Published by media group BCI Asia in Singapore and distributed throughout Asia-Pacific, FuturArc is the leading journal showcasing sustainable architecture and design in the region. Recognising the significant impact the built form has on society and the environment, FuturArc advocates for architecture that demonstrates creativity, social responsibility and sustainability. The magazine’s content is developed along a specific theme in each issue and consists of articles that reflect on the elected theme; prominent projects in the region; conversations with shapers of ideas and doer of deeds; and commentaries providing in-depth discussions of issues relevant to architects and industry professionals today.
3Q/2010 Green
The 3Q2010 edition is packed with—as we like to call them—‘projects with punch’. These are more than buildings; they offer us a point of view on what it means to be sustainable in Asia. The bumper crop of projects comes, in part, from the newly launched competition: the BCI Green Design Award. Check out the project pages and special supplement for winners of both BCI Green Design Award 2010 and FuturArc Prize 2010. Also don’t miss the FuturArc Interview with thought leader and visionary Amory Lovins, Chairman and Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute, who shares his thoughts on a wide range of questions concerning our energy future.
2Q/2010 Education
In looking at Education this issue, we cast the net wide, selecting campuses and schools in Asia that broadly speak of sustainability, from resource conservation to synergy with climate and nature. Does their design reinforce what is then taught in the classroom? In most cases, we cannot be sure (but we hope it does). The sole union of design and curriculum that we could find is the FuturArc Showcase: Green School, Bali. Its cofounder, John Hardy, and director, Ronald Stones OBE, are also subjects of The FuturArc Interview. The Main Feature is a collage of perspectives by professors from several universities in the region which tells us how curriculum has been (re)fashioned around sustainability.
1Q/2010 The New Workplace
“Work”, as we know it today, has become unfettered by time and place, spilling out of the 2-by-2 cubicle, the 5-day workweek. If tasks associated with work cannot be contained as before, this begs the question: what happens to the workplace? In their reflections on the evolving workspace, Carlos Montana and Andrea Garcia examine how office interiors have evolved, inside-out, shaping and reshaping the meaning of “workspace”. Looking from outside-in, Calvin Low, in a second commentary, discovers that the office building has its own agenda. This issue also features sustainable office buildings and several adaptive reuse projects—a church, a bank, a car park—retrofitted into stylish office interiors.
4Q/2009 Architecture of Well-being
In deconstructing the notion of well-being, part of the problem is this disconnect between what designers think is comfortable and what a building’s occupants expect. Apart from calibrating comfort, we need to revisit the fundamentals of passive design against changing lifestyles. FuturArc speaks with Wong Mun Summ and Richard Hassell of WoHa Design in The FuturArc Interview and discover that architects walk a line, as it were, between responsible passive outcomes and occupant preference for mechanical cooling. Another aspect of well-being is wellness, and this issue looks at projects—from healthcare facilities and temples to resorts and sports amenities—and their own take on what wellness means.
3Q/2009 Green
Now in its second year, the popular annual is packed with more projects and commentaries. This year we have obliged every project submission to align to a common definition of Green. Although this is the lexicon of Green rating tools and sometimes the answers are fuzzy, but it’s a start. Also, Green is no longer synonymous with soulless architecture. The FuturArc Showcase features The Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies in Ningbo, China, in which form is deeply rooted in performance. The issue also contains a Special Supplement featuring winners of FuturArc Prize 2009 and the newly launched BCI Asia Top Ten Green Award.
2Q/2009 People
We devote this issue to People: allies, collaborators, champions of Greening. Apart from reporting on projects that connect communities, we assemble a list of advocates from the region; people who wrestle with issues of climate change and the human condition. The list is not exhaustive. It is part acknowledgement, part encouragement. It is our first attempt at celebrating people who are making a difference through ideas and actions. There will be more to come.
1Q/2009 Micro-Design
In this issue, we zoom in on the different aspects of Micro-Design—details, materials, products and components. Topics range from the role of architectural details to product design by famous architects. We are honoured to talk to Janine Benyus, author of the highly influential book Biomimicry. Other experts who echo the message of ecological responsibility include Philip White, an eco-design strategist and Ray Anderson, the founder and chairman of Interface. Special coverage is also given to the World Sustainable Building Conference (SB08) held in Melbourne in September 2008.
