Curated by Prof. Tai Lee Siang, Prof. Khoo Peng Beng, Prof. Dr. Erwin Viray,
Dr. Jason Lim, Dr. Sam Conrad Joyce, Dr. Immanuel Koh

Commissioned by Yap Lay Bee, Group Director (Architecture & Urban Design) Urban Redevelopment Authority;
Dawn Lim, Executive Director DesignSingapore Council

Organised by Singapore University of Technology and Design

Sale D’Armi A, Arsenale, Venice

 

Local consultant and exhibition production

 

 

Celebrating Singapore’s 60^th anniversary, the 2025 Singapore Pavilion reimagines city-making as a dining experience fusing collective intelligence and innovation.

At RASA-TABULA-SINGAPURA, taste Singapore’s diverse heritage. Inspired by Tabula Rasa (Latin for blank slate), the exhibition transforms it into RASA (taste in Mɑlɑy), TABULA (table), and SINGAPURA (Lion City in Sanskrit). Here, the exhibition team wants to honour superdiversity — a mosaic where global traditions hybridise into a uniquely Singaporean identity.

 

Much like generative AI where variational inference condenses complex data into latent space, Singapore channels the flux of people, goods, ideas, and recipes into a vibrant cultural manifold — a robust intelligence shaped by history and geography.

 

 

The menu of urban planning and architectural projects spotlights our unique ingredients, while complementary dishes celebrate social and design innovations from multicultural roots.

 

More than a meal, the exhibition’s table is a forum where policy, history, and participatory design converge.

 

Guided by data and AI, interactive exhibits trace Singapore’s urban evolution over 60 years and beyond.

Taste Singapore! Rasa-Tabula-Singapura!

 

Find out more about the exhibition: singaporepavilion.sg

 

Photo credits: Urban Redevelopment Autohority, Design Singapore Council, Singapore University of Technology and Design
Installation views, Ph. Giorgio Schirato
Opening ceremony, Ph. Giulio Boem