PETALING JAYA (May 27): The Steel Connect Symposium held on Saturday (May 27) at the Sheraton Petaling Jaya Hotel featured Kun Lim Architect principal designer Kun Lim, who spoke on the topic of “A River of Ideas”. He is also Kun Lim Studio LLC’s president in Seattle, the US since 2013, as well as a board member representing design professionals at the City of Seattle Design Review Board. 

The Steel Connect Symposium was organised by NS BlueScope Malaysia Sdn Bhd, the provider of coated steel materials for the Malaysian market, and is an architectural seminar that was held in two cities, starting in Kuching on May 20, and later in Petaling Jaya on Saturday. 

The seminar serves as a platform for architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, construction professionals and students to connect, exchange ideas and collaborate to drive innovation in the Malaysian construction industry. 

In his talk, Lim spoke on how his childhood experiences had shaped his design thinking philosophy, which later influenced his architecture, urban design and town planning works. Additionally, living in a home built with sustainable materials and respecting the topography of project sites also influenced his design outlook. 

Lim, who originated from Kampung Kubang Rotan in Alor Setar in Kedah, said his family had always practised a sustainable way of life, as they lived within close proximity to a river and paddy fields.

“The river has always been a source of inspiration for me, a reminder that I can overcome obstacles as both an architect and a human being. Our family home was built by my father. It was a typical kampung house with a chicken coop, a fish pond, a vegetable garden and some fruit trees. 

“All the materials for the house were sourced locally, and were designed in accordance with our local climate. In front of the house, we had a lanai, which was used to serve as a connector and common area for the indoor and outdoor spaces of our home,” he added.

The most important element of Lim’s house was the water tank measuring around 12ft by 10ft by 8ft in the middle of the kitchen. The water tank served as a natural cooling system to reduce the temperature in the house. 

Lim’s father also created his own rainwater harvesting system by collecting rainwater and reusing it for cleaning, watering plants and other household chores. 

His childhood home inspired Lim’s works in the optimisation of land use to climatic response, relationship with the environment and context, integration with nature and the landscape, and coordination with structural systems.

His projects include a wide range of building types, such as sports complexes, universities, hospitals, condominiums, shopping malls, corporate offices and industrial buildings, as well as professional services in the related disciplines of town planning, urban design and interior design.

Another significant design philosophy of Lim is about respecting the topography and surrounding environment of the sites of his projects. “Some projects we receive are existing buildings and sites, which actually require us to be more delicate. For historical buildings, the first thing we do is to always show respect to these aged structures by incorporating elements of them into the new buildings. 

“One of the historical projects we worked on was a classic symmetrical building, so the most important thing was maintaining its central axis. We decided that the new building would be more spontaneous and responsive to the existing site with attention on the central axis,” he added. 

As Lim worked on more projects, he wanted to showcase duality in his designs, namely formality and being organic. He explained that this was achieved by incorporating more greenery and sustainable elements for the organic aspect. 

Some of Lim’s local projects include the SkyArena Sports Complex in Setapak, which happens to be the largest multi-level and multi-function sports complex in Malaysia. Another project named the Tzu Chi Campus in Kepong was one of Lim’s first spiritual-related works. He was approached by the Tzu Chi Foundation to design a Taiwanese-inspired, naturally-lit and ventilated spiritual facility. 

Other projects include the PKT One Logistics Hub in Shah Alam comprising integrated office, industrial and educational development consisting of PKT Logistics Group Sdn Bhd’s headquarters, warehouses and a college; train stations for the Kuala Lumpur Monorail, where Lim was the project’s design principal; as well as over 30 showrooms and warehouses for Toyota and Malaysia. 

Currently under construction is the One Northern Hub — Bukit Kayu Hitam Inland Container Depot in Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah comprising a college, hotel, offices, retail and food and beverage spaces, warehouses, a container yard and petrol station.

Lim’s completed overseas projects include the City Walk street mall in Lippo Cikarang in Indonesia. His upcoming or waiting-for-development overseas projects include a low-rise oceanfront apartment at Alki Beach in Seattle, the US; an education and media centre in Colombo, Sri Lanka; and a township and economic zone named Eco City in Hosur in Tamil Nadu, India, among others. 

The symposium was endorsed by continuing professional development accreditation from governmental bodies, Pertubuhan Arkitek Malaysia, Board of Engineers Malaysia, and the Board of Quantity Surveyors Malaysia.