Apoorva Shroff

Founder and Principal Designer, lyth design
Mumbai, India

Apoorva Shroff is the founder and principal designer for the boutique architecture firm lyth design. Founded in 2022 and spearheaded by Shroff, the design practice aims to translate inspirations, ideas and memories into efficient and practical spatial solutions that are also breathtaking. 

Since its inception, the practice has gained immense traction among a growing roster of noteworthy clients that includes Prestige, Supreme Builders and Central Square Foundation. Shroff’s work has been showcased across some of the most prominent global design publications and she has also been invited to share her expertise and judge various juries at esteemed institutions like INFID. 

Shroff has over two decades of experience in the industry. Along with lyth, Shroff occasionally teaches at Balwant Sheth School of Architecture, bridging the gap between academia and practice, mentoring students to become professionals of tomorrow.

Chan Ee Mun

Architect, WOHA
Singapore

Chan Ee Mun is a Director at WOHA. He obtained his Master of Architecture from the National University of Singapore and has been associated with the architectural practice since its inception. Ee Mun is driven by his intrinsic interest in Tropical Urbanity and its change-making potential in shaping responsive architectural solutions to modern issues of density and climate change. His work is characterised by its people-centric approach which is spatially engaging, programmatically vibrant and environmentally responsive. 

Acknowledged as a leading young architect in “20 under 45” by Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority, Ee Mun has led and completed award-winning projects in key development sectors including residential, commercial, conservation, institutional and hospitality. He speaks at local and regional forums and has been engaged in academia as a visiting design tutor, lecturer and external examiner at local art and architectural institutions such as the National University of Singapore, Singapore University of Technology and Design and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.

Colin Seah

Founder Director, Ministry of Design (MOD)
Singapore

Colin Seah honed his skills working for such icons of the industry as Rem Koolhaas and Daniel Libeskind. He also spent four years at the National University of Singapore’s Department of Architecture researching design pedagogy and serving as a design critic. 

As MOD’s Founder and Director of Design, Colin has been named Designer of the Year by International Design Awards USA in 2010 and was named in Hong Kong Perspective’s ‘40 under 40 architects. He has received numerous awards including the President’s Design Awards and is a three time Grand Prize Winner of the Gold Key Award, the highest international hospitality accolade. 

Colin Seah has been a juror for the Inaugural Dezeen Awards, a Global Advisor for leading surfaces manufacturer Cosentino and was invited by the Singapore Tourism Board to redefine Singapore as a destination for 2020 and beyond.

David Teh

Founder & Director, Pakatan Reka Arkitek Sdn Bhd
Malaysia

David Teh is the Founder and Director of Pakatan Reka Arkitek Sdn Bhd, a leading and award winning architecture firm based in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. PRA was established in 1979 and has an extensive design and building portfolio that includes masterplans, offices, shopping malls, schools, hotels, apartments and condominiums. David Teh leads the design process and controls the quality of professional services in PRA.

David Teh was President of Malaysia Institute of Architects (PAM), Member of Board of Architects Malaysia, Vice President of Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA) and Deputy Chairman of ARCASIA. He served as a Member of PAM Council and RAIA International Chapter Committee for many years. David Teh’s interest in education has led to roles at a number of universities, including Universiti Malaya and Deakin University. He has convened numerous conferences, most notably the 2nd and 9th Asian Congress of Architects, RAIA-PAM Conference, CAA-PAM-SIA International Conference and the Merdeka Jubilee Architecture Symposium.

Goy Zhenru

Director, Goy Architects
Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia

Goy Zhenru studied and worked in both Singapore and Switzerland, where her experiences influenced her approach to architecture, spurring her to organise a research trip in Thailand for her Master thesis on the topic of regionalism. In 2015, she set up her firm, Goy Architects, that spans across three Southeast Asia countries – Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. Together with her colleagues, she seeks to push the boundaries of vernacular and regional crafts whilst embracing technology and modern working methods, producing award-winning projects such as the 2020 INDE Awards “Best of the Best” project, Sukasantai Farmstay. She aims to create spaces that are meaningful and embraces one’s identity in the region.

James Calder

Global Director of User Strategy, ERA-co
Australia

James Calder, an early pioneer in activity-based workplace design and a leader in workplace strategy for the digital age, is Global Director of User Strategy at start-up consultancy ERA-co. James works globally and has a deep understanding of workstyles, organisational cultures and extensive experience in project delivery particularly around innovation. His project list includes Macquarie at Shelley Street and 50 Martin Place, NAB at 700 Bourke Street, Atlassian at TechCentral, Brookfield’s HO in New York and Mitsui Fudosan’s new workspace in Tokyo.

