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Singapore: Anticipating Asia's future influence on design, BMW Group DesignworksUSA, the California-base strategic design consultancy will open a studio in Singapore early next year. The plans were announced by Dr Helmut Panke, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, DesignworksUSA's parent company, when he met Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Scheduled to open in January 2006, the new branch studio will be housed in BMW Asia offices at Keppel Bay Towers. The latter offers panoramic views of Sentosa, Singapore's resort isle. "The new Asian studio will complement out international network," says Verena Kloos, president of DesignworksUSA. "Being an active part of this pulsating culture enables us to broaden our competencies and strengthen DesignworksUSA's global design leadership."

An emerging centre for design, especially in the areas of architecture, interior design and environmental design, Singapore is strategically located in South-East Asia, and embraces diverse cultures. In addition to an excellent infrastructure, it offers a highly design-proactive environment supported by the Singapore Government.

With more than 50 per cent of the world's population in Asia, the tremendous growth of Asian markets is expected to heavily influence future global markets. DesignworksUSA's presence in this burgeoning region will provide an opportunity to a holistic approach and to develop a base of knowledge upon which the California-based global design consultancy and its parent company, BMW Group, can draw.

BMW Group DesignworksUSA is a premier international design consultancy headquartered in Newbury Park, California, with a branch office in Munich, Germany. Founded in 1972 by designer Charles Pelly, the company was acquired by the BMW Group in 1995.

With a deep understanding of future context, the DesignworksUSA studios bring the highest level of design competence to a broad but select range of premium products including cars, sports equipment, motorcycles, lifestyle products, trains, fashion, airplanes and high-technology devises.