K GS M
Serina Hijjas is perhaps one of the most dynamic women personalities on Malaysia’s sustainability front. Her internship with Foster + Partners in London had taught her the basic belief in technology, architecture, sustainability and collaborative thinking. Currently, she is Director of Hijjas Kasturi Associates, an architectural design firm founded four decades ago by her father, Hijjas Kasturi, who is known as the father of Malaysian architecture of the second half of the 20th
century. The firm’s design philosophy embodies three central ideas, namely morphology, sustainability and experimentation within the local cultural and environmental contexts. It rests on the belief that designs should never be prescriptive and should always incorporate responsive sustainability as a holistic architectural and urban design solution. Through responsive sustainability, each project constitutes a specific response to the potential of the building’s programme and its site to improve sustainable outcomes and prevent ecological harm.
Besides running her firm, Serina is also Vice President of the Malaysia Green Building Council and Chair of the Green Building Index (GBI) Accreditation Panel.
Talking to Ganga Rathnayake, Director and Co-founder of Robust Architecture Workshop (RAW), based in Colombo, Sri Lanka, feels like a ‘homecoming’. Perhaps it’s in the way she patiently and thoughtfully conveys her points of view that gives one a deep sense of comfort and ease.
Ganga pursued her architectural education at the University of Moratuwa in Sri Lanka, where she obtained a
B.Sc. in Built Environment (1997) and a
M.Sc. in Architecture (2000). For the latter, she won the Prof. K.R.S. Peiris Design Award given to the best designer in the thesis programme. Ganga harnessed her professional experience at the Melbourne-based architectural practice McGauran Giannini Soon (MGS), where she spent six years working on both architecture and urban design projects. She credits MGS for reinforcing her design focus on community- and process- centred architecture with a strong emphasis on sustainability.
Maria Warner Wong loves trees and taking long walks in nature. As Design Director and Co-founder of Warner Wong Design and WOW Architects, she is no stranger to Green architecture and regenerative design, and her passion for the natural environment resonates strongly with her firm’s eco-focused projects and philosophy on sustainable architecture.
Committed to promoting sustainable design and education, Maria has taught sustainable architectural design at the National University of Singapore and the Singapore University of Technology and Design, as well as served on the NUS/RIBA Accreditation Committee. She has published on the topic of sustainability and represented WOW as a founding member of the Singapore Green Building Council. Maria served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Singapore American School from 2008-2015. She began to study Architecture at Universidad Anahuac in Mexico City and completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Southern California. Maria earned a Master of Architecture from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University in 1991. In 2007, Maria was the recipient of the prestigious Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Award, an international award that recognises exceptional women in business who have made a significant contribution to their profession.
FUTURARC 91
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114
