President Nathan opens >60 Design Centre
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A volume of “An Inclusive Approach” was presented to
President S.R. Nathan by TP’s Principal & CEO, Mr Boo Kheng Hua. |
A centre dedicated to developing
lifestyle solutions for an ageing
population was officially opened at
Temasek Polytechnic by President S.R.
Nathan in June.
Called the >60 Design Centre, it is seedfunded
by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports. Among its partners are social organisations,
healthcare institutions and business
groups such as SPRING Singapore,
Council for Third Age, Alexandra
Hospital, Jurong Medical Centre, Centre
for Seniors and the Meiban Group Ltd.
Beyond being a think-tank for ideas and
solutions for the elderly in the areas of
habitat, healthcare, communications,
mobility, fashion and lifestyle, the
Centre serves as a conduit of ideas
from conception to manufacture and
implementation. It hopes to create
greater awareness of ageing issues in
industry and the general public in terms
of social design issues.
The official opening also saw the release
of the results of the >60 International
Design Award 2008. In January this
year, the Centre invited students, design
professionals, design firms and the
general public to submit their ideas on
products that can change and enhance
the lifestyles of the elderly. Some 150
design solutions were submitted from
Singapore as well as Hong Kong, China,
Malaysia, Canada and Australia. They
ranged from brain-teasing games, to
practical everyday items such as state-of-the-art locksets and memory aids.
Also as part of the official opening, the
Centre launched the second volume
of the “>60” book series entitled “An
Inclusive Approach”, showcasing ideas
generated by students from Temasek
Design School. |
