THE CURIOUS ARCHITECT

To be always hungry for knowledge and new experiences, and to learn from others architect Ko Shiou Hee shares what keeps him excited about creating inventive architecture

- Luo Jingmei

The typical image of the architect as prima donna is not new; in fact, the rise of “starchitects” in the noughties perpetuated it. Yet, for Singaporean architect Ko Shiou Hee, his role as a shaper and manipulator of space cannot be further than this trope. It is what has led him to collaborate several times with other top‑name architects on housing cluster projects, each designing a house with an idiosyncratic design yet considering their neighbours in relation to massing, sightlines and setbacks. When approached by the clients, he could very well have hankered to design all the bungalows on the plot himself, but learning from peers is part of the process of an architect’s growth, says Ko, who co‑founded K2LD Architects in 2000. The firm is based in Singapore and Melbourne, and is prolific in the region.

“With ego and pride set aside, collaboration is easy,” he says. “In fact, the hardest part of organising this type of curation as the master planner is to deal with the architects’ egos. So from day one, we looked for architects who are willing to share and succeed together as a team. With that, ideas can flow freely, and discussions can be mutually inspiring and edifying.”

The first of such collaborations saw him leading a group of five architects in 2004 for the Huafa Ecovilla project in Zhongshan, China. The second was the Lien Villa Collective at Holland Park in 2009, for which Ko rounded up five then‑up‑and‑coming architects to each design a house on a sub‑divided plot. Many of them, including Edmund Ng, who runs his eponymous firm, and Colin Seah of Ministry of Design, have become highly successful.