James has developed workplace strategies and specialist fit outs and buildings for lawyers, accountants, management consultants, media and technology organisations, investment and retail banks, governments and universities. He also works for real estate owners and developers to design the next generation of buildings for the tenants of the future. James is a practitioner, facilitator, author and educator interested in all facets of strategy, design and workplace optimization.

Judy Cheung

Co-founder, Cheungvogl Architects
Hong Kong

Cheungvogl is the architecture workshop of Chui Lai Cheung and Christoph Vogl. Cheungvogl was part of the ‘Picturing “Home-for-All”‘ Exhibition, curated by Toyo Ito, Riken Yamamoto, Hiroshi Naito, Kengo Kuma and Kazuyo Sejima at the Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture, Imabari, Japan in 2011.

In 2017, Cheungvogl was named one of “20 designers and brands that define our tomorrow” alongside OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture, led by Rem Koolhaas), Snøhetta and Olafur Eliasson by Frame Magazine, Amsterdam, Netherlands. In the same year, Cheungvogl was awarded First Prize in the international competition for the Yeoui-Naru Ferry Terminal and Masterplan in Seoul. In 2018, Cheungvogl received the FRAME Award 2018 Jury Prize for the open exhibition and multi-space gallery around a robotic system within the restoration of the 110-year-old UNSECO heritage Au Pont Rouge in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Khai Liew

Director, Khai Liew
Australia

Khai Liew is the director of a multi-disciplinary design practice based in Adelaide, Australia. The practice comprises a design studio and workshop, where high-skilled craftspeople produce one-off design commissions, small-run furniture editions as well as complete interiors. 

Khai Liew is an acknowledged expert in Australian historical decorative arts and acts as a consultant to state and national institutions, advising on curatorial matters, acquisition and conservation in the field of Australian material culture. As a designer, he draws on this knowledge to produce work that speaks of its time, place, people and culture. As such he occupies a unique place in Australian contemporary design. 

Liew has received numerous awards in acknowledgement of his contribution to the Australian design landscape, including the South Australian of the Year Arts Award in 2010 and the Design Institute of Australia’s “Design Icon” Award. He was also inducted into the Design Institute of Australia’s Hall of Fame in 2016.

Lee Broom

Founder, Lee Broom
UK

Lee Broom is one of the UK’s leading product designers. With his highly original brand of luxury furniture and lighting designs that was founded in 2007, his work is recognised and retailed across the globe. 

Taking inspiration from his background in fashion design, he strives to embrace and explore new themes while keeping an overarching house style. Using the highest quality materials and latest technologies, Broom constantly evolves and innovates, resulting in his signature mix of classicism and modernity. 

Broom has won over 30 awards to date including the prestigious British Designer of the Year Award and The Queen’s Award for Enterprise presented by Her Majesty The Queen. Lee Broom’s products are retailed in over 250 stores in 50 countries around the world alongside his own flagship showrooms in London and New York. He has been described by The Financial Times as “Among the most respected British Talents”.

Leone Lorrimer

National Practice Leader, GHDWoodhead
Australia

For over 30 years Leone has been a recognisable presence in the architecture and design profession. Her projects have won numerous awards in Australia and internationally. She has been a leading design professional, a mentor and an executive director of two major international practices, as well as working as a client to some of the world’s most famous architecture and design practices. Leone is GHDWoodhead’s National Practice Leader.

Luke Yeung

Principal, Architectkidd
Thailand

Luke Yeung leads Thailand architectural studio Architectkidd along with Udomsak Komonvilas and Jariyawadee Lekawatana. Based in Bangkok, Architectkidd’s designs make use of innovative tools that are sensitively applied to local materials and construction techniques. This combination leads to architectural projects that are bold and inventive but also closely connected with the local conditions of SouthEast Asia. 

Working within the context of South East Asia’s growing cities, Architectkidd is known for articulating materiality as a way to bring humanistic and social qualities into the built environment. 

Raj Nandan

Founder & CEO, Indesign Media Asia Pacific
Singapore/Australia

Rajesh Nandan is the Founder, Publisher and Chief Executive Officer of the design industry’s premier regional media house, Indesign Media Asia Pacific. After acquiring his first magazine at the age of 22 in 1993, Raj continued to launch a suite of magazine titles throughout the 1990s that would become the foundation for his boutique publishing house in 2000 under the flagship title, Indesign. 

