TO inspire young designers to elevate their creativity and ideas to create outstanding professionals in the architectural as well interior design industry, Nippon Paint Malaysia has been organising The Asia Young Designer Awards (AYDA) for the past 13 years.
The latest 2020 AYDA which was held virtually and a collaboration with IJM Land Bhd, saw Dayana Aripin from University Sains Malaysia and Lim Yee Fah from Taylor’s University grabbed first place, as gold winners in the architectural and interior design categories respectively.
The theme “Human-Centred Design” encouraged designers to further explore their problem-solving skills by developing designs that is intuitive to its intended users’ needs and wants.
Both the Malaysian winners stand a chance to advance to the regional level of the competition where they are in the running to be sent on a once-in-a-lifetime 6-week-all-expense paid Design Discovery programme at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in Boston, USA. This follows the establishment of the Gennosuke Obata Fellowship at Harvard, an esteemed partnership that provides both parties with the opportunity to exchange cross-cultural ideas and values.
Gold Award winner Dayana Aripin realised an opportunity to uplift the lives of her fellow Penangites as they were facing gentrification due to the rapid development of urban areas and change demography within the local community. She developed a design that not only revitalises the heritage and culture of Penang but also provided affordable homes as she believes these issues can be solved through micro-housing in pocket spaces within the heritage zone.
Meanwhile, in the Interior Design category, Gold Award winner, Lim Yee Fah’s proposal entitled, ‘Wo.Men’, is a refreshing take on an empowerment centre that equips women with life training skills and doubles as a center of refuge for single mothers and women who had suffered abuse and domestic violence. ‘Wo.Men’ or ‘ 我们 ’ which means ‘us’ in Mandarin is envisioned to be a safe haven for women and a fresh start for all who seek to learn, grow and heal.
“AYDA is more than just a competition, it is a platform that nurtures the future generation of designers, allowing them to reach their fullest potential,” said Nippon Paint Malaysia’s group managing director Yaw Seng Heng.
AYDA is supported by the Ministry of Education Malaysia (MOE), Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM), Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Youth Malaysia (REHDA Youth), Malaysian Institute of Interior Designers (MIID), Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB) and Malaysia Green Building Confederation (MGBC).
“This platform was initially conceptualised to be gathering of like-minded individuals who sought to pool their resources and share their collective vision, to leave behind a brighter future,” Yaw commented.
“We believe that AYDA will continue to be a platform where young designers can learn and grow their talents to the next level.” – Jan 31, 2021
