New Joiners and Latest Appointments AY2024/25 S1
New Faculty and Staff
FACULTY MEMBERS
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LI Shengxiao Alex (Dr) Assistant Professor Date join: July 2024 |
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| Alex joined NUS from the University of Oregon’s School of Planning, Public Policy, and Management. Prior to his appointment with the University of Oregon, he was a postdoctoral researcher and a lecturer at the University of California, Riverside. Alex’s research focuses on transportation planning and policy from sustainability and equity perspectives. His current research projects focus on transportation planning for older people, equitable transit-oriented development, local sustainability initiatives and governance, and racial disparities in transportation access. | ||||||
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Chaewon AHN (Dr) Assistant Professor |
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| Chaewon Ahn is an urban researcher who studies the relationship between social systems and the built environment using urban data and analytical frameworks. Her research interests have been shaped by academic and professional experiences in architecture, urban design, data visualisation, and urban studies. Her research focuses on social networks and communities in cities, their relationship to the structure of the built environment, and the influences of urban planning programmes that engage them. Trained as an architect, urban designer, and data visualisation designer, she has worked with various research laboratories at MIT, including the Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism, the Civic Data Design Lab, the MIT Election and Data Science Lab, the JTL Urban Mobility Lab, and the Senseable City Lab. | ||||||
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Joshua Adam COMAROFF (Dr) Assistant Professor |
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| Joshua Comaroff is a designer and cultural geographer. He studied literature and creative writing at Amherst College, before completing the M.Arch and MLA degrees at Harvard Graduate School of Design (the former with distinction). Joshua has published writing about architecture, urbanism, religion and politics, with an Asian focus. In particular, his research focuses upon the effect of material and immaterial practices in the experience of the city, and the affective potentials of architecture. Joshua is the co-founder of Lekker Architects, an award-winning practice focused on design innovation and qualitative research methods. | ||||||
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Frederick Chando KIM (Dr) Assistant Professor |
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| Frederick Chando Kim is an architect, researcher and educator based in Singapore, serving as an Assistant Professor in Computational Design with the Department. His research focuses on the generative and analytical possibilities of machine learning in architectural form. Frederick pursued his doctorate at the Media x Design Lab at EPFL, where his thesis was nominated for the EPFL Research and City of Lausanne prizes. He previously taught at the School of Architecture and Computer Science at EPFL and was a Junior Faculty member at ETH Zürich. He has conducted workshops at ETH Singapore, SUPSI in Mendrisio, and D-lab at Kyoto Institute of Technology. He co-leads Creative Data Critical Design with Mikhael Johanes, exploring innovative ways of using data for architectural and urban design approaches. | ||||||
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Mr YEUNG Man Ki Larry Adjunct Assistant Professor |
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| Larry is a designer and community organiser who passionately advocates for a participatory, community-centric approach to the design and planning of cities and neighbourhoods. With a background in architectural design and project management in Singapore, he now serves as the Executive Director of Participate in Design (P!D), a non-profit design organisation dedicated to helping neighbourhoods and public institutions create community-owned spaces and solutions. Since earning his M. Arch from NUS, Larry’s portfolio of participatory-based projects has grown to include neighbourhood planning, public space design, and community art installations, collaborating with grassroots organisations, educational institutions, civic groups and government agencies. | ||||||
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Jessica BRIDGER Visiting Senior Fellow |
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| Jessica Bridger is an urbanist, consultant and journalist. She has been active in urbanism for over a decade, working across practice spheres and disciplines, with a diverse range of educational, institutional, governmental and corporate organizations. Her writing, research, and editing are published extensively in international media. She holds a Master of Landscape Architecture from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and was a Bakema Fellow at the Netherlands Architecture Insititute. | ||||||
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Wolfgang KESSLING Visiting Associate Professor |
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| Wolfgang Kessling is joining the department to teach about tropical climate engineering. He holds a doctorate in physics and is a partner at Transsolar Energietechnik, Germany. He is an expert in climate-friendly building design and adaptive comfort concepts. The focus of his work is the development of innovative comfort concepts for indoor, semi-outdoor, and outdoor spaces. He lectures regularly at universities and international conferences on sustainable design, thermal comfort, and zero-energy projects. In Asia, he has worked on the first zero-energy office building in Malaysia, BRAC University in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and the innovative comfort and energy concept of the giant cooled conservatories at the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore. | ||||||
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Jinda QI Visiting Associate Professor |
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| As a landscape architect, Jinda Qi’s research focuses on how design technology can automate the design process and potentially complement experts’ designs, ultimately improving the urban living environment. His work contributes to the AI-based decision-making process for urban heat mitigation and quantitative landscape design for health promotion. Jinda holds a PhD in Built Environment from the University of New South Wales, Sydney. His work is highly practical, leading to collaborations with governments and industry leaders, such as NParks. | ||||||
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WANG Nai Huei Visiting Senior Fellow |
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| Casey Wang is a practitioner and educator in architecture and urbanism active in Greater China. She is the founder of multidisciplinary design practice, BLEND. She received a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from National Cheng Kung University and a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD). Her academic and professional practice and research is primarily focused on architectural / urban design and urban infrastructure. Casey was an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Master of Urban Design program at the University of Hong Kong (hku) Faculty of Architecture and The Chinese University of Hong Kong. | ||||||
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LI Yu Zhou Adjunct Associate Professor |
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| Li Yu Zhou is the Director of Morrow Architects & Planners Pte Ltd, which was established on 2017, and the General Manager for Morrow Shanghai, founded on 2018. Prior to joining Morrow in 2017, he worked as an Architectural Designer and Urban Planner with RSP Architects Planners and Engineers from 2006 to 2017. His last position at RSP was Senior Associate, and he served as the General Manager of RSP Shanghai from 2011 to 2017. Yu Zhou has over 15 years of experience in design, encompassing master planning, urban design, and architectural projects in countries such as Singapore, China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Russia, and Fiji. | ||||||
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LIN Yifeng Senior Visiting Fellow |
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| Yifeng Lin is a registered landscape architect in the United States and currently serves as a Senior Visiting Fellow with the department. He is the founding principal of YIYU Design, a landscape architecture practice based in Shanghai, China. His work focuses on sensory approaches that emphasise the significance of perception and the poetic interplay between nature and humanity. Through his designs, he seeks to unveil the hidden beauty of natural environments and foster a deeper awareness of them through sensory engagement. He also held the position of Honorary Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong from 2015 to 2019. He holds a Master in Landscape Architecture from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Architecture from Tamkang University. | ||||||
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Gaurang KHEMKA Adjunct Associate Professor |
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| Gaurang is an Architect with a specialisation in Urban Design. He has 30 years of experience working in North America, Europe and Asia and has worked across a range of scales and contexts, from master planning and programming public institutions to detailed design of high-end hotels, resorts, and residences. He understands the essence of place making and the qualities that create some of the world’s finest institutional, hospitality, commercial and residential projects and combines that with his management skills to deliver a product of the highest quality. He studied Architecture, Urban Design and Planning from University of California, Berkeley. and has worked with reputed firms such as Charles Correa (Mumbai), Kerry Hill Architects (Singapore), AECOM (Hong Kong), HOK (San Francisco, Hong Kong, and Singapore) and POPULOUS as Asia Director. | ||||||
ADMINISTRATIVE MEMBERS
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Mr Marcus LIM Wai Sum Manager |
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| Marcus graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in International Marketing. He began his career in the visual communication industry 26 years ago, specialising in campaign and event design, branding, marketing, retail design, and visual merchandising. Leveraging his experience, he transitioned into academia and has spent the past seven years as a course manager and design educator. In the Department of Architecture, he will manage self-financing graduate programmes, scholarships, student grants and donors, branding and marketing/outreach efforts, events and networking sessions, and partnership development. | ||||||
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Ms Cindy KOO Xin Yu Teaching Trainee for MArch |
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| Cindy is thrilled to join the Department as a Temporary Teaching and Administrative Executive,. She has recently completed her Master’s degree in Architecture from NUS, with a focus on sustainable