Biography ( Ken Yeang )

Ken Yeang is a famous green architect. He is a Malaysian architect, born in

1948. He also is an ecologist and author known for his signature ecological green
architecture and masterplans, differentiated by an environmentally authentic ecology-
based approach. He voice out his aim to produce or design and maintain ecosystems like
structures design of the buildings and the systems with integrate benignly and natural
environment but in the relation to global biosphere process through his book “A
Manual For Ecological Design”. He had built the building with a form and systems
function with sensitivity to the locality’s ecology, and contribute positively to
biodiversity. Dr. Ken Yeang had designed Menara Mesiniaga as an example of his
design of the green building and using his principles and his knowledge of bioclimatic
skcraper.

The Guardian newspaper (2008) named him "one of the 50 people who could
save the planet". Yeang's headquarters is in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) as Hamzah &
Yeang, with offices in London (UK) as Llewelyn Davies Ken Yeang Ltd.
and Beijing (China) as North Hamzah Yeang Architectural and Engineering Company.

He is a member of the RIBA and is registered with ARB, PAM (Pertubuhan

Arkitek Malaysia), and Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA). He is a Fellow of the
SIA, Fellow (Hon.) of the AIA (American institute of Architects), Fellow (Hon.) Over
his 35 years of professional practice, he has seen to completion over a hundred projects
on site, including having designed over 50 skyscrapers, with over 12 completed, and
currently three towers in construction.

He is best known as the inventor of the Bioclimatic skyscraper (as a genre of low-
energy skyscrapers based on bioclimatic design principles), and for his novel ideas on
designing the high-rise building type as vertical urban design.

