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. Design by Democracy
  3. 2049 bombing
  4. See also
  5. 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] It also planned to host touring exhibitions.

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. [2]

Design by Democracy

Design by Democracy was a planned permanent exhibition of technologically-driven art from Singapore and its neighbours, as well as over two dozen tentpole works from China, India, Japan, and South Korea.

While the physical exhibition has been destroyed in the bombing of October 3rd 2049, it still exists as a digital replica in Orbitat, with designated spaces put up for sale and rent as part of a larger experimental art installation. The exhibition involves an interactive space for corbs and their real-life counterparts to meet and interact over their “shared” real estate. Vercoe had cited the work of Marina Abramović, Ruben Östlund, and Joren Wang as inspirations for Design by Democracy’s “invitation to confront the inner landlord.” [3]

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. The shockwave of the explosion forced the lower floors upwards and shattered the glass facade, collapsing the entire structure in less than ten seconds and damaging surrounding buildings.

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. [4] Seventeen people were killed and over two dozen injured. Among those killed were Minister of Home Affairs Nelson Chee, corb influencer Rani Martens, and the in-person avatar of Wang.

Authorities have classified the explosion as an act of terrorism. While no suspects have been named and no individual or group has claimed responsibility, several pundits have suggested that Adira or Five of Swords (FoS) may be responsible. 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.” [5]

An Interpol task force has been assigned to oversee the investigation. Video surveillance shows the foundations of the museum exploding with no delay or warning. Investigators have found traces of ordinary piezorock in the rubble, some of which contained minuscule traces of explosive gas.

Orbitat Inc. released an official statement to express its shock and dismay at the “senseless tragedy,” with CEO Felix Kwee personally distancing the company from the “distasteful and disappointing” online actions of Felicia Kwee. [6]

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. Desjardins, B. (August 2049). “What we know about Orbitat’s new museum gamble.” ArtNet. ↩
  4. Hassan, W. (October 2049). “Explosion rocks DotDesign hours ahead of opening.” The Straits Times. ↩
  5. Yong, M. (October 2049). “Timeline of events: The DotDesign explosion.” The Straits Times. ↩
  6. Lunenfeld, K. (October 2049). “In the wake of tragedy, Felicia Kwee posts Anakin sand meme?!” PopSpew. ↩