AD: How did your journey into a career associated with nature and greening begin? VS: I grew up in a kampong where everything was outdoors. I would be climbing trees, running around farms, using my hands to do everything and trying to understand nature. I wasn’t shy of the outdoors and I also wasn’t shy […]
Yu Kongjian | Design as a policy driver HB: What do you see as the role of landscape architecture in Asia today? Why does the profession matter? YKJ: Landscape architecture plays a key role in making countries sustainable. In Asian cities and China in particular, it is about death and life—the art of survival. We […]
HB: You’ve pioneered ecological design in Asia and paved the way for transformation of the design industry. What, in your view, is the importance of ecological design in Asia, and what does it demand of the designer? KY: What we as human beings do is that we go on the earth and any part of […]
BJ: You were the keynote speaker at FOAID, one of the biggest architecture and design conferences in India. Why do you think most of these conferences happen in an echo chamber where we are only talking amongst ourselves? Why aren’t we making the effort to reach out to other professional communities, which are constantly impacting […]
NA: Most of your projects are contextual. Your buildings respond to the site—its topography and the climate, more than anything else. I’d like to know what Green architecture means to you. SP: I feel for it in every way that you can. So the whole premise of design starts merely from there. In warmer regions, […]
CL: There is a line on your company website that says, “We hope to create a healthy environment which eliminates the boundary between human and nature.” What is your working definition of nature? YC: It is more about sunlight, wind… solar radiation, wind flow, seasonal changes in temperature and humidity—that’s a very big part of nature, as well as […]
CL: WOHA won the Design of the Year at the President’s Design Award last night (17 July 2018) for Oasia Hotel Downtown, so it was interesting to see you referencing their project in your talk this morning. TB: That is wonderful to hear and very well deserved. WOHA’s work is inspiring and gives the world a sense […]
BJ: You have built a multidisciplinary practice, which deals with multiple facets of sustainable development in India and abroad. From water management and landscapes to architecture and restoration, you have worked on a myriad of projects in the past. Why and how did you set up such a practice? MR: I will start with answering the why because the how […]
HB: The scope of work you undertake is really wide-ranging, from affordable housing and neighbourhood plans to studies, exhibitions and publications. How do you determine which projects to undertake? Is there a specific goal or objective behind your work? ME: We are interested in neighbourhoods—how they grow, how they are shaped internally by the people living in them, and […]
BJ: You have been working in the area of Green buildings for over 20 years. How would you assess the impact of Green buildings, as we have come to define them today, on driving actual sustainable development? TT: The general awareness about Green buildings has definitely increased, but whether this has led to any ‘sustainable’ development […]
HB: What led you to set up a SHAU office in Indonesia? DS: We actually got our first projects in Indonesia through exhibitions. After the IABR in 2009, we continued exhibiting other urban architecture ideas, which got the attention of the Indonesian Diaspora Network. They put us in touch with several ministers, which led to meeting […]
LM: How has your background in architecture/urban planning impacted the way you look at the city and its problems? TR: In a way, my background has helped me position my decisions around people. Prioritising their well-being and comfort is an important takeaway from my academic training and experiences in government service. I combine this approach with the […]