4Q/2008 Home
This edition takes a look at how the concept of Home has evolved. It contains residential projects for the well-heeled that are sensitive to climate, context and environmental outcomes. Case in point, the FuturArc Showcase features the Linked Hybrid in Beijing by Steven Holl. To reveal something about how the other half lives, we also feature a project on “homemade” houses in Bangladesh by Aga Khan award winner Anna Heringer which echoes community and craftsmanship.
3Q/2008 The Green Issue 2008
The first of many Green annuals, FuturArc aims to play its part in nudging the green movement along. The issue features projects that speak of serious attempts at making a difference, with airtime given to experts who speak on subjects ranging from design education to life after fossil fuel. This issue also covers the FuturArc Prize—the first large green building design competition in Asia opened to professionals and students—and FuturArc Forum, the region’s first eight-city sustainability conference.
2Q/2008 Remaking Metropolis
In line with the concept of “remaking”, FuturArc undergoes its first revamp as it spotlights the City. It looks at projects that, by scale or strategic importance, are transforming the way we see a city; re-crafting its experience and rebranding its identity. Featuring Singapore's new downtown—Marina Bay—which will be home to several new developments including the Integrated resort, F1 circuit and Marina Barrage, the issue also examines developments in the region through the lens of the theme: Remaking Metropolis.
1Q/2008 Information Technology in Design/Education
This edition focuses on two tracks: the integrated design process; and the evolution of design tools from computer aided drawing to building information modeling. On these tracks we present projects that offer hope for the built environment's partnership with nature as well as a wide-ranging discourse on changing architectural design processes. With the educational landscape changing over the years, a selection of future school and university buildings across Southeast Asia, China and Australia are also featured.
4Q/2007 Green Spaces/Residential
Green spaces bring relief—from sweltering temperatures and from the relentless concrete, steel and glass of the modern city. This issue discusses the concept of green spaces and features an interview with architect and urban activist Marco Kusumawijaya, founder of the Green Map movement in Indonesia. It also contains a range of unique residential projects in the region. In addition, FuturArc is privileged to have an exclusive view of the “Living the Modern_Australian Architecture” exhibition, showcasing the best of Australian residential architecture, at the DAZ German Center for Architecture in Berlin.
3Q/2007 Conservation/Hospitality
In this edition, FuturArc examines perspectives on preserving architectural heritage in our region. It takes a look at the success story of Singapore that took decades to accomplish, and Berlin—a city that lost so much architectural heritage during the last century, but has been carving a new identity in the hope of reliving its past glory. The second half of this edition also conveys a range of boutique hotels in China, Southeast Asia and Australia all designed to provide guests with a unique experience; some brilliantly respecting heritage.
2Q/2007 Mobility/Transportation
Transportation and mobility present countless challenges to our rapidly developing cities. FuturArc aims to define those problems and find some small successes in confronting them. The issue examines Bangkok’s traffic congestion problem, discusses the effectiveness of Jakarta’s bus rapid transit system and takes a look at the public rail system model in Hong Kong. Included in this edition are 15 transportation projects in the region—six airports and nine rail stations—that are working to better link people to their own cities and vice versa.
1Q/2007 Indoor Air Quality/Beijing Olympics/Sports
This edition addresses the topic of indoor air quality and highlights projects that establish good indoor air quality: Australia’s Green Star green building rating system has introduced an Office Interiors rating, raising awareness of the importance of good indoor air; and the Seattle Housing Authority in the US has built homes targeted at preventing childhood asthma attacks. To further celebrate the idea of healthy living, FuturArc also looks at sports projects in the Asia-Pacific, with special coverage of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games venues.
4Q/2006 Urban Planning/High Density Planning
Asian cities—home to over 1.5 billion people—are among the fastest growing in the world. FuturArc examines the challenges of urban planning faced by Asian cities at this time of extraordinary growth and takes a look at perhaps the most important aspect of city architecture: housing. Housing in Asia most often means high-density. The issue features a range of high-density residential projects that showcases what is happening in the region, from high-luxury to low-income; from high-rise to low-rise; from design-focused to market-oriented.
3Q/2006 Energy & Water Efficiency/Health This edition examines buildings in Asia that work at saving energy and water including a demonstration commercial building and high-end mixed-use development in Beijing, as well as a house in Thailand. We also look at health projects from around the region which aim to promote healthier lives through their services and their architecture.
2Q/2006 Sustainability/Recreation
This inaugural edition introduces FuturArc’s green mission with a general discussion of sustainability—from global green design movement to greening in the tropics—including an interview with U.S. Green Building Council president and CEO Rick Fedrizzi. It also explores recreational architecture throughout the region, with special attention given to the casino building boom in Macau.