In yesteryears, apartments or business towers in Asia are indistinguishable from one another. Today, however, architects are pushing boundaries and leading the way towards a contemporary and innovative design for high-rise buildings and Architects 61 Sdn Bhd is well ahead of the pack. In a recent interview with Top 10 of Asia, Jeffrey Ling, the Managing Directorof Architects 61 Sdn Bhd talks about the firm’s achievements and its unending drive for excellence.
Architects 61 Sdn Bhd was established in 1995 by Jeffrey Ling and remains one of the most established corporate architectural practices in Malaysia. Over the past 19 years, the firm has won numerousawards including the FIABCI Malaysia Property Award 2007, 2010 and 2011, BCI Asia Top Ten Architects in Malaysia Awards 2010 and Futurarc Green Leadership Award 2011.
Responsible for completing projects with greatest aggregate value and producing some of the nation’s most eco-friendly buildings, Architects 61 has done extensive work to transform theKlang Valley and Penangskyline.Its extensive and versatile portfolioincludes projects such as Ritz Carlton Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Stonor Park in Kuala Lumpur, SpringtideResidences in Penang and Wisma Shell in Cyberjaya. Its core competencies revolve around commercial, residential, offices, factories, and places of worship witha growing list international projects in the past decade that includeintegrated transportation city in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and an electronic factory in Shanghai, China. Current works in progress include i-City, a high profile development that is set to be an integrated intelligent city that consists of residential, corporate and leisure elements.Thefirm with a 40-strong workforce has offices in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, and is associated tothe regional architectural practise of Architects 61 Pte Ltd, one of the ‘Big Three’ architecture firms in Singapore that was founded in 1974.
“We are a strong proponent of environmentally sustainable and climate responsive design, and not only are we ISO 14001 certified, we are also one of the first firms to be registered with the US Green Building Council and is a member of Malaysia’s Green Building Index (GBI),” says Jeffrey. The firm’s project Wisma Shell at Cyberjayawas awardedthe first LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environment Design) Gold (core and shell) building in the country.
Architects 61 practises leadership by example, engages the staff regularly and directly, and conducts constant management reviews to elevate the quality of their service and work through innovation, technology and creativity. The firm is also one of the pioneers to harness the power of technology by way of BIM (Building Information Modelling) and PIM (Project Information Management) to further enhance productivity and efficiency. “We are constantly reinventing ourselves to stay competitive and be a few steps ahead in every part of our work process from design to delivery of products in our quest to create meaningful spaces for people,” says Jeffrey. Its ability to adapt to the fast-changing market situation and identifying opportunities to sub-specialize has made Architects 61 a formidable niche player in the industry and poised to be among the world’s top architecture firms.]
Issue 8/2014