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The newly-elected president of the Malaysia Green Building Confederation (MGBC), Ar Chan Seong Aun, has almost three decades of experience in the building design industry and a career-long love affair with sustainability advocacy.
Chan is the principal architect of Arkitek Daya Seni Sdn Bhd, sitting on the Board of Architects Malaysia since 2011, and serving in various roles in the Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM), including as president (2013-2015).
As one of the founding members of MGBC, he has served as its pro-tem committee secretary general in 2007 and its secretary from 2009, when it was formally registered, until 2011. Chan is a qualified Green Building Index (GBI) trainer and facilitator. He is also a trainer for building information modelling (BIM) and industrialised building system (IBS).
You are considered an expert in sustainability design for architecture and Green Buildings. How did you first get interested in sustainability issues?
I did my master’s degree at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, in sustainable design. The global oil crisis in the 1970s had taught us how important energy is, so the topic of my research was on low-energy school design. I produced a working paper for the New Zealand education board on how to improve sustainability of heating systems in primary schools. I guess my interest in sustainable design continued from there.
You have worked on sustainability tools for the local construction industry, specifically with the development of the GBI. Why is that important for our local building industry?
My first involvement was as a member of the SIRIM committee for the development and update of MS1525:2006, the code of practice on energy efficiency and use of renewable energy for non-residential buildings.
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