Sustainability Center

Kenneth Yeang

Basics
Degree in Architecture, AA (Architectural Association) School, London; Ph.D. in Architecture, Cambridge University; Director, Llewelyn Davies Yeang (based in London); Director, T.R. Hamzah & Yeang Sdn. Bhd. (based in Kuala Lumpur); Plym Professor, University of Illinois; Adjunct Professor, University of Hawaii; Adjunct Professor, University of Malaya; many other teaching positions.

Awards

  • Prinz Claus Award (Netherlands) Aga
  • Khan Award for Architecture (Geneva)
  • Royal Australian Institute of Architects International Award World Association of Chinese Architects
  • Gold Medal Singapore Government Green Park Platinum Award (for the National Library Singapore).
  • Royal Institute of British Architects Fellow, American Institute of Architects (Honorary) Fellow,
  • Royal Society of Arts Fellow,
  • Singapore Institute of Architects

Recommended reading

  • Groundscrapers + Subscrapers of Hamzah & Yeang by Ivor Richards (2001);
  • Rethinking the Skyscraper: The Complete Works of Ken Yeang by Robert Powell (1999)

Published

  • Ecodesign: Instruction Manual (2006);
  • Reinventing the Skyscraper: A Vertical Theory of Urban Design (2002);
  • The Green Skyscraper: The Basis for Designing Sustainable Intensive Buildings (1999);
  • The Skyscraper: Bioclimatically Considered (1996)
  • and others

Q&A

What started you on the path toward sustainability?

My Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Cambridge (UK) was on ecological design and planning. This became by lifetime agenda.

Who inspired you, or nurtured your talent?

Ian McHarg, Peter Cook, Charles Jencks, Kisho Kurokawa, Alan Balfour, Mohsen Mostafavi, Sim Van der Ryn.

What gives you hope in your industry?

The immense development that has happened in this field over the last 10 years, and the fact that governments are now adopting sustainable practices.

What worries you most in this area?

Misunderstanding about what eco-design is truly about, and the wrongful belief that eco-gadgetry is the answer. True ecological design is the seamless, benign integration of our built environment with the natural environment: systemically, physically and temporally.

What advice do you give to young people who want to make a difference in the world?

Study ecology and environmental biology, and pursue solutions to biointegration.

What is the role of technology in sustainable design?

It contributes to the seamless and benign integration of our human built environment with the natural environment, and offers solutions such as biomimesis (imitating ecosystems by design).