EVENT SQUARE AT ORCHARD: AN INTERACTIVE PAD FOR DIGITAL ART MEDIA

Abstract

Singaporeans are ranked as one of the most it savvy people in the region with a very high computer literacy rate of 89%. Digital media hence becomes an excellent tool to push information technology to new heights and increase Singapore’s economic competitiveness. The new medium also focuses on the ‘Renaissance City’ project by the promotion of art education. The tech-savvy citizens, more comfortable with technology than art, will be introduced to digital artforms and ideally start to better appreciate the arts. Digital media can also help nurture and promote talent in this emerging form of art and spearhead Singapore to be one of the digital art pioneers in the region.With increasing competition from bigger and cheaper neighborhood malls, Orchard saw a need to reinvent itself. Hence, to reduce the monotony of endless stretches of mere shopping malls, URA and STB proposed to generate a greater diversity of attractions along Orchard Road. Additional layers of event-generating activities like fashion and art hubs were added in. Event spaces were also enhanced and emphasized in the urban redesigning to improve the pedestrian experience and to create endless day to night activities and ever-changing events. All these will generate interests to both first-time and regular visitors to Orchard Road.An event square along Orchard Road for the interactive form of digital media will enhance the pedestrian experience and become a pause-zone away from the shopping belt. The center will be commercially viable through the provision of spaces for media giants like Apple or Canon that advertise their designer products or art-related events. However, the digital center will not only be a place to merely showcase digital artworks but will also provide spaces for artistic nurturing and creation. The interaction of the artist with the public along Orchard, be he an accidental bypasser or an intentional art patron, is fully emphasized. Such an energetic and highly-charged space of the interactive pad will complement the image and intensity of the site and complement the guidelines set for the revamp of Orchard.