By deploying planet-friendly processes that minimise the negative effects of growing a city, these architects and engineers promote responsible building
The creation of built environments has an impact on the planet, among them the production of greenhouse gas emissions and waste related to construction processes. Seeking to reverse these negative effects, the innovative builders on Asia’s Most Influential list implement sustainable ideas in their architectural projects. These include the green retrofitting and adaptive reuse of existing structures—practices that reduce the consumption of energy and water and the production of waste. Above all, when building their green towers, public spaces and communities, they place the Earth at the centre of their vision, ensuring that, as the city grows, the planet thrives, too.
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Wong Mun Summ and Richard Hassell, co-founding directors, WOHA Architects (Singapore)
Through WOHA Architects, Wong Mun Summ and Richard Hassell explore architectural solutions that address climate change, population growth and urbanisation in Singapore, Australia, China and South Asia. Today, the pair, who met while working at Kerrry Hills Architects in the ’90s, has built some of the best examples of how architecture can successfully incorporate the ideals of sustainability (green energy, water collection, food production) in a master plan or public space like its projects, the Punggol Digital District or the Parkroyal on Pickering. Dedicated to its design philosophy, the Singapore-based firm has even devised a rating system that covers key green ratios in its creations, including green areas, community spaces, civic generosity, ecosystem contribution and self-sufficiency.
The firm is currently working on the Pan Pacific Orchard, a 23-storey garden hotel with landscaped terraces and amenities stacked on top of each other, as well as the BRAC University Campus, which features a water court that helps cool air. Last year, WOHA’s recent projects were featured in WOHA: New Forms of Sustainable Architecture, a compendium of the firm’s ideas for building with the planet in mind.
Read Wong Mun Summ’s and Richard Hassell’s full profiles on Asia’s Most Influential