This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on February 24, 2020 - March 1, 2020

The Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM) launched the Kuala Lumpur Architecture Festival 2020 on Feb 15. A variety of activities, talks, workshops and tours related to architecture is being offered at KLAF, which is being held for the 10th year running and will continue until Aug 16.

“KLAF is a significant event to PAM in driving excellence in the field of architecture and it sets the standards for the best practices and education. It is an opportunity for architects from all over Malaysia and overseas to meet and share their ideas and inspirations,” PAM president Lillian Tay said at the launch.

KLAF 2020 was officiated by Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin, who said: “KLAF has made an impact in improving the well-being of the community as well as future residential developments. A sustainable approach to construction, sustainable and wellness technologies in public housing will enhance the residents’ quality of life. I hope both architects and developers can work together to design future homes [with these elements in mind].”

“This year’s theme ‘Beyond’ aims to inspire the architectural fraternity and the public with ideas that are beyond the ordinary,” added Tay. The festival has four sub-themes — Beyond Celebration (on Feb 15 and 16), Beyond Green: Wellness (from April 3 to 5), Beyond Architecture (from July 1 to 4) and Beyond Imagination (from Aug 14 to 16) — with different events planned for each theme. These include a Greening Malaysia in-school programme on sustainable environment, a biophilic design conference and workshop, Walk N Roll green building visits, the Architecture + Art Auction with HB Art Auctioneers, the Datum:EDU conference and workshops, the Datum:GREEN, DATUM+ and DATUM:KL masterclass, pre-loved and recycling projects and market, and the launch of Greening Malaysia.

“We aim to make KLAF an event that will be enjoyed by everyone and not just architects and industry players. With KLAF, we hope more people, especially the public, will come to appreciate architecture more,” said KLAF 2020 director Dr Tan Loke Mun, adding that the festival has drawn more than 35,000 participants over the years. 

So far, the activities have include heritage conservation talks by Dr Dalila Elkerdany — a professor of architecture and urban design at Cairo University, Egypt — and PAM 2019 gold medallist Laurence Loh Kwong Yu, as well as an urban sketching session conducted by KL Urban Sketchers and KL Sketch Nation, a carnival sale of pre-loved items at APW and a walkabout tour.

The public can learn more about upcoming events and register via the KLAF app, which can be downloaded from the Google Play Store or App Store.

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