
Dr. Ken Yeang, Ph.D.
Dr. Ken Yeang, Ph.D. is an architect, planner and ecologist
who is best known for his signature green architecture and
master planning, differentiated from other green architects by
his authentic ecology-based approach, distinctive green
aesthetic, and performance beyond conventional rating systems.
He is the world's leading green skyscraper architect. In the
tropics, especially, high-rises are traditionally the most unecological
of all buildings, often wasting up to 30% more energy
than lower structures built with the same materials. Yeang uses
walls of plants: photovoltaics, scallop-shaped sunshades,
advanced ventilation, and whatever he can to collect water and
breezes. The idea is to make buildings run as complete
ecosystems with little external energy supply. He is not there yet, but the possibility of the green
skyscraper is developing fast, as ecological imperatives filter into the consciousness of the startlingly
backward world of international architecture. He trained at the AA (Architectural Association, UK)
and received his doctorate from Cambridge University (UK) on ecological design and planning. His
key buildings include Solaris (Singapore), Menara Mesiniaga (Malaysia), Spire Edge Tower (India),
Genome Research Building (Hong Kong), and Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital Extension
(UK). He is the Principal of T. R. Hamzah & Yeang, with offices in Malaysia, UK and China. He is
a recipient of the Malaysian Institute of Architects Gold Medal, the Government of Malaysia
Merdeka Award, and the Architectural Society of China Liang Sicheng Award, 2016. The UK
Guardian newspaper named him as one of 50 individuals who could save the planet and he was
named by CNN as the leading architect in ecological design.