Last week me and eight of my students packed up and headed to Singapore for a five days study trip. Our first stop was the newest mall on Orchard Road - ION Orchard where they had a tour by the Art Director to understand the design from the overall layout, retail units and their art collection. After an interesting lunch trying the local cuisine, the group walked along Orchard Road looking at the many retail outlets and discussing their design.

The next day the students visited Raffles Design Institute where they met Prof Louis who gave them a tour of the campus and introduced them to their RDI classmates. This was a motivating visit and their inspiration was enhanced by a visit to the International Furniture Fair afterwards. On show were new and current items of furniture, materials and supplier information. The evening was spent wandering along Haji Lane and taking in its ambience.

The following day was the financial district where the students spent the morning sketching, visiting sites such as The Fullerton Hotel and also catching a glimpse of the iconic Merlion transformed into ‘The Merlion Hotel’, an installation by Japanese artist Tatzu Nishi as part of the Singapore Biennale. Next was the incredible Marina Bay Sands where our group was invited to the top floor to observe their 150m long infinity pool set atop the world's largest public cantilevered platform which overhangs by 67m.

Safely back on solid ground, the next day was a trip to IKEA where the students filled their sketchbooks with floor plans and perspectives of room layouts, furniture and lighting before hitting the shop.

The final day was spent looking at the Singapore library and its outdoor study areas, the famous Raffles Hotel and then a trip to the stationary and book stores before catching the MRT to the airport. Back at college now and only a week until final presentations. The students are motivated and ready to complete their projects, inspired by their experiences in Singapore!