His key built work include the Roof-Roof House (Malaysia), Menara Mesiniaga
(IBM franchise) (Malaysia), National Library Singapore (Singapore), DiGi Data Centre
(Malaysia), Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital Extension (under Llewelyn
Davies Yeang, UK), the Genome Research Building (Hong Kong with ALKF &
Associates), Solaris (with CPG Consult, Singapore), Spire Edge Tower (with Abraxas
Architects, India), Suasana Putrajaya (Putrajaya, 2017).
Q&A: Ken Yeang interview with CNN
(CNN) -- CNN spoke to Ken Yeang, an architect and ecologist, and the principle of the UK
practice of Llweleyn Davis Yeang about his work to combine high rise architecture and
environmental awareness.
CNN: How does being an ecologist relate to being an architect?
Ken Yeang: The ecologist has a much more comprehensive and holistic view of the world.
We're looking at the natural environment as well as the human built environment and the
connectivity between the two -- how do the natural environment and the human-built
environment interact and interface with each other. That means when we design a
building we're not looking at it as an art object by itself. We're looking at its relationship
with the natural environment and how the two interface.
CNN: What's your inspiration behind bringing ecology and architecture together?
KY: Biology I suppose. In my heart I believe that biology is the beginning and the end of
everything. It's the biggest source of ideas, the biggest source of invention. Nobody can
invent better than nature and so if you like nature is my biggest source of inspiration.
CNN: What exactly is eco-design? How are the building designed with these principles
different from regular buildings?
KY: Eco-design is designing in such a way that the human built environment or our design
system integrates benignly and seamlessly with the natural environment. We have to look
at it not just as designing a building as an independent object in the city or in the site
where it's located. We have to look at it in the context of the characteristics of the site in
which it's located, the ecological features and we have to integrate with it physically,
systemically and temporally.
Physical integration means integrating with the physical characteristics of the place: Its
topography, its ground water, its hydrology, its vegetation and the different species on
the particular site. Systemic integration is integrating with the processes that take place in
nature with our human built environment: The use of water, the use of energy, the use of
waste and sewers and so forth. Both the human and the natural must blend together, so
there will be no pollution and no waste. Temporal integration, means integrating the rate
of our use of the resources in the earth and its material, and the rate of replenishment.
CNN: What are the advantages and approaches of the more holistic approach to building?
KY: I think buildings should imitate ecological systems. Ecological systems in nature before
we had human beings you know interfere with them exist in a state of stasis -- they are
self-supporting, self-sustaining.
There are many characteristics in the ecosystem that we could imitate. For instance in
most ecological systems you have a composite, biotic components as well as abiotic
components acting together to form a whole, whereas in a human built environment most
of the components are abiotic or they are inorganic. One of the first things we need to do
is to complement the inorganic components with more organic components, and to make
them interact to form a whole.
If you look into the way that materials are used in an ecological system you'll notice that
you'll find that there is no waste. The waste of one organism becomes food for another
and everything's recycled in an ecological system whereas in our human built
environment there's a throughput system. We use something then we throw it away. But
natural factors don't go away, they have to go somewhere so most times it either ends up
in the ground or has to go to a landfill somewhere. We have to imitate nature and try to
re-use everything we make as human beings or recycle them -- when we cannot re-use or
recycle them we should try to reintegrate them back into the natural environment.
Another process that we should imitate is that in nature the only source of energy is from
the sun. So in ecological systems everything comes from the sun through the process of
photosynthesis whereas now in human built environment our source of energy is from
fossil fuels, renewable, wood energy or hydro-energy but it is not from the sun. So until
we are able to operate and run a human built environment by imitating photosynthesis it
will be a long while before we can have a true eco-system.
CNN: Can the work you do be used to improve the ecology of current buildings?
KY: Yes. We shouldn't just look at new buildings but at existing stock building because
that's an even greater problem than the new buildings being built. The renovation of
existing buildings and making them green is just as important as designing new green
buildings.
CNN: What would you do to an existing building to make it greener?
KY: I think some of the ways we could make these buildings environmentally friendly, is
just common sense. Better use of space, improving the insulation, getting more daylight
into the buildings, reducing the energy consumption of the air conditioning and heating
systems, making sure that the internal air quality is good, that we have increased natural
ventilation opportunities in the mid seasons. You know these are some of the things we
can do.
CNN: Can you tell us a little bit about the EDITT tower in Singapore?
KY: EDITT Tower is a project where we wanted to exemplify all our ideas in one single
building. I should add it is a tower and towers are the most unecological of all building
types. Generally a tower uses 30% more energy and materials to build and to operate
than anther structure, but towers, as a built form, will be with us for a while, until we find
an economically viable alternative. My contention is that if we have to build these towers
then we should make them as humane and as ecological as possible. It's a dirty job but
somebody has to do it.
In the EDITT tower we tried to balance the inorganic mass of the tower with more organic
mass, which means bringing vegetation and landscaping into the building. But we didn't
want to put all the landscaping in one location. We wanted to spread that over the
building, integrate it with the inorganic mass and that we wanted to have it ecologically
connected. So we've put the vegetation from the ground all the way up the building and
that whenever the building.
Then we wanted it to be low energy, so we had photo voltaics in its façade particularly
facing the east and west side and on its roof so it would have its own energy source. We
also wanted to collect water so that we could be independent from the water supply. We
put water collection on the roof, but because the tower has a very small roof area we had
sunshades which were scallop shaped so we could collect rainwater through them as well.
So in many ways it feels like a human made ecosystem in a tower form.
CNN: Do you think cities around the world are ready for this new kind of building? Are we
seeing a move towards better sustainable buildings?
KY: I think planners are aware of this. They've been aware for years but they have not
been able to implement it because their bosses don't let them implement it. So for
instance sustainable urban drainage system is extremely important but a lot of
communities they don't practice it. Low energy design is extremely important and that
low transportation, you know reduced use of cars and better use of public transportation
affects the planning of cities. And so planners all over the world are aware of it, but some
are in a better position to implement it that others.
CNN: How important is it for the future that we introduce and implement new kind of
architecture?
KY: Absolutely important. 100% important, that's something that all designers in the
world have to address today otherwise this millennium will be our last.
CNN: Are you optimistic about the future? What are your hopes and dreams?
KY: Well I'm eternally optimistic about the future. I believe that you know if we are
committed towards it and if we continue to educate people and get the whole world
community to implement green features and aspects in not just the built environment not
just in their lifestyles but in their businesses in their industries then we're heading
towards a green future. So it is a green dream for the future, and as Kermit the frog says
it's not easy being green, but we should try to make it as green as possible.
CNN: Do you think by 2020 we are likely to see buildings of this type in our skyline?
KY: We'll see green buildings long before 2020 -- I think the movement is intensifying.
Within the next 5-10 years we'll see a lot more green buildings being built. Not just
buildings but green cities, green environment, green master plans, green products, green
lifestyles, green transportation. I'm very optimistic.
CNN: How important are these buildings to the future of the world in regards to climate
change?
KY: I think green buildings are extremely important but it's only part of the equation. A lot
of people think that if I put a green building everything is going to be fine, but actually it's
not just the green buildings we need, but green businesses, green governments, green
economics. We have to extend the greening of buildings to our business and our lifestyles
-- that is the most important thing to do next.