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SHIFT-ing Into High Gear

September 1, 2023

Get ready to transform the mindsets of today with SHIFT 2022: Building Communities, featuring a buzzworthy discussion panel which comprised an esteemed list of international industry speakers.

Not to be missed by any connoisseur or enthusiast of all topics of interest in the realm of architecture and design was the two-day International Architecture Conference titled SHIFT 2022: Building Communities. Organised by independent and non-profit architecture foundation DOMA Initiatives, the longawaited event was held from the 17th to 18th of November 2022 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. 

A gathering of diverse speakers ardently engaged in a contemporary architecture discourse on building communities, as explicitly stated by the theme. Framed within the inextricably complex and evolving circumstances of the 21st century, SHIFT addressed a two-fold challenge: how to begin defining the commonality and differences required to achieve the aforementioned goal as well as how architecture can enact this through its physical space and built form. 

Moderating the event was Bangkok-native Chatpong Chuenrudeemol, founder of research-and-design practice CHAT architects and think tank CHAT lab. Apart from receiving the gold medal for Thailand’s Emerging Architect in 2017 by the Association of Siamese Architects under Royal Patronage, Chuenrudeemol was presented with the Silpathorn Award – his homeland’s highest honour for contemporary artists – by the Ministry of Culture in 2020. His Samsen STREET Hotel project also won INDE. AWARD’s Building of the Year Award 2020, reinforcing his status in the Indo-Pacific region. 

On the other hand, the nine distinguished speakers from individually different cities who convened to discuss issues pertinent to the notion of building communities in architecture and the built environment consisted of:

PATAMA ROONRAKWIT, BANGKOK

Dedicated to improving the living situation of the underprivileged in Bangkok’s slums, Patama Roonrakwit established Community Architect for Shelter and Environment (CASE) in 1997. Uniting Thai architects with central interests in alternate dwelling visions, the initiative’s major concern lies in the relationship between the physical, cultural as well as socio-economic contexts of the dwelling. 

Such significant work has led to her earning several local and global recognitions, including the Excellence Award for Architects from the Association of Siamese Architects under Royal Patronage, Woman Who Make a Difference Award from Thailand Tatler Magazine and the iconic Silpathon Award. She has also attained globally acclaimed Honourable Mentions in the Women and Architecture category of arcVision Prize in 2015 and Global Award for Sustainable Architecture in 2016.

NADER TEHRANI, BOSTON

Other than standing as the Dean of The Cooper Union’s Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture, Nader Tehrani is also the founding principal of the NADAAA architecture and urban design firm. His research focuses on the transformation of the building industry, innovative material applications and the development of new means and methods of construction, especially through digital fabrication. 

In consideration of his contributions to architecture as an art, Tehrani was the recipient of the 2020 Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize from The American Academy of Arts and Letters; he was also elected as a member in 2021, the highest form of recognition of artistic merit in The United States. The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award in Architecture together with 18 Progressive Architecture Awards are some of the many prestigious awards under his belt.

MARINA TABASSUM, DHAKA

In the same year of graduating from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in 1995, Marina Tabassum founded URBANA where the Independence Monument of Bangladesh and the Museum of Independence stand as her most prominent achievements. The principal of Marina Tabassum Architects is also the academic director of the Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements; lecturer at the Delft University of Technology; and member of the Steering Committee of Aga Khan Awards for Architecture. 

Moreover, she is the member of the Board of Directors for Prokritee which is a female-empowering, fair trade organisation powered through the export of handcrafted objects. Some of the awards she has received include the 2018 Jameel Prize, 2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture, 2004 Architect of the Year Award and the 2005 Ananya Shirshwa Dash Award which recognizes Bangladeshi women with exceptional achievements.

JO JINMAN, SEOUL

Not only is Jo Jinman the founder of the eponymous Jo Jinman Architects, but he is also a public architect of the Seoul Metropolitan Government and an adjunct professor at his alma mater of Hanyang University where he learned and fell in love with urban design’s vast potential to enhance social infrastructure. Prior to all of this, he established the Beijing outpost for Iroje Architects & Planners before eventually joining the Beijing and Rotterdam offices of OMA for three years. 

He attained the National Young Architect Award from the Ministry of Culture, Korean Public Architecture Award from the Ministry of Land and Transportation, Seoul Architecture Awards from the Seoul metropolitan government as well as the Kim Swoo Geun Prize in his home turf. Internationally-speaking, the architect won the 2017 Progressive Architect Awards, 2019 World Architecture Award and 2019 Design Vanguard Award.

JAMES SHEN, BEIJING

With a master’s degree in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Product Design from California State University, the foundation for success was laid for James Shen to co-find the People’s Architecture Office (PAO/PIDO). Based in Beijing and Boston, this international practice focuses on social impact through design in the housing, urban regeneration and education sectors, soon becoming the first architecture firm to be certified as a B-Corporation in Asia. 

Having taught at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning as well as Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, the firm’s principal – not to mention Loeb Fellow at Harvard and Innovation Fellow at MIT’s China Future City Lab – is also keeping his agenda packed as a Senior Research Fellow at the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.

LIU YICHUN, SHANGHAI

Known as the co-founder of Atelier Deshaus, Liu Yichun has participated in a variety of major international architecture and art exhibitions in over 15 countries with works published in professional journals across more than 26 countries. The former Chief Architect of the Architectural Design Institute of Tongji University has held lectures at many prestigious universities such as the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the University of Hong Kong and the Architectural Institute of France. 

Long Museum West Bund, his representative work, has been awarded the 2014 AR Awards for Emerging Architecture by Architectural Review, 2016 Golden Prize of Architecture Creation Awards of ASC for Public Architecture, 2019 Honor Award Best in Show for Architecture by AIA China and the 2020 Gold Winner (Public Amenity: Social and Cultural Buildings) in ARCASIA Awards for Architecture.

MIYA IRAWATI, JAKARTA

Laser-focused on urban development and housing provision in the developing world, local economic development, community empowerment, slum upgrading and spatial planning, PhD holder in Geography and green building practitioner Miya Irawati has conducted various research projects ranging from policies to pilot initiatives with the Indonesian government. 

The Research Associate of Urban-Rural Systems at Future Cities Lab – ETH Zurich has also participated in joint research programs with universities in the U.S, Europe, Asia and Australia; speaking of which, her project with ETH Zurich on Expandable House is shortlisted for the 2022 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Consequently, she has engaged as a consultant with the World Bank and UN Habitat on urban land and housing provision policy before collaborating with UNESCO on research related to the urban water management and urban heritage of Jakarta.

JO PATCHARA WONGBOONSIN, NONTHABURI

Before establishing P.O.AR (Patchara + Ornnicha ARchitecture) with a couple of trusted partners in 2011, Jo Patchara Wongboonsin further enhanced his know how in the field from his experiences as a graduate of Landscape Architecture at the Harvard University School of Design and as a Junior Architect at the world-renowned Skidmore, Owings & Merrill firm in Chicago. 

Based in Nonthaburi, his multidisciplinary research and design company of which he also holds the title of ‘Principal Architect’ focuses on hospitality and residential design. The works produced explore the boundaries between craft, tradition and contemporary practice with an emphasis on accessible narratives and impactful community outcomes.

MAKI ONISHI, TOKYO

Keen to engage in a multitudinal variety of activities concentrating on architectural design, including installations and community-building projects, is Tokyo-based Maki Onishi. With this in mind, she founded onishimaki+hyakudayuki architects / o+h with her partner Yuki Hyakuda in 2008. While simultaneously running the firm, the pair are both visiting professors at Yokohama National University, where Onishi previously worked as a design assistant. 

Collectively, the duo has won several illustrious awards, primarily for their Good Job! Center KASHIBA project, including the 2019 Young Architect Award for Selected Architectural Designs, 2018 Architectural Design Association of Nippon Prize and the 2017 Good Design Award.

For more information, please visit domainitiatives.org/shift2022