Design works: Green is the new black

Convinced that green building practices and advanced technological developments are the way forward,  the Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM),  organisers of the annual architecture and design event DATUM: KL 2010, have chosen the theme “Second Nature” to try to shift people’s perception towards nature and the way it interacts within an urban setting.

PAM president Boon Che Wee tells City & Country this year’s theme “aims to look at our evolving relationship with nature and how design is re-establishing its critical role as the mediator between the technological world and our natural environment”.

The framework, he says, is being laid for a unique new ecology which sees human rituals being drastically restructured by man-made interventions and cultural products.

Boon expects Malaysian architects to continue “to make a great deal” of green and sustainable developments as they constantly strive to keep up with the times with respect to both design trends and technical issues.

The three-day DATUM conference this year from July 1 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre will  feature thought-provoking lectures by international architects and designers.

On the sideline of DATUM  will be the Kuala Lumpur Design Forum (KLDF) comprising a series on talks highlighting design trends and innovations. There will also be a Green Building Forum that will discuss critical green technologies for building design.

“It is important to acknowledge that green practices, architecture and design are taking on major positions in the New World Order. Therefore, these domains need to be championed at every opportunity,” Boon says.

Last year, DATUM attracted some 2,250 participants.

Among the lineup of speakers this year are: Ko Shiou Hee from Singapore,  Charles Renfro from the USA,  Alejandro Zaera-Polo from the UK and Daan Roosegaarde from The Netherlands. Read on for an insight into the four.

This article appeared in City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 812, June 28-July 4, 2010