One more feather to add to the P*DA international collaboration cap! We made our debut showcase at the Barcelona Design Week 2019, where the P*DA 2018 recipients were featured in an exhibition at the Disseny Hub Barcelona (Design Museum). Three of our P*DA recipients were also invited to share their winning works to an international audience at the Service Design Day Summit and Roca Gallery Barcelona on 14 and 15 June.

In collaboration with The Care Lab, who curated and designed the ‘Caring Transitions for Social Good’ exhibition at the Disseny Hub, we set up immersive installations for four of our P*DA Design of the Year 2018 recipients; China Fuzhou Jin Niushan Trans-Urban Connector (Fudao) by LOOK Architects; weatherHYDE by BillionBricks; Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 4 by Changi Airport Group; and Who Cares? by The Care Lab and National Council of Social Service. These projects demonstrate the theme of caring transitions and invited reflection and co-creation around the power of design to create meaningful and impact work, beyond the aesthetics.

At the Service Design Day Summit, our Design of the Year 2018 recipients, Prasoon Kumar from billionBricks as well as Lekshmy Parameswaran and Laszlo Herczerg from The Care Lab spoke to a sold out Summit audience about the impact of design in providing innovative solutions for sustainable futures through meaningful services and products like a women-friendly, all-weather shelter for the homeless and the caregiving toolkit from Who Cares?

In a session titled “Social Start-up: a journey like no other”, Prasoon shared about his journey as the co-founder and CEO for billionBricks. His vision to end homelessness and his seemingly simple principle, “never design poorly for the poor” has driven him from his architect career in India to becoming a social entrepreneur in Singapore, where he co-ordinates efforts across nine countries and 130 volunteers to provide shelters to people who cannot afford homes. To date, billionBricks has served more than 4,000 individuals and families in need of shelter.

In addition to his talk, Prasoon was also invited to conduct a masterclass. He was paired with Adrià Garcia i Mateu from Holon, a collective that looks into advancing the role of design in societal transformations. They conducted a masterclass titled “From problem solving to problem caring” and discussed two case studies that showed how “caring” design interventions could impact housing. The class attendees learned hands-on design tools that could be used to frame and solve complex societal issues. The topic clearly hit a chord; the class was oversubscribed and many attendees stayed back to engage in further discussion.

The Care Lab team also conducted a workshop titled “Designing dementia-friendly communities”, where they highlighted the key challenges and opportunities in designing urban environments for people with dementia. The workshop saw the audience gaining hands-on practical experience in the city of Barcelona using specifically designed tools that enable them to see the world through the lens of care.

At the Roca Gallery Barcelona, Loh Kin Kit represented LOOK Architects to share about the China Fuzhou Jin Niushan Trans-Urban Connector (Fudao). Kin Kit shared some of the surprising possibilities and outcomes that have arisen after the completion of Fudao, examining how design can foster a sense of identity and place and contribute to creating a happier, healthier city. To read an interview of Roca Gallery with Kin Kit, click here!

Watch this space for our highlight video on this event or follow us on social media to find out where our next international stop will be!

** All photos are used courtesy of The Care Lab, Barcelona Design Center, Service Design Days and Roca Gallery Barcelona.”