Malaysia-born architect Ken Yeh was ecstatic when his Sydney-based firm, Marra + Yeh Architects, was awarded the International Architecture Award 2014 in Darwin;Pictures by Brett Boardman 

Malaysia-born architect Ken Yeh has much to smile about. His Sydney-based firm, Marra + Yeh Architects, was awarded the International Architecture Award 2014 in Darwin, beating out a hotel in Singapore, a condominium in Bangkok and an office in New Zealand.

His winning project, Shelter@Rainforest, is a small building located in the remote highland jungle of Sabah, designed to provide shelter for the staff of a private regrowth forestry company.

Shelter@Rainforest is based on a low-cost, self- sufficient and smart design, and blends in with its natural and beautiful surroundings.

Drawing on vernacular precedents the house sits lightly among the rainforest.

How do you feel about winning the International Architecture Award?

The feeling was one of shock as it was totally unexpected. We were up against some very good buildings by our esteemed peers and a lot of these buildings had far larger budgets. It was an important lesson as architecture, like all the important things in life, is about quality and not quantity.

What’s your approach to this kind of work?

Our approach is the same whether we are doing projects in North America, the Antipodes or Tropical Asia. We do a lot of upfront research as to the context and the depth of the place. We want to understand what makes a place tick; how the people want to live in that particular place; what does the environment do to the place; what are the microclimates at work within the site?

We often collaborate with people in different fields because their knowledge informs our work. For example, we had a botanist as well as a cultural anthropologist in our Shelter@Rainforest team.

How did your interest in sustainability and environmental stewardship as hallmarks of architecture emerge?

I think my Dad has to take some credit for this. I grew up idyllically in Ipoh. Our house was filled with animals — at least five dogs at a time, usually up to 10 cats, an aviary with 200 birds, multiple fish tanks, and fishponds.....Continue Reading

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