The International Forum for Architecture Thesis Design in Taiwan & Southeast Asia was started to promote mutual interaction, discourse and understanding between architecture graduates, academics and practitioners. The annual event comprises (1) an exhibition of graduate works, (2) mutual project reviews, (3) a forum of talks, and (4) roundtable discussions. Through the event, it is hoped that participants may mutually appreciate the specificities and characteristics of Taiwan and Southeast Asian countries, and to direct these forward as we strategize in relation to the future of the education and practice of architecture.
The theme for our fifth forum is “New Interpretive Grounds”. The term “interpret” is presently used to mean “translate, explain or illustrate,” but the word also has the propensity to deepen and broaden its scope to “transcribe, expound and illuminate” the realms around us. Our world at large has witnessed rapid development and urbanisation since the conclusion of World War II in 1945. In the past few years of the Covid-19 pandemic and global unrest, supply chains were disrupted or discontinued, coupled with dwindling natural resources and skilled labour. People around the world have focused their attention on building materials, methods and resources available to them, and the application and use of new technologies and digital processes. The advent of new tools such as BIM, Grasshopper, virtual and augmented reality, Metaverse platforms, artificial intelligence and ChatGPT, has also had an impact on the construction industry and our disciplines of architecture and urban design. How then do we redefine or re-interpret space for the past, present and future? It is timely and meaningful that participants of the various regional countries meet this year to contemplate and understand these issues at our annual forum. Join us in the first week of December 2023 at National Taiwan Science Education Center and Ming Chuan university.
(Keynote Speaker) Taiwan
After graduating from the Department of Architecture in Tam Kang University in 1985, Jay obtained his Master's at Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1990. In 1995, Jay became a certified architect in the State of New York and in 2010, he obtained his architect's license in the Republic of China.
Jay is the principle architect and founder of AxB Architecture Studio. He had taught design studios in Shih Chien Unversity, Tam Kang University and the Master's program in Jiao Tung University. Jay is a resident architect at the National Cheng Kung University.
Having practiced architecture in Taiwan for more than twenty six years, Jay has won the Taiwan Architectural Award five times, the Far Eastern Architecture Award two times, the Distinguished Award for WA China Architectural Awards and also the 2007 Global Young Chinese Architects Award. In 2008, Jay was nominated for the China Architecture Media Awards, and in 2010, Jay was awarded Century Architect of the Republic of China.
In 2008 and 2012, Jay represented Taiwan to participate in the Hong Kong and Sheng Zen Biennale Exhibition. In the same year 2008, he also participated in the Venice Biennale Exhibition. He is nominated as one of La Vie's Ten Creative People in 2014. In 2020, his Hsin Chu Zoo won the 8th Taiwan Landscape Distinguished Award, the 2020 Taiwan Design Best 100 Award and the Japanese Good Design Award. Along with his Shan Wu project, both projects won the Taiwan Architecture Award of Excellence.
(Keynote Speaker) Singapore
Ho Weng Hin is a founding partner of Studio Lapis, an architectural conservation specialist consultancy in Singapore with local and overseas projects. He obtained his specialist postgraduate training in architectural conservation from the University of Genoa, Italy. The studio's work has garnered accolades such as the Singapore URA Architectural Heritage Awards and the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation. Weng Hin is founding chapter Chair of DOCOMOMO Singapore, and a founding board director of the Singapore National Committee of ICOMOS, an advisory body to UNESCO on cultural heritage matters. He is also Bureau Vice President on the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Twentieth Century Heritage (ISC20C).
Weng Hin serves on government advisory committees on heritage policy and planning. He is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Architecture at the National University of Singapore, and recently taught at the inaugural International Course on the Conservation of Modern Heritage organized by the Getty Conservation Institute. He is the co-author of several books including "Our Modern Past: A Visual Survey of Singapore Architecture (1920s-70s)", and former co-editor of the Singapore Architect, the professional journal of the Singapore Institute of Architects.
Philippines
Looking forward to celebrating the college’s centennial anniversary in 2030, Archt. Rodolfo P. Ventura, the Dean of the College of Architecture of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila for the past 7 years, together with his team of administrators and 120 faculty members, has been providing quality education to the 1,800 architecture students in shaping glocally competitive Thomasian architects. This is in keeping with the college’s vision of being recognized as a premiere architectural institution in Asia. The UST College of Architecture has so far produced four Philippine National Artists in the field of architecture, and five internationally recognized architectural firms belonging to the Top 100 architectural design offices in the world. Archt. Ventura is also the principal architect of his own duly registered architectural and engineering design firm, C.A.Ventura and Partners, that has become recognized to deliver comprehensive, efficient, economical and quality design service with diverse projects since 1996, among which are the UST medical simulation building, Holy Name University campus development, beach resorts, various car showrooms and service centers, international food corporation outlets and commissaries, and private residences.
Taiwan
Jeanne Lee received her Bachelor of Architecture at Rhode Island School of Design, Master of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, and Ph.D. at National Chiao Tung University. She is the Associate Dean of the School of Design, and former Chair of the Architecture Department at Ming Chuan University from 2013-2022. In addition, as the Director of the Integrated VR Research Center, she connects rural or Aboriginal community services with architectural design and new media such as VR, AR, and drones. Influenced by her interest in a variety of fields, Jeanne has served on several competitions in various capacities, such as Architecture Master Prize (AMP) Global Jury. She is also involved in numerous committees such as President of International Chinese Architecture Association, General Consultant and co-organizer of Open House Taipei from 2019 to present, member of Ministry of Examination Committee from 2020 to present, New Taipei City Government Department of Urban Development Review Committee, and more.
Thailand
Professor Dr. Rawiwan Oranratmanee Dean, Faculty of Architecture Chiang Mai University (July 2020 – July 2024) Chiang Mai Thailand Email: rawiwan.o@cmu.ac.th Education Background 1992 Bachelor of Architecture, King Mongkut Institute of Technology Ladkrabang 1995 Master of Real Estate and Construction Management, University of Denver USA 2008 PhD in Architecture, Oxford Brookes University UK Work Experiences in the last five years 2022 President, Council of the Deans of Architecture Schools Thailand (CDAST) 2020 Dean, Faculty of Architecture, Chiang Mai University Managerial Board Member of Chiang Mai University Directorial Board Member of Science Park, Chiang Mai (STEP) 2019 Scientific Committee for ICOMOS - CIAV & ISCEAH 2019 Joint Annual Meeting & International Conference on Vernacular & Earthen Architecture towards Local Development, Pinyao, China Scientific Committee for Heritage 2020: International Conference on Vernacular Architecture in World Heritage Sites: Risks and New Technologies, Valencia, Spain. Peer reviewers for several journals and academic publications in Thailand 2018 Expert reviewer for World Heritage Site (Place Name Anonymous) Peer reviewer for Kasetsart Journal of Social Science, Elsevier 2017 Expert reviewer for World Monument Fund (Place Name Anonymous) Peer Reviewer for Sustainable Cities and Society, Sage Publications Peer reviewers for several journals and academic publications in Thailand 2016 to present Editor, Journal of Environmental Design, Chiang Mai University.
Philippines
Paulo G Alcazaren completed his BS Architecture and Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degrees at UP, Diliman. He has a Master’s degree in Urban Design from the National University of Singapore. He has been a practicing design consultant in planning, urban design and landscape architecture for the last 39 years with twelve of those spent in Singapore as head of PDAA Design Pte Ltd. He has been principal planner, urban designer or landscape architect in charge of over two hundred projects in fourteen countries. He is currently head of PGAA Creative Design, Manila. He is a registered and licensed Landscape Architect and Environmental Planner.
L Arch/EnP Paulo Alcazaren is the recipient of several awards for urban design and landscape architecture from the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia. He is also an award-winning writer and photographer with several books and publications to his credit. He was EIC of BluPrint Magazine from 2002-2012 and editor in chief of The Philippine Yearbook for four editions. He writes a regular column in the Philippine Star on architecture, planning, urbanism, and design. In 2016 he won the CCP Gawad para sa Sining award for architecture. In 2017 he won the NCAA Haligi ng Dangal Award for the design of the Iloilo Esplanade. In 2019 he won the DTI/DCP Good Design Award for the Makati Urban Patios Project. His advocacies are in Heritage Conservation, green cities and bringing back parks, open spaces and sidewalks in our cities.
Australia
Dr. John Ting is an architect, researcher and educator at the University of Canberra, Australia, where he is the Course Convenor of the Master of Architecture program. He is also a registered architect and the Director of John Ting Architecture and Research, delivering modern, environmentally responsive and adaptive residential and heritage projects in Australia and Malaysia He researches Sarawak’s architectural and construction history and prefabricated timber buildings in nineteenth century colonial Southeast Asia and Australia, where he examines the influence of vernacular and migrant labour, migration and colonisation on the production of architecture. He is the author of The History of Architecture in Sarawak before Malaysia (Malaysian Institute of Architects, 2018), The Unique Tradition of Timber in Sarawak Shophouses (Fabrications, 2020) and an author and editor of Design and the Vernacular (Bloomsbury, 2023).
Indonesia
Setiadi Sopandi is a professional architect, lecturer, and architectural historian. He is born, raised, living, and practicing architecture in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia. In 2017 he co-founded and chaired arsitekturindonesia.org – a foundation acting as the repository dedicated to collect and publish Indonesian architectural archival collections. He published “Sejarah Arsitektur: Sebuah Pengantar” (Architectural History: An Introduction, published by Gramedia, 2013) – a textbook for Indonesian architectural students, “Friedrich Silaban” (Gramedia, 2017) – an extended biography of the most prominent Indonesian modern architect in the 20th century, acted as guest editor for Docomomo Journal 57, co-edited/ co-produced “Gerak Jakarta: Sejarah Ruang-Ruang Hidup” (forthcoming), and contributed in several publications. His activities in research and publication are orbitted around several shows produced by arsitekturindonesia.org. He co-curated & co-directed several architectural exhibitions, i.e. the Indonesia Pavilion in the Venice Architecture Biennale 2014, “Tropicality: Revisited” in Deutsches Architekturmuseum in Frankfurt (2015), “Friedrich Silaban, 1912-1984” in the National Gallery of Indonesia (2017), “apaituami” (2018), “occupying > modernism” (2019), “Dipl.-Ing. Arsitek: German-graduate Indonesian Architects from The 1960s” (2022), Komodo National Park Visitor Center (2022), “Suatu Hari Yang Baik, 2045” (2023), and “Iravati M. Sudiarso: Untuk Seni dan Negeri” (2023).
Malaysia
Teoh is an Assistant Professor and Deputy Dean at School of Architecture & Built Environment, UCSI University. He obtained his Master of Architecture from CYCU, Taiwan in 2005. Teoh is a member of ICOMOS and specializes in Building Conservation, he involved in historical building restorations works in Malaysia and Taiwan, including Taiping Market, Taiping Shuntak Ancestral Hall, Taichung Railway Station, National Monument- Taipei Guest House etc. His teaching and research focus on the areas of cooperative learning and community engagement. He conducted several design and build community projects, such as Kuala Sepetang ‘Kaktao46’ Community Library, Sungai Buloh Leprosy Story Gallery, Garden Library at Kebun Komunity Rumah Pangsa AU2 etc. He has contributed more than 200+ articles for various media including Sin Chew Daily, MalaysiaKini, Asiaweek, Architecture Malaysia etc on architecture and cultural conservation. Teoh has co-founded a few cultural-based organization including KongsiKL, Colllab etc.
Wen-Chieh Chiu
Ho Weng Hin
Rodolfo Ventura
Jeanne Lee
Rawiwan-Oranratmanee
Paulo Alcazaren
John Ting
Setiadi Sopandi
Teoh Chee Keong
Sustainability and Futures
Rattapong Angkasith(Moderator),
Kamphaeng Rammasut (Group Representative) William Chandra, Peng Ting Liu, Lionel Cruz Li, Adinda Puteri Setiabudi, Cecilia Zi Wen Tan
Place and Narration
Charisse Ong(Moderator),Benjamin Arnold Santiago (Group Representative), Chun Jung Yang, Yung Hsuan Li, Sean Hanyan Loh, Adrian Jiajun Han, Vania Arlene
Borderlands and Community
Bakhtiar Amir (Moderator),
Danny Chin Her Loh (Group Representative), Yu Ting Yen, Yi Kai Tzeng, Pelangi Desias, Ernest Chin, Warattaya Auerchainuwat
Innovation and Reinterpretation
Patrick Cheng Chun Hwang (Moderator),
Li Siang Huang (Group Representative), Ai Wei Kung, Pei Shuan Lin, Kyle Dominic Aguirre, Laphadrada Pandee, Ashley Chen
Chiangmai University
Thailand
Tamkang University
Taiwan
Ming Chuan University
Taiwan
De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde - Philippines
University of Indonesia
Indonesia
Taylor's University
Malaysia
University of Santo Tomas Philippines
National Taipei University of Technology - Taiwan
Tunghai University
Taiwan
University of the Philippines Philippines
National University of Singapore - Singapore
Universitas Pelita Harapan
Indonesia
UCSI university
Malaysia
Chinese Culture University Taiwan
Feng Chia University
Taiwan
Institut Teknologi Bandung Indonesia
Shih Chien University
Taiwan
Chulalongkorn University Thailand
National Cheng Kung University - Taiwan
Chung Yuan Christian University - Taiwan
The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London - Singapore
Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology - Thailand
King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang Thailand
Singapore University of Technology and Design Singapore
Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan
Thailand
Indonesia
Indonesia
Philippines
Malaysia
Malaysia
Indonesia
Philippines
Singapore
Philippines
Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
Thailand
Singapore
Dean of the Dept. of Architecture
Shih Chien University
Associate Professor
Ming Chuan University
Architectural and Urban Historian
Singapore
Associate Professor
Ming Chuan University
Ministry of Education
Republic of China (Taiwan)
Department of Architecture
Ming Chuan University
© 2023 International Forum for Architecture Thesis Design in Taiwan & Southeast Asia