Ken Yeang

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Dr. Ken Yeang (Chinese: 杨经文/楊經文; pinyin: Yáng Jīngwén) is a prolific Malaysian architect and writer best known for developing environmental design solutions for high-rise buildings in the tropics.

Life and career

Dr. Ken Yeang (Chinese: 杨经文/楊經文; pinyin: Yáng Jīngwén) is a Malaysian architect and ecologist whose planning and designs have had the constancy of the theoretical framework of ecological, bioclimatic and energy efficiency for almost 40 years. Beginning his architectural practice in l974, Yeang continues his research and designs to further this theory for architecture around the world. In addition to a fulltime practice that encompasses large scale projects, skyscrapers, and ecomasterplanning, Yeang has been a prolific writer of books about ecodesign and a visiting scholar at universities in Australia, China, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Born in 1948 Penang, Malaysia, Yeang attended Cheltenham College in Gloucestershire, England, received his first degree in architecture from the Architectural Association in London, and received a PhD in ecological design from Cambridge University. His dissertation was entitled, "A Theoretical Framework for the Ecological Design and Planning of the Built Environment".

As a principal in T. R. Hamzah and Yeang in Kuala Llumpur, Malaysia, since 1975, he was instrumental in developing the design of low energy skyscrapers. As a result of his energy conserving innovations, Yeang has designed skyscrapers in London, Singapore, Kuwait, Canada, China, Turkey, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. The firm has also designed master plans for both sites and multi-building complexes in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, and China.

In 2005 Yeang became a director of the old and venerable English firm of Llewelyn Davies Yeang. It is a multidisciplinary firm of urban designers, architects, and landscape architects with headquarters in London. The combined firms of Llewelyn Davies Yeang and T. R. Hamzah and Yeang have offices in London, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, Shenzen, and Sydney.

Theoretical basis of work and impact on architecture and the environment

Ken Yeang is a man of our time. He recognized 40 years ago that world population, industrialization, and technology would continue to increase, and the resulting global warming and increased contamination of the environment would adversely affect the natural balance of biodiversity and ecosystems. Applying the ecology based approach to master planning of one of his mentors, Ian McHarg, Yeang has successfully applied those principles to architecture. His architecture projects all represent his constant pursuit of ecodesign. Yeang’s buildings feature low energy usage, eco-land bridges, vertical landscaping, ecocells, light shelves, light pipes, skycourts, stepped terraces, vertical linked enclosed atria, windscoops, bioswales, and deep green architecture. They are designed to minimize disruptions with the adjoining ecosystems and to maintain the sensitive ecobalance. In fact, he has a number of patents pending for ventilaton engineering.

Ken Yeang’s single minded pursuit of ecodesign through his own architectural designs and writings for close to 40 years has influenced countless architects all around the world, as professionals in a wide range of fields are focusing their attention to innovating ways to mitigate and minimize the negative impacts of global warming, environmental pollution, depletion of nonrenewable energy sources, and practices that jeopardize land, air, water, and biota in our ecosystems.

Because ecodesign in the l970’s did not have the benefit of research or academic theoretical models and frameworks, Yeang did his own research, design, and development of ecological processes that could be replicated in manmade structures. As a result, he has written several books on ecological design, including Designing with Nature (1995 McGraw-Hill),The Skyscraper, Bioclimatically Considered: A Design Primer (1997 John Wiley & Sons)), The Green Skyscraper: The Basis for Designing Sustainable Intensive Buildings (1999 Prestel), Reinventing the Skyscraper: A Vertical Theory of Urban Design (2002 John Wiley & Sons), Ecodesign: A Manual for Ecological Design (2006 Wiley-Academy), and Eco-Masterplanning (2009 John Wiley & Sons), Eco Design Dictionary, an Illustrated Reference with co-author Lillian Woo ( 2009 Taylor and Francis, London), and is currently co-authoring with Ms. Woo Ecomimesis: Ecological Design for the Built Environment Using Natural Processes as a Model.

There have been a dozen monographs of Yeang’s work between l989 and a forthcoming publication in 2010.

Yeang has lectured at many schools of architecture and conferences in over 30 countries. He has been Professor or Practice at Texas A & M University; Distinguished Plym Professor at the University of Illinois; Graham Willis Chair Professor, University of Sheffield; Provost’s Distinguished Visiting Scholar, University of Southern California; Advisory Professor, Tongji University (Shanghai), Honorary Professor, University of Hong Kong, and Adjunct Professor at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, University of Hawaii, University of New South Wales, Curtin University (USA), University of Malay, Deakin University (Australia).

He has also mentored senior design students at the University of Hong Kong; University of Nebraska; Louisiana State University; Illinois Institute of Technology; University of Cardiff (Wales); University of Sheffield (UK); University of Newcastle (UK);, Deakin University (Australia); Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (Australia), University of New South Wales (Australia); and National University of Singapore.

Honors and exhibitions

There have been 18 exhibitions of Yeang’s bioclimatic works, from Tokyo to Berlin to New York, London, Chicago, Washington, DC, and Rotterdam dating from l985 through 2008. Yeang and his ecodesigns have been featured in a number of special broadcasts, including BBC television and radio, NHK (Japan) and Asia Discovery Channel, and Public Broadcasting System’s design=e2 in which he was specifically identified as one of three architects in the world who have the greatest influence on ecodesign. Yeang began garnering awards for his designs in l989, and since then he has been recognized for his extraordinary designs with over 35 awards, including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for his Menara Mesiniaga. In 2003 Yeang was awarded the Government of Malaysia’s Danjah Mulia Pangkuan Negen (DMPN) that carries with the official title of Dato. This is the Malaysian equivalent of a UK Knighthood.

Major projects

• Plaza Atrium, Kuala Lumpur, 1981
• Menara Boustead, Kuala Lumpur, 1986
• Menara Mesiniaga building in Subang Jaya Selangor, Malaysia, 1992
• MBF Tower, Penang, 1993
• Tokyo-Nara Tower, Tokyo, Japan, 1994
• Penggiran Apartment Towers No. 1, Kuala Lumpur, 1996
• UMNO Tower, Penang, 1998
• Mesiniaga Penang, Penang, 2003
• New National Library of Singapore, Singapore, 2005
• Solaris, Singapore, Under Construction (Est. Completion 2010)
• Jumptown Tower, Portland, Oregon (proposed)

External links

• Online version of Yeang's book "Bioclimatic Skyscrapers"
• Website of Llewelyn Davies Yeang
• Website of Yeang's architectural firm
• Biography and interview with Ken Yeang, and an image gallery of his work. CNN, July 2007
• A description of varied green techniques used in varied projects
• Asia Design Forum question and answer session
• Various Yeang Publications on ArchNet
• Interview with Ken Yeang 2009(Video)
• 2009 Green Source Magazine Article on Solaris, Singapore