PETALING JAYA: Construction media group BCI Asia awarded 20 of the country’s finest architecture firms and developers at its 11th annual BCI Asia Awards 2015 ceremony here last Friday.
Among the award winners of the “BCI Asia Top 10 Architects for 2015” category are Akipraktis, aLM Architects, Arkitek KDI Sdn Bhd, BEP Arkitek Sdn Bhd, GDP Architects Sdn Bhd, KHSiew Architect, RDC Arkitek Sdn Bhd, RSP Architects Sdn Bhd, SA Architects Sdn Bhd and Veritas Architects Sdn Bhd.
Other winners of the “BCI Asia Top Developers for 2015” category include Eco World Development Group Bhd, IJM Land Bhd, IOI Properties Group Bhd, Mah Sing Group Bhd, Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor, Sime Darby Property Bhd, S P Setia Bhd, Sunway Bhd, Tropicana Corporation Bhd and United Malayan Land Bhd.
“The awards this year are bigger and better; we have been growing over the years and this year is the biggest event so far. This is our way to pay respects to the top architects and developers in Malaysia,“ said Robert Krups, chief operating officer of BCI Asia.
“Once a year, we celebrate our collaboration with the leading architects and developers and their impressive achievements in their respective fields. We do so by bestowing BCI’s Top Ten Awards and FuturArc Awards, in our quest to advocate virtue, responsibility and equity in the building sector,” he said.
The portfolios of the awarded architecture firms contain US$26.51 billion (RM99.52 billion) worth of properties (scheduled to start construction in Malaysia this year), while the portfolios of the top developers consist of US$3.89 billion.
Works Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Zohari Haji Akob, Malaysia Green Building Confederation president Sarly Adre Sarkum and ArcAsia immediate past president Tan Pei Ing graced the event as guests of honour.
“Construction remains one of the most important economic sectors in the country and has experienced the highest growth compared to other sectors in the country. Last year, the construction industry grew by 11.6%, slightly higher than the growth of 10.9% in 2013. The industry is expected to grow at 10.3% per annum with a contribution of RM327 billion or 5.5% to GDP (gross domestic product) by 2020,” said Zohari.
BCI Asia has expanded and repositioned the meaning of the Top 10 Awards to focus on sustainability. The winners are identified as firms with the most accumulated value of projects under construction during the last full calendar year, weighted by their sustainability efforts and green building ratings.
Apart from the BCI Asia Top 10 Awards, FuturArc Prize — a green design competition, and FuturArc Green Leadership Award (FGLA) — a green-built project competition, were presented at the prestigious event.
A total of five winning teams and eight merit recipients (in teams) from Indonesia, Vietnam and Australia were chosen for the FuturArc Prize, while six outstanding green projects from Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam were chosen for the FGLA. A notable winner is the Factory on the Earth project, a sustainable factory in Johor by Japanese manufacturer JST Connectors (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.
The awards ceremony was co-presented by Grohe Malaysia Sdn Bhd and sponsored by Dyson, Trox Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Feruni Ceramiche Sdn Bhd and Jotun (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd. BCI Asia Awards 2015 was also sponsored by Hafele Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Becker Industrial Coatings (M) Sdn Bhd, RK Elevator Sdn Bhd and Perunding Endah Alam Sdn Bhd. — theedgeproperty.com
This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 15, 2015.