Housing 4.0 winners set a new benchmark
In early April this year, Persatuan Arkitek Malaysia (PAM) with Gamuda Industrial Building System Sdn. Bhd. (Gamuda IBS) joined forces to organise Malaysia’s first open architecture design ideas competition and digital innovation lab.
This creative collaboration led by PAM’s Housing 4.0 Project Team Leader, Ar. Ang Chee Cheong and Gamuda IBS’ General Manager, Mr. Tan Ek Khai, attracted a total of 111 registrations with 74 submissions. The competition saw cash prizes ranging from RM 15,000 to RM 80,000.
On September 10th, 2019, the much-awaited Housing 4.0 awards ceremony was held at The Circle, Publika Shopping Gallery where the winners were announced in the presence of Guest of Honour, Deputy Minister of Housing and Local Government, Yang Berhormat Dato’ Ar. Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah, Housing 4.0 jurors, industry players and members of the media.
“The built industry today has better access to technology which provides opportunities to focus on sustainable innovation that draws the communities while optimising performance. This competition is intended to reinvent the designs of future Malaysian housing through the use of Industrialised Building Systems (IBS) and Building Information Modelling (BIM), in line with the National Housing Policy 2019 (Dasar Perumahan Negara 2019) that targets to build 1 million affordable homes in the next 10 years,” said the Deputy Minister of Housing and Local Government in his speech.
Among the jurors present were Immediate Past President of PAM Ar. Ezumi Harzani Ismail, Principal of Aboday Ar. Ary Indra, Executive Director of Gamuda Land Mr. Eddie Chan, Director of Y Architects Ar. Yap Yew Peng, General Manager of Gamuda Land Mr. Devendran Krishnamoorthy, Assistant Professor at the Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore Dr. Simone Chung Shu-Yeng, Director of HKA architects and planners Ar. Serina Hijjas, Director of Programming, Thinkcity Ms. Le Jia Ping, and Housing Jury Co-coordinator Ar. Dexter Koh.
“The competition is not just about a winning prototype design,” said Gamuda IBS’s Tan, “But it’s also how the built industry collaborates via a digital platform. The competition witnessed many designs and schemes that will challenge conventions for housing.”
PAM’s Ar. Ang Chee said, “We are very pleased to collaborate with our digital technology IBS partner, Gamuda IBS on Housing 4.0. Housing issues in this country are complex and manifold, and this competition provided a good opportunity to re-think housing and to bring the architect’s perspective to the conversation.”
He adds, “What the participants have shown is not a ‘vision’ of the future but new housing models using construction technology and design ideas available now!”
Whilst the Housing 4.0 Competition has come to an end, and a new benchmark has been set by winners GDP Architects Sdn. Bhd., who managed to bag the 1st Prize of RM80,000, GSD Architect, who brought back the 2nd Prize of RM40,000, and QHAWARIZMI ARCHITECT (with PRAKTIKA ARCHITECTS SDN. BHD. & MDRXA), who won 3rd Prize of RM30,000.
Syihan Amir Office and VERITAS Architects Sdn. Bhd. were the Honorary Mentions who walked away with RM15,000 each.
Housing 4.0 is the first of many initiatives to come that will address the issues the country faces in terms of design and construction for the future of housing. Just by witnessing what our architects had to offer in the first ever open ideas architectural competition and digital innovation lab, we believe that there are solutions the industry as a whole can apply in accordance with the National Affordable Housing policy.