World Industrial Design Day 2011 Student Poster Competition

To celebrate World Industrial Design Day 2011, design students from Icsid Member Schools are asked to create a poster that illustrates how industrial design improves the lives of individuals and communities around the world. The poster can use photography, illustration, 3D CAD images or any creative visual to capture this year’s theme.

This theme was chosen to gain the public’s perspective on how industrial design impacts their daily lives.

Furthermore, by asking the question “How does industrial design improve your life?” Icsid aims to start a public conversation that will showcase and bring awareness to the crucial and ever-present work being achieved by industrial designers throughout the world.

(中文) 漫遊景賢里 細賞文藝復興建築風

Sorry, this entry is only available in 中文.

(中文) 中大研大埔建教學醫院

Sorry, this entry is only available in 中文.

Undecorate: The No-Rules Approach to Interior Design

Jettison the old rulebooks about home decor and “undecorate” your space.

As the founder and creative director of DwellStudio – which is famous for its brightly colored, graphic textile designs for home furnishings – designer Christiane Lemieux challenges tradition in a quintessentially American way, championing a fresh, unconventional approach to creating a beautiful and comfortable home.

Undecorate profiles twenty homes from all over the country, revealing their owners’ love of imperfection and penchant for surprise and unusual juxtapositions while inspiring readers to follow their own whimsy and practicalities in their personal spaces.

An anglophile creates an English manor in Hollywood, mixing British flea-market finds with midcentury furniture.

A car fanatic turns a vintage Airstream trailer into a master bedroom and situates it in the middle of a vast industrial loft in downtown Chicago.

A couple transforms a log house in Nashville, Tennessee, by blending their modern and eclectic styles with the home’s rustic charm.

Though the designs differ widely, the spaces all express an open-minded attitude. Some homes embrace their contexts, while others transcend them.

All are shaped by instinct and imagination and share innovative ideas that readers can use to organically and elegantly create their home to match their lifestyle and tastes.

What you need to protect your home

HOME prices in Singapore are rising, not only because of economic factors but also because of a range of factors such as location and interior design.

As people devote more of their hard- earned money to decorating their homes, and given that property is possibly the most expensive asset people will own in their lifetimes, it’s not hard to see why we should strive to protect our homes from damage and destruction.

Yet, while many know that purchasing a home-insurance policy is a must, they often compromise on premiums and settle for the most basic of policies.

There is more to consider than just the cost of coverage when guarding against the loss of personal property and possessions at home. A low-cost home-insurance plan typically covers only the building’s structure – more extensive coverage may be needed to provide adequate protection.

But how do we decide which insurance solution to use?

There are basically three types of home-insurance plans, say insurance experts like Great Eastern Life.

Firstly, there is building insurance, which essentially provides coverage for the house’s structure.

Then, there is content insurance, which covers contents inside the house, such as renovations and improvements. This form of insurance may also include benefits like personal-liability and personal- accident coverage.

Finally, there is valuable-articles insurance, which insures highly expensive items such as antiques, paintings, jewellery and luxury watches in the house against damage and theft. This type of insurance is usually offered as optional coverage.

MSIG Insurance said: “If you have high-value possessions, make sure the insurance policy does not cap the values of individual items. If it does, try and increase the values to the level you want.” More comprehensive insurance may also include coverage for the cost of alternative accommodation if a home is damaged by any of the causes listed in the contract, and is no longer fit for accommodation as a result.

“Insurance companies typically offer various types of packaged plans targeted at various market segments, such as owners of Housing Board flats, condominiums, or landed private properties,” said Great Eastern Life.

“Most plans also allow a certain level of customisation of benefits. The sum insured also varies, to cater for the differing needs of each homeowner.”

It is compulsory for all HDB flat owners using mortgage loans to take up at least HDB Fire Insurance, either through an appointed insurer or a private provider.

Such schemes provide only basic coverage for a building’s structure. Renovations and personal effects that may be damaged during a fire are excluded from such coverage – protection for such items need to be purchased separately from insurance companies.

The same practice applies to those living in condominiums.

However, landed private-property homeowners have to arrange for their own insurance, both for the house’s structure and its contents.

“While it is not compulsory for homeowners (except HDB flat owners) to take up home insurance in Singapore, it is recommended as a calamity may result in high costs which owners might not be able to cover on their own,” said insurance giant Aviva.

MSIG advises homeowners to obtain a valuation of their property or household items before selecting a home-insurance plan. Ideally, the sum insured should cover the cost of rebuilding the property or replacing the household items.

“If the sum insured is less than the rebuilding or replacement cost, owners risk not being paid the full value of any claim submitted to their insurer,” said MSIG.

It added: “There is also no point in over-insuring as this will cause an owner to pay more than necessary for his insurance.”

Homeowners might also want to take photographs or make videos of the exterior and interior of their homes, as well as of their valuables in the house, just in case they need to provide evidence when making claims on their insurance policy.

It is important to find out if the insurance payout will be based on the purchase price of the home or household items, or their replacement costs in the event of damage.

“Also, read the insurance contract carefully to find out if the policy specifically spells out what perils are covered and limits claims solely to those events, or if it provides an ‘all-risks’ coverage which insures against all perils, even those explicitly excluded in the insurance contract,” warned Great Eastern Life.

It is important to know exactly what kind of home insurance coverage you are getting; don’t just focus on the premiums you have to fork out.

The insurance company you select should have a sound financial standing and a credible track record for paying claims. Also make sure that a qualified insurance practitioner clearly explains the terms and conditions of the different policies available to you.

You should also check to see if there are ways to reduce policy costs. Buying different types of policies from the same insurer may sometimes help to reduce the combined costs.

2011 Australian Interior Design Awards Shortlist

Design Institute of Australia, designEX and Artichoke magazine announced the shortlist for Australian Interior Design Awards 2011.

The awards recognise and celebrate interior design excellence via a credible, industry-based program.

It received 499 entries this year with residential, hospitality and retail projects remaining strong.

“The calibre of these entries was formidable,” said Joanne Cys, Associate Professor in Interior Architecture at the University of South Australia and past national president of the Design Institute of Australia.

“All on the national judging panel worked long and hard to reach agreement; there were so many designs to feel passionate about.”

The official announcement and presentation of overall winners will take place at the Peninsula in Melbourne on April 15, 2011.