KUCHING: Many Malaysians still view big, European-style facades as symbols of wealth, often installing air-conditioners in every room to keep them habitable.
“Only later do they realise the cost and discomfort. After the COVID-19 pandemic especially people now value open spaces and connection to nature,” said architect Choong Wei Li.
“If you need 25 air-conditioners to survive in your house, something is wrong with the design,” he said.
Choong explained that many modern homes in Malaysia have turned into sealed boxes, dependent on machines rather than design.
“You can either pay RM2,000 a month for cooling or RM60. The difference is whether your house allows natural light and ventilation,” he said during the ‘Talks on Architecture: More Than Aesthetics’ session organised by HSL at La Promenade Mall.
He shared that convincing clients to embrace passive design is often difficult.
“For new buildings, every square foot is money. If you open up a void for ventilation, they see it as space lost,” he said.
Renovation projects, however, are easier.
“People who have suffered in enclosed houses for 10 years come to us asking to open things up. They want daylight, they want air, they even ask for ponds at the ground floor,” he added.
Choong who co-founded FuturGround Architects last year with partner Vicky Tang, said their practice builds on Sarawak’s own traditions of tropical design.
“Our ancestors knew what they were doing. Raised floors, verandas and overhangs were practical responses to the climate,” he said.
He frames his design philosophy around three elements: wind, water and light, which he described as the essence of feng shui translated into passive design.
“Cross ventilation, stack effect, porous walls, courtyards, skylights. These are free resources. Why pay more for machines when the world gives them to you?” he asked.
He illustrated projects his firm has undertaken.
At an orphanage rebuilt after a fire, burnt roof tiles were salvaged and reused as a screen wall that filters air and light.
“When the staff walked back in, they cried. Not because it was beautiful, but because the marks reminded them of the night they saved the children,” he said.
Other projects incorporated elevated structures to draw airflow from below, light wells to brighten narrow rooms, and water features that also help regulate humidity.
“Design is not about decoration or marble on the walls. It is about how you breathe and live in a space,” he said.
He also addressed criticism that the built environment has become increasingly monotonous, shaped by profit margins and uniform design.
He argued that what matters is whether a design serves its community.
“What is boring here might be interesting elsewhere. For me, what’s important is whether the design engages the community.
“A lower wall between neighbours, a shared green belt — that is more interesting than any facade,” he said.
Choong stressed that well-placed openings, daylight and ventilation blocks often cost less than mechanical systems.
“Good design is switching off the air-conditioner because you don’t need it, not buying marble for the walls,” he said.
He pointed out that FuturGround is now working with HSL on townhouse designs in Kuching, applying these principles through courtyards, screens and ventilation strategies.
Choong described each new project as an opportunity to refine ideas.
“Every time, we ask ourselves what’s next? What can we do better? Interesting design is not about being flashy. It is about doing what we have never done before, and doing it in a way that makes life more comfortable,” he said.
