Ken Young

Background

Ken Yang, an architect, environmentalist and author of books, has been successfully engaged in projects that are commonly called “green“ since 1971. He is known as the inventor of the bioclimatic approach to the design of high-rise buildings and is rightfully considered one of the world's leading experts in the field of environmental and energy-saving design.

Ken Yang graduated from the Architectural Association in London in 1971 and received his PhD from Cambridge in 1975. 20 years later, his dissertation was published under the title "Designing with Nature". It presented the most comprehensive principles of building design at that time, not opposing nature, but interacting with it.

He is an Honorary Fellow of Wolfson College (Cambridge), member of RIBA, FAIA, former President of the Malaysian Institute of Architects, Singapore Institute of Architects. Over the six decades of his practice, Ken has conducted an extensive research program that has influenced his work, his writings, and his teaching. His contribution to bringing the ecodesign agenda to the forefront of architectural thinking cannot be overestimated.

His awards include the Aga Khan Award, the Prince Claus Award, the UIA Auguste Perret Award, the LiangSiCheng Award (Architectural Society of China), the Merdeka Award (Government of Malaysia), the Gold Medal of the Malaysian Institute of Architects and others.

His projects include the Mesiniaga Tower (IBM) (Malaysia), Suasana Putrajaya (Malaysia), Solaris Tower (Singapore), the expansion of the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital (London), the master plan of Nitte University (Mangalore, India), the National Library (Singapore) and others.

The Guardian called him "one of the 50 people who can save the planet."