In 2010, the company moved further throughout Asia with digital and print titles in Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong – including welcoming India to the fold in the very near future. The root of his success lies in Raj being a very early proponent of the potential for digital platforms to support our region’s creative talent.

Sarah Bader

Managing Director and Principal, Gensler
Japan

Sarah leads the senior management teams in setting strategic priorities and overseeing growth initiatives and client activities. She is an award-winning architect with a combination of experience in strategic planning and design. Sarah is especially committed to bridging geographic and cultural differences across the offices in the region. 

A recognised leader with over 30 years of experience, one of Sarah’s key priorities is to build Gensler’s reputation and fuel business growth through innovative design solutions. Under her leadership, Gensler Tokyo has seen many achievements across the retail, hospitality, workplace and mixed-use practices throughout the Asia-Pacific and Middle East region.

Sarah successfully implements workplace strategy and change management programs, helping global organisations implement workplace transformation programmes leading to improved performance. Sarah is a recognised thought leader and a frequent speaker at industry events as well as national and international platforms.

Shashi Caan

Founding Partner, SC COLLECTIVE & GloWD
United States of America/United Kingdom

Founder of the SC COLLECTIVE, co-founder of Globally We Design (GloWD) and the CEO of the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers, Shashi Caan is a transdisciplinary designer, educator and author with deep international work experience. In her leadership roles with a roster of global clients, institutions, and firms, she has focused on meaningful improvement of life quality as shaped by design.

Shashi has a keen interest in the fundamental development for the design discipline to address current societal challenges, as well as to build a strong global design community based on the foundations of excellence. Extensively published and winner of many design awards and accolades, including the US Designer of Year, Shashi is recognized for her worldwide contributions and has been awarded international, regional and national professional fellowships. She is the author of Rethinking Design and Interiors: Human Beings In The Built Environment, which has been translated in several languages.

Thien Duong

General Director, GroupGSA
Vietnam

Thien is one of the few internationally Chartered Architects in Vietnam today. He has over 25 years of experience working on large scale projects in many parts of the world including England, Norway, Canada, Bermuda, Africa, Dubai and Australia. 

In Vietnam, Thien is registered as a Class 1 Architect and Masterplanner. He also sits on the Board of Director of the Vietnam Green Building Council.He has been engaged to lecture at the HCMC School of Architecture as well as mentor to the Curtins University Vietnam Programme. He is also a Lotus Accredited Professional who can professionally design and rate sustainable buildings in Vietnam following the VGBC green rating tool. Thien leads GroupGSA Vietnam acting as the bridge, connecting the Vietnam Studio with Australia.

Tiana-Jane Furner (Gomeroi)

BVN
Australia

Tiana-Jane Furner is an emerging Graduate of Architecture, and is one of the very few Indigenous practitioners within the Built Environment. Specialising in the Social Agency Stream at the University of New South Wales, Tiana was one of their leading students. With her strong advocacy for social issues, she received the Byera Hadley Travel scholarship for her thesis on How can architecture help reduce the re-offending rate in Australia?

Since starting at BVN Architecture in 2019, Tiana has worked closely with Indigenous Principal Kevin O’Brien. This has allowed her to explore the deep importance of the Designing with Country framework. She has worked on a range of building typologies such as Houses, Hospitals, University Housing and Performing Arts facilities. 

Whare Timu (Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Arawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa)

Principal, Te Matakirea Lead – Warren and Mahoney
Aotearoa (New Zealand)

Whare Timu is a senior design lead and cultural advisor with over 15 years’ experience across a range of sectors in the built environment. He leads Warren and Mahoney’s Advanced Indigenous Design Unit – Te Matakīrea, to help develop a platform made of authentic indigenous presence and voice within the practice. He has experience with a diverse range of projects and developments, including papakāinga (intergenerational housing), large-scale typology housing and cultural-driven public architecture.

Whare is a regular writer and convenor for various publications including Architecture NZ and CTI Fresh Thinking for Princeton. He has recently contributed perspective and insight to BRANZ Built magazine and Australasian Leisure Management on the incorporation of indigenous architecture and authentic design into our projects. He has ongoing relationships with some Aboriginal communities and has recently contributed to Architecture AU regarding the place and process of Indigenous awards – and how to embed indigenous content, conversation and perspective into the broader context of architectural recognition.