SIA Conference 2017

Date: 4 October 2017
Company: Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA)

The SIA Conference 2017 was an open platform for conversations between local and overseas architects and academics on the issue of “Building Agency” through presentations and panel discussions as the industry and students gathered together to discuss the impact of architecture in the city and the importance of engaging the multiple stakeholders in the conception, production, inhabitation and maintenance of architecture. The conference on 4 October was held at ArchXpo 2017 for trade professionals.

SIA President Ong Tze Boon started off the conference with a welcoming address and Archifest Director Eunice Seng provided an introduction. Liu Pao Chuen, Advisor, Ministry of National Development & National Research Foundation, Prime Minister’s Office) was the keynote speaker.

The first panel, The Built Environment and Building Agency, addressed the practice and education of the architect in terms of his/her roles and responsibilities in the built environment, as well as the purpose of leadership in design research and practice. Panellists as well as leaders in architectural education and practice were invited to reflect upon these questions in the contexts of the present and future city.

Rita Soh, Managing Director of RDC Architects, commented on how agency is about impacting change. She believes in the need to have all buildings designed sustainably, with good environmental comforts for its occupants as well as responsible use of natural resources. Nasrine Seraji, AA dipl RIBA, founder and principal of Atelier Seraji Architectes et Associés (asaa) and Professor and Head of the Department of Architecture at The University of Hong Kong, spoke about how architecture is an imagination and abstraction of reality and how a ‘good’ space makes people think differently. Puay-peng Ho, Professor of Architecture and Head of Department of Architecture, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore, elaborated on inclusive architecture and how agency is about empowerment and participation.

The second panel focused on and how architects and architecture have the power to facilitate, cultivate and empower communities. Three emerging Southeast Asian architects—Peter Sim, Director, FARM, Singapore; Eleena Jamil, Principal, Eleena Jamil Architect (EJA), Kuala Lumpur; and Twitee Vajrabhaya, Principal, Department of Architecture Co, Bangkok—reflected upon these challenges through their collaborative architectural practices and projects.

The last panel contemplated the building up of a critical design practice that is conscious of the disciplinary, social and environmental responsibilities of architects and their practices. The panellists—Richard Hassell, Co-Founding Director, WOHA, Singapore, and Brigitte Shim, Principal, Shim-Sutcliffe Architects and professor at John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, University of Toronto—discussed the challenges of sustaining a meaningful, relevant practice against the onslaught of rapidly changing technologies and trends.