Mr Siew, being an experienced juror on architectural competitions, what is your perspective on a global award where students express their considerations and compete through these?
Two considerations come to my mind. Firstly a global award always brings the best from all parts of the world and different geographical locations confront ideas from different context and usually universal appropriate concepts emerge. They are relevant to their time, but they are also relevant to the future looking far ahead, showing the way to innovation. Secondly this is particularly true, when the question is put to students, who know no boundaries to imagination, whether these are technical or cultural. I, therefore, see promises of future solutions and innovations in this Award that are both local in their relevance to a specific context, but global and universal in their vision for the future.
The award brief of the International VELUX Award says, that entries may focus on daylight and energy as natural resources, the contribution of daylight to high visual quality and interior comfort, the rethinking of daylight in urban living contexts, the importance of sunlight and daylight for sustainable architecture and more abstract concepts like daylight vs. artificial light, day vs. night, in vs. out. How do you find these categories relevant to working with architecture of tomorrow?
Light is one of the rare architectural materials that is free for all. The proper use of light is one of the pillars of sustainable architecture. Through all times, we have been trying to master its contribution to architecture and we need to continuously review and update our thinking to match its dynamic importance to ever changing contexts. Gurus of renewable energy will try to calculate and evaluate the real contributions of light into numbers. But beyond numbers and statistics, natural light enhances beauty, creates comfort, improves sanitation and gives many other qualitative benefits.
Which words of encouragement would you like to give students in their preparation for the Award? And to schools of architecture and teachers?
I should say that students are usually wild in their imagination and full of natural energy.Tthese can only be the right ingredients for them to brainstorm and propose appropriate solutions. The schools and the teachers know this better than me. The brightest ideas are so simple...
As a President of the International Union of Architects, which main future focus points do you see for architects of tomorrow?
As President, I have wishes that the architects of tomorrow may contribute to improve, respect and enhance our environment both physically and culturally through a sustainable approach.
I wish that solutions are so simple and so universal that they could be immediately applied to improve living conditions of cities in every part of the world where it is most needed. And so universal that the solution could be reinterpreted to show how it can inspire local solutions in every cultural context. And finally that through micro solutions architects and architecture can contribute enormously to improve the small things of life.