Kuala Lumpur Design Forum (KLDF) 2013

 

Kuala Lumpur Design Forum (KLDF) 2013: Sheila Sri Prakash, the Chief Architect of Shilpa Architects has been invited by the Malaysian Institute of Architects / Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia (PAM) to speak at KLDF 2013 being held on the 20th of June. KLDF is PAM’s annual international architectural design conference that is both a platform for discourse and to showcase exemplary works of architecture from all over the world.

The theme for KLDF 2013, ‘deFUNCTIONAL’, features a discourse of design that explores two very contradicting terms, defunct and functional which calls for a reflective thinking and re-thinking of design. While functional is commonly known as ‘fit for purpose’, defunct, being synonym to terms such as bygone, bypast, extinct, departed, expired and vanished, brings together a range of negative connotations of useless-ness. The question is: How can designers make defunct design functional? Positioned within the contemporary practice of design by which sustainability is an imperative, this question is relevant and indeed significant. The exploration of defunct-ed design through assemblages of all sorts has the propensity to offer designs that are rich, varied and innovative. This design forum offers a discourse on the complexity between defunct and functional as the premise of design thinking by which a whole new and stimulating body of work emerged, one that is beyond the expiry of design.