Award Ceremony - ap.hunterdouglas....

Captain At The helmThe successful hosting of the Architects RegionalCouncil Asia (ARCASIA) Forum 11 in Singapore,in September 2001, is one of the highlights ofMr Edward Wong’s tenure as President of theSingapore Institute of Architects (SIA).The event brought together delegates from 16countries in Asia who, among other things,pledged to carefully consider the eternalrelationship between man, architecture andnature, in all matters relating to architecturalintervention.Mr Wong comments on some of the otherimportant issues and his personal interests.Architects and theenvironmentWe believe to some extent that architects arecustodians of the environment. Whereintervention is inevitable, as we need buildingsto facilitate economic progress and improve livingconditions, we are looking to recapture thenatural environment, through the creation ofskygardens, for example. Where roadside treeshave had a strong association with the lives ofresidents living nearby and others, we try topreserve them.Currently, of great interest to us is energyconservation. We are working with the Ministryof Environment to come up with ways to promoteenvironment-friendly buildings. Jointly with theBuilding and Construction Authority, we areevaluating energy-efficient buildings.Mr Edward WongConditions of practiceMy overwhelming concern is to bring aboutconditions of practice to ensure that thearchitectural profession is sustainable.In recent years, a lot of changes have taken place,that have greatly affected the architecturalpractice. For example, the government’s promotionof Design & Build (D&B) has a significant impacton the architectural profession. It virtually requiresmany firms of architects and consultants tocompete for each D&B project,with only onearchitectural firm emerging successful.What I am trying to do, through the CIJC(Construction Industry Joint Committee), is toseek some recompense for the parties thattendered but were unsuccessful.Whilst there is some reason for the Construction21 initiative to point in the direction of D&B, webelieve that it is only one of the methods ofconstruction procurement and is not suitable forall types of projects. A good alternative is theDevelop & Construct (D&C) contract where thearchitect will carry out concept design, up toperhaps the schematic design stage. The clientis assured of what he is getting and can beintimately involved in the concept design. Thenthe project is tendered out. The contractor cansee the client requirements and proposesolutions. The concept architect oversees thearchitectural QC aspects of the project. Thecreativity and synergy between consultants andcontractors are thus ensured. It is the ‘best ofboth worlds’. D&C contracts have been used aRaffles Marina12