In Search Of A Greener Future

Eco-minded architectural firms in Asia are leading the way through their works of sustainable design and earth-friendly practices.

- Olha Romaniuk

Sustainable design in Asia may have lagged behind the Western countries during the last decade, but Asian architects and designers have certainly caught on to the green agenda since then. The green movement in Asia today is seeing a significant acceleration in sustainable design practices and the state of green building in Asia is looking brighter than ever.

Doing their part to keep the planet liveable, more and more architectural and design firms all around Asia are tackling design projects with an emphasised focus on minimising the environmental impact through the use of renewable materials, passive design solutions, sustainable planning and contextually appropriate responses. These key heavy hitters are taking the green movement into their own hands, challenging the conventions of design and embracing innovation to pave the way in imagining sustainable cities of the future, one building at a time. Here are a handful of worthy Asian architectural firms who look to the future as a greener, more sustainable environment we need to pass on to the next generation.

WOHA, SINGAPORE

A well-known name worldwide, Singapore-based WOHA and its work have become synonymous with green architecture. Founded by Wong Mun Summ and Richard Hassell in 1994, the firm has been filling the skylines of Singapore and beyond with buildings that look more like vertiginous gardens than typical glass-and-steel structures so common in urban environments. While WOHA’s signature projects include Parkroyal on Pickering and Oasia Hotel Downtown in Singapore, the firm has been setting new benchmarks for sustainability regionally as well – most notably, with the recently completed Sky Green development in Taichung, Taiwan and the yet-to-be unveiled Singapore Pavilion for the Dubai 2020 World Expo.

SERIE + MULTIPLY, UK/SINGAPORE