Ng Sek San - keeping the trees
Ng Sek San is driven by a belief that his work should reflect an egalitarian lifestyle and that trees shouldn’t make way for buildings. Maybe that’s why he’s seen as a bit of a maverick.
The principal of Malaysia-based Seksan Design: Landscape Architecture and Planning reckons landscape architecture and architecture should be simple, affordable and local.
He spoke on practice disruption at last year’s NZILA Firth Conference on Christchurch, telling his audience when he set up 20 years ago his inspiration was derived from simple indigenous peoples’ houses. He admired how they lived in the forest - instead of clearing it to make way for housing.
Ng Sek San says developers and engineers are always telling him to cut down the trees - an approach he rejects completely.
Ng Sek San on a walking tour of Christchurch at last year’s conference.
He also refuses to import his materials - saying when you do that you “lose the spirit of the material itself.”
Ng Sek San said his teams tried to make their houses almost invisible in their simplicity - and they tried to keep cars as far away as possible.
He talked the conference audience through some of his projects, demonstrating how making room for the trees in Malaysia, and how keeping it local and simple allows their work to sit lightly on the land.
You can watch his conference presentation below.
