NUS SDE 3
Architecture Gallery
Level 1 Studio
13 July 2024, 3pm - 5pm
Identifying the G A P
Navigating the gap between Academia and Professionalism.
Identifying the G A P underscores the pivotal moment where one transitions from Architecture School to Architectural Practice. We are putting together a diverse panel of speakers, each offering unique insights derived from their distinct vantage points within their varied points of their education and career.
Ar. Chio Wen Tian
Principal of CHIO Architects
Chair of SIA Young Architects League
Wen Tian is the principal architect of CHIO Architects, an award-winning young architecture practice in Singapore. He graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with a Master of Architecture in 2014 as the top graduate and went on to win awards such as the Grand Winner of the Singapore Design Awards in 2022 and the Municipal Services Awards in 2023. He currently serves as the Chair of the Young Architects League (YAL) at the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA).
​
Source: archidiaries.com/practices/chio-architects
Rene Tan, who describes himself as an 'accidental architect', received his BA (double-majoring in architecture and music) from Yale and his MArch from Princeton.
Today as Director at RT+Q (a firm he co-founded in 2003 with partner TK Quek), Rene works on projects of various types, scale and sizes—locally and internationally. He was 'Designer of the Year' laureate of the 2016 President's Design Awards, Singapore--an honour he shares with everyone at RT+Q.
To maintain work-life balance, Rene searches (with his wife Woei Woei and daughter Lara) for the next ski slope to negotiate, and (for the past 35 years) has been struggling to prevent the complete demise of his skill at the piano.
​
Source: cde.nus.edu.sg/arch/staffs/rene-tan
Ar. Rene Tan
Director at RT + Q
Adjunct Associate Professor at NUS
Ar. Ashvinkumar Kantilal
Group CEO of Ong & Ong Pte Ltd
Ashvinkumar graduated with Honours from NUS in 1988 and has been a BOA registered Architect since 1990. Ashvinkumar's passion is in Environmentally Sustainable Development (ESD) and this has been an influence in his work since his undergraduate days.
His projects over the past decades have incorporated many aspects of sustainability. He has extensive working experience with Foreign Design Consultants like UNStudio, Carlos Ott, Kenzo Tange, Paul Tange and Paul Ruldolph.
Ashvinkumar was the President of the Singapore Institute of Architects from 2009-2012. He was conferred a PBM award in 2015 for his distinguished contributions as both the Steering Committee and Executive Committee member in the Indian Heritage Centre.
​
Source: ong-ong.com/people/ashvinkumar-kantilal