DotDesign Museum

DotDesign Museum
Media
A photo of a waterfront in Singapore, showing the glass facade of a museum sitting in front of a residential tower.

The DotDesign Museum prior to its destruction in 2049.

Established

2046

Location

Pulau Bahru, Singapore

Architect

ROJAK

Type
  • Art
  • Technology
Director

Verity Vercoe

Defunct

2049

The DotDesign Museum, stylised as .design or dotDesign, was a museum on Pulau Bahru, a newly reclaimed waterfront district in Singapore. Scheduled to open on October 3rd 2049 after some delays, the building was destroyed in a large explosion hours before it was set to be unveiled, which authorities have classified as an act of terrorism.

Publicised by the Singaporean government as the face of Pulau Bahru, the museum was designed by ROJAK. Its name was derived from Singapore’s informal nickname: “little red dot.”

Table of contents

  1. History
  2. 2049 bombing
  3. See also
  4. References

History

The DotDesign Museum was initially planned by Singapore’s Ministry of Culture and Community (MCC) as the centrepiece of Pulau Bahru’s development, with a mission statement to feature “future-forward art and technology that transcends boundaries” to promote local and regional innovation and creativity. [1]

The MCC privately solicited various architectural firms for the design of the museum, eventually offering the contract to ROJAK based on its visual proposal for a “webbed brain of glass.” Verity Vercoe was brought on as museum director in 2047, which drew some criticism for hiring a foreign curator to head a local and regionally focused institution. [2]

2049 bombing

A photo of a red-haired woman in a white shirt looking directly at the camera.

Museum director Verity Vercoe is assumed to be among the victims of the bombing.

At 9:30 SGT on October 3rd 2049, a large explosion went off in the foundations of the DotDesign Museum, which was due to open at noon. Many were present at the venue to prepare for the opening ceremony, which would have included a ribbon-cutting event by Prime Minister Limpeh Wong. Over a dozen people have been reported dead, with many more injured. [3]

Authorities have classified the explosion as an act of terrorism, although no individual or group has claimed responsibility. Wong has issued a televised statement in which he condemned the bombing as “an evil, ghoulish attack on innocent people. We will hunt down who did this, and they will answer for the lives they stole.” [4] A possible connection to the assassination of Xu Shaoyong remains under investigation. [5]

See also

References

  1. Tan, S. (July 2049). “Making room for art to breathe.” The Straits Times. ↩
  2. Ang, D. (October 2047). “Tea with SumAIko: Artspiration comes from greener pastures.” The Straits Times. ↩
  3. Hassan, W. (October 2049). “Explosion rocks DotDesign hours ahead of opening.” The Straits Times. ↩
  4. Yong, M. (October 2049). “Timeline of events: The DotDesign explosion.” The Straits Times. ↩
  5. Zeimule, B. (May 2048). “Zhupao Reportedly Invests in Development of Artificial Island in Singapore.” TrendForce. ↩