FuturArc Forum 2008 goes to Vietnam
The FuturArc Forum in Vietnam saw a turnout of 200 participants. These attendees came with one sole purpose in mind—to work towards a more sustainable built environment.
FuturArc Forum 2008 was held on 14 March in Vietnam with experts on green building from around the world calling for action on sustainability. The forum is being held by FuturArc journal’s publisher, BCI Asia, in eight cities across Asia Pacific with expected participation by 4,000 architects, engineers and property developers as well as students of these professions.
 Kazuo Iwamura of Japan’s Musashi Institute of Technology started the forum by examining the forces behind the global green building movement. Next, Dr. Deo Prasad, Director of the Sustainable Development Program at the University of New South Wales, covered the principles and fundamentals of green design, focusing mainly on the designed product. FuturArc’s Chief Editor, Dr. Nirmal Kishnani, then described the greening process, highlighting five myths of green buildings. Eric Ng of Carrier China talked about building green from the perspective of a heating, ventilating and air-conditioning manufacturer. Michael Vong of Surbana International Consultants Pte Ltd in Singapore then presented two case studies featuring highly sustainable designs and concepts. Subsequently, Dr. Tran Quoc Thai of the Hanoi University of Architecture touched on sustainable architecture from a cultural viewpoint. David Lee of Daewon Construction Co., Ltd then spoke on incorporating architectural planning and design into practice. And rounding up the day’s talks was Thor Kerr, Managing Director of BCI Asia, who presented results of a ground-breaking survey of green building markets in Vietnam, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. The speakers’ presentations will be made available on the FuturArc website at www.futurarc.com.
As one of the jurors, Dr. Nirmal Kishnani also presented the highlights and results of the inaugural FuturArc Prize design competition held from 15 October 2007 to 15 January 2008. Attracting a strong international field of entrants, the competition called for green building designs on one of three development sites in Malaysia, the Philippines and Australia. Prizes for the winner of the Professional Category include SGD12,000 cash and SGD10,000 worth of design software; the winner of the Student Category receives SGD3,000 cash and SGD6,000 worth of design software. All prizes are sponsored by Autodesk.
 A dinner was held after the forum to recognize the 10 most active architectural firms in Vietnam. The firms in the BCI Asia Top 10 2008 for Vietnam are Archetype Vietnam Ltd., Archipel Ltd., Campbell Shillinglaw and Partners, (VN ) Ltd., Fosup-VHP Holdings Co., Indochina Consultancy Holding Co., NQH Architects Co., Ltd, Ong & Ong Co., Ltd., Transform Architecture Co. Ltd., TT-Associates Architecture and Construction JSC (TT-Associates), and VNCC-Vietnam National Construction Consultant Corporation.
The Vietnam forum’s Platinum sponsor is Carrier Vietnam Limited and Gold sponsors are Vietceramics, Quan Dat Co. and APC-MGE. The Top 10 Awards sponsors are Autodesk, Legrand, Dow Corning, Nippon Paint and Philips.
The FuturArc Forum will be moving on to Thailand next on 18 March where green experts from around the world will once again take the stage in addressing sustainability issues. |
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Biography |
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Dr Deo Prasad, PhD is Director of the Sustainable Development Program at the University of New
South Wales. He has worked on milestone projects including Australia's solar village, Sydney
Olympics, advanced tools for building performance assessments, emerging green building
technologies and numerous other projects. He has published in excess of 150 key papers in this
field including books such as Designing with Solar Power (EarthScan commissioned by IEA),
Energy Efficient Australian Housing (AGPS) and Global Warming and the Built Environment
(FPSpon). He has directed the UNSW Centre for Sustainable Built Environments for 12 years. Dr
Prasad sits on many boards and committees internationally in this field (Canadian Net Zero Energy
Buildings Network, Korean Eco-Peace Leadership Foundation, Tongji Institute of Environment for
Sustainable Development, Shanghai, Special Committee on Urbanisation at UNEP, Bangkok,
International Solar Energy Society (Freiburg), Standards Australia Committee on Energy Efficient
Buildings and many more). He has won the Australian National Innovation Award and the NSW
Government 2004 Green Globe Award as well as the 2006 Royal Australian Institute of Architects
National Award for his contribution to the research and design of sustainable buildings. |
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Dr Nirmal Kishnani, PhD is Chief Editor of the FuturArc journal. He is both an educator and
practitioner in the area of green buildings, and presently teaches at the Department of
Architecture at the National University of Singapore. He has lectured and written widely on the
subject of greening Asia and has been a consultant to projects across the region, most recently
as head of a sustainability unit operating from Singapore. |
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David Lee is the General Architectural Manager of Daewon Construction Co., Ltd. He was
Chairman of G & G International Developments INC in Canada and Gaye Architect Co.,
Ltd in Korea. His design policy is to be simple, effective, and friendly with the environment.
With 15 years of experience in Korea, he is a well-known architect in designing apartments.
Specifically, he has researched and set up many log-houses, which are in harmony with the
environment in Korea and other Asian countries.
During his four-year stint in Canada, he came up with a new concept for apartment buildings and
townhouses, introducing a new lifestyle which combines Oriental and Western architecture, and
targets on green architectural space. He has since designed many projects which are highly
influenced by that concept.
The D-city, which is the first 210-hectare sea-extended project in Vietnam, is one of his great
successes. Mr Lee has plans to set up a new company in Vietnam early next year. |
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Eric Ng is currently the International Sales Director of Carrier China based in Shanghai.
He has worked in the HVAC industry for 30 years with rich experiences and expertise in
system design, equipment application and total system solution initiatives. In the last five years,
Mr Ng has led the new products development in Carrier China with priorities to phase out the
HCFC refrigerant and to improve efficiency. |
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Michael Vong graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1992 and has been
practicing architecture for the past 15 years. In 2003, Mr Vong joined Surbana International
Consultants as Project Director responsible for the design and construction of numerous housing
projects. He is currently the Deputy Director for the Architectural Division and the Operations
Director for the Middle East/South East Asia Division, in charge of over 200 architects
and draughtsmen. |
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Kazuo Iwamura, M.E. is a Professor in the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies at
the Musashi Institute of Technology in Japan and the CEO of Iwamura Atelier Co., Ltd. He
is also chair of ARCASIA’s Committee for Green & Sustainable Architecture, UIA Councilor of
Region IV (Asia + Oceania), Director of the UIA Work Programme Architecture for a Sustainable
Future and a member of the board of the World Green Building Council. |
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Dr Tran Quoc Thai is the vice-head of the Architectural Theory and Heritage Conservation
Division, Faculty of Architecture at Hanoi University of Architecture. With 11 years of experience
lecturing on architectural design theory and sustainable architecture, he was one of the
leading coordinators for the India NASA Congress, “Building Energy Conservation” in 1995 and
National Expert for Project development phase, “Energy-efficiency Improvement in Commercial
and High-rise Residential Buildings” in 2006. |
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