2025 · Commercial Project
21 Carpenter Wins Singapore's President's Design Award 2025
WOHA Architects' 21 Carpenter, a boutique hotel built from four conserved 1936 shophouses, was named a Design of the Year at the 15th President's Design Award.
Singapore's President's Design Award, the country's highest design accolade, named seven projects Design of the Year in its 15th edition, presented on 31 July 2025. Among them was 21 Carpenter, a boutique hotel by WOHA Architects in Chinatown that integrates four conserved 1936 shophouses with a contemporary five-storey extension.
- WOHA Architects' 21 Carpenter hotel won Design of the Year at the 2025 President's Design Award.
- Ar. Alan Tay and Gabriel Tan were named the two Designers of the Year.
- Six other Design of the Year projects spanned architecture, product and exhibition design.
Heritage and contemporary architecture in dialogue
The judges cited the project for its dialogue between heritage and contemporary architecture, with large windows drawing daylight into interiors that layer historical storytelling elements against the new build.
The two Designers of the Year
Two Designers of the Year were also named: Ar. Alan Tay of Formwerkz Architects, recognised for two decades of contextually sensitive architecture across Singapore, China and Malaysia, including Cloister House in Malaysia and Al-Islah Mosque in Singapore; and Gabriel Tan of Gabriel Tan Studio and Origin Made, recognised for product and furniture design that bridges traditional craft with brands including Herman Miller and B&B Italia.
The rest of the Design of the Year list
The other six Design of the Year recipients spanned disciplines well beyond interiors: Bird Paradise by Mandai Wildlife Group and RSP Architects, Delta Sport Centre by Red Bean Architects, the KartaCam 2 mapping device by Grab, the School of Tomorrow exhibition by Kinetic Singapore, the Silver Pride Lion Troupe by NextOfKin Creatives, and SJ Campus by Safdie Architects and Surbana Jurong.