Dive into the captivating narrative of the book, “Visionary Architects of Monsoon Asia (VAMA)” where Robert Powell, renowned as an Architect, Academic, Artist, and Writer, shares his 40-year odyssey across the landscapes of Monsoon Asia. Through a semi-autobiographical lens, Powell intricately weaves his experiences into a narrative that culminates in profound essays spotlighting the works of five visionary architects hailing from Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. Their collective contributions serve as beacons, guiding us towards a future marked by resilience and innovation.
The Architects
Vo Trong Nghia
Vietnam
Vo Trong Nghia was born in Quang Binh province in Central Vietnam and moved to Japan in 1996 on a Japanese government scholarship. He studied architecture at the Nagoya Institute of Technology and the University of Tokyo’s Landscape and Civic Design Laboratory. He received his Master’s degree in 2004 and returned to Vietnam in 2006 to start his own firm. The buildings of VTN Architects, make reference to the sources and influences of the past. The architect’s principle themes are green architecture and bamboo as a building material. Soon after his early experiments with bamboo architecture Vo Trong Nghia moved on to projects where plants are incorporated in green façades and roofs that work as eco-skins for buildings. Following a sustained recovery from two decades of war (1955-1975), Vietnam has emerged as one of the most dynamic centres of design in Asia. Vo Trong Nghia has been a key figure in this resurgence and his work has acquired an international following.
Andra Matin
Indonesia
Isandra (Andra) Matin Ahmad was born in Bandung in 1962 into a Sundanese family. Architecture was not the profession he initially planned to pursue, but the psychology tests in his final year at high school indicated medicine and architecture were the most suitable majors for him. He was eventually drawn to architectureHis desire to study in Bandung led him to the Architecture Department at UNPAR (Universitas Katolik Parahyangan). Andra Matin established his practice Andramatin . in 1998. It ‘focuses on modern creations that utilize space and reflect their environment’. Andra Matin explains, “Indonesian culture is like an unpolished diamond, and this allows many possibilities – one has the freedom to put one’s imagination to work. Contemporary Indonesian architecture reflects a huge number of cultures on the hundreds of islands in the archipelago and balances local conditions and global inspiration.” Andra Matin has become the leading Indonesian architect of his generation, producing highly innovative master plans and buildings.
Duangrit Bunnag
Thailand
Duangrit Bunnag was born in Bangkok in 1966. He graduated from Chulalongkorn University in 1989 and pursued a Post-Graduate Diploma at the Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA) in London from 1993 to 1995. Bunnag established his own firm Duangrit Bunnag Architect Limited (DBALP) in 1998. In 2013, after 15 years in practice Bunnag acquired and renovated, an abandoned industrial complex in the Khlongsan area, by the Chao Praya river. Renamed The Jam Factory (2013) is has become the benchmark for subsequent river front and cultural development. Working from the repurposed factory on the river front, Bunnag has designed a prolific output of up-market private dwellings, major hotels and international resorts. Duangrit Bunnag is one of the foremost architects in Thailand and has established a reputation beyond Indochina. While garnering numerous awards for individual buildings in rural and coastal locations, he has become a major voice for the sustainable and creative future of historic cities in Southeast Asia.
Tan Loke Mun
Malaysia
Born in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia in 1965 Tan Loke Mun joined the School of Architecture at Deakin University where he graduated in 1987. Shortly after, he embarked on post graduate studies at Melborne University and was awarded his doctorate in 1992. He returned to Malaysia and founded Archicentre Sdn Bhd in 1994. From the outset the firm, “sought to embrace and interpret tropical regionalism in a modern context”. Master planning is an integral part of the Archicentre portfolio. Green cities, walkability and place-making are central principles embodied in Tan’s urban plans. Climate change continues to be the major challenge of the 21st century. Floods, rising temperatures and spontaneous combustion put many populations at risk, non more so than the towns and cities of Malaysia affected by rising sea levels and excessive logging of tropical rain forest and water catchment areas. Tan Loke Mun seeks to address these issues via thoughtful interventions in planning and architecture.
René Tan
Singapore
René Tan spent his childhood in Penang. In 1983 he gained acceptance to Yale University intending to major in music and become a concert pianist. In his first year he developed tendonitis in his hand and he could no longer play the piano as well as before and he took on architecture as a second major. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in music and architecture in 1997 and went on to pursue graduate studies at Princeton where he was awarded his Master in Architecture in 1990. René moved to Singapore in 1996. He connected with Quek Tse Kwang and in 2003 they started RT+Q together. Since its founding, the practice has been exploring architecture as an inter-disciplinary craft that combines both the elusive beauty of art and the rigours of building technology. In 2016, at the Singapore President’s Design Awards, René was named “Designer of the Year” – Singapore’s most prestigious design accolade.
The Author
Robert Powell
UK and Malaysia
Robert Powell was Professor of Architecture in the School of Architecture, Building and Design at Taylor’s University, Selangor, Malaysia. He is now adjunct Professor in the same institution. Professor Powell holds a M Arch from the National University of Singapore and a Dip Arch from Kings College – University of Durham (UK). He is a Registered Architect in the UK and was a Chartered Planner in the UK and Singapore. Prior to joining Taylor’s University he was Project Director and Head of Eco-Masterplanning in the London practice of Dato’ Dr. Ken Yeang. Before that he was Associate Professor of Architecture at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Robert Powell has authored or edited more than 40 books, mostly though not exclusively on architecture in South and Southeast Asia.
Visionary Architects of Monsoon Asia
Author: Robert Powell
Editor: Dr. Tan Loke Mun
Publisher: Atelier International Sdn. Bhd.
Pages: 324 pages Hardcover
Publication Date: January 2024
Retail Selling Price: RM 180
