Advocacy for Young Architects: Ar. Chio Wen Tian Receives NUS Outstanding Young Alumni Award
The National University of Singapore (NUS) celebrated 22 exceptional alumni at the NUS Alumni Awards 2025 on Tuesday, 25 November 2025 at Raffles Hotel Singapore. Held biennially, the awards recognise NUS graduates who have distinguished themselves through significant, impactful contributions to their alma mater, society, and the world. Among this year’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award recipients is Ar. Chio Wen Tian (M Arch, Class of 2014), honoured for excellence in his field and exemplary service to the community and NUS.
During his time at NUS, Ar. Chio served as the 32nd President of The Architecture Society (TAS) in 2012. He graduated as the top student of the Master of Architecture (M Arch) programme in 2014, receiving the Board of Architects Prize and Gold Medal, the Singapore Institute of Architects Medal for M Arch, and the Aedas Medal & Prize in Architectural Design Thesis. Following graduation, he served as Co-Festival Director of Singapore Archifest in 2015 and 2016. He maintains strong ties with the Department; he is currently First Vice-President of the Architecture Alumni Association and supported TAS student activities from 2021 to 2024.
Believing that a supportive community underpins a thriving profession, Ar. Chio has continued to invest in the next generation of architects even while leading his own practice as Principal Architect at CHIO Architects. From 2022 to 2025, he chaired the Young Architects League under the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA), spearheading initiatives including the Mentorship Programme, the Artificial Intelligence Hackathon, the inaugural Young Architects Award, and the 2024 Young Architects Survey Report.
AR. CHIO WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS, JOINED BY ASSOC. PROF. THOMAS KONG, DEPUTY HEAD (EXTERNAL RELATIONS)
In recognition of his advocacy, he received the Built Environment Career Advocate Award from the Building and Construction Authority in 2024. As Founder and Principal of CHIO Architects and Founding Partner of mono.poly, he led both firms to notable successes, including the Singapore Good Design Award, Singapore Interior Design Awards, and Tatler Homes Design Awards in 2024. He was subsequently named among the inaugural 30 Influential Spatial and Interior Designers in 2025. His adaptive reuse project, OLA HALE — Restaurant & Bar in Ho Chi Minh City, has attracted international attention, with features in ArchDaily, Archello, and INDE.Awards, as well as a recent publication by Braun Publishing (Switzerland).
Beyond practice, Ar. Chio is committed to community impact. His project EMBRACE! @ Yuhua transformed spaces beneath MRT tracks into a vibrant urban gallery, earning the Singapore Design Award 2022 (Grand Winner), the Ministry of National Development Municipal Services Award 2023, and the HDB Friends of Our Heartlands Bronze Award 2024.
For his professional achievements and continued contributions, Ar. Chio received the Outstanding Young Alumni Award from the NUS College of Design and Engineering (CDE) in 2024. He currently serves on the 65th SIA Council as Co-Chair of the Internationalisation Committee and represents Singapore on the ARCASIA Committee for Young Architects.