all participants. A Zoom link to access the registered session(s) will be shared with the respective participants. This link should not be shared with others; it is unique to each participant.Online Etiquette:- During the sharing session, attendees other than the forum panel will be muted.- If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the Q&A and we will try to address them at the end.- During the Q&A session, attendees will be unmuted to allow for discussion.- Do note that this session will be recorded.This Forum is an initiative of Singapore Archifest 2020: www.archifest.sg

tag:peatix.com,2020-10-07 12:10:54 2020-10-07 12:10:54 The event description was updated. Diff#766674 tag:peatix.com,2020-10-07 12:10:21 2020-10-07 12:10:21 The event description was updated. Diff#766669 tag:peatix.com,2020-10-07 12:08:57 2020-10-07 12:08:57 The event description was updated. Diff#766666 tag:peatix.com,2020-10-05 09:11:17 2020-10-05 09:11:17 The event description was updated. Diff#763543 tag:peatix.com,2020-10-01 02:30:48 2020-10-01 02:30:48 The event description was updated. Diff#758236 tag:peatix.com,2020-09-18 07:38:21 2020-09-18 07:38:21 Title was changed to "Letters to Singapore: Speculations of Agrarian Urbanisms". Orig#743140 tag:peatix.com,2020-09-18 03:01:44 2020-09-18 03:01:44 The event description was updated. Diff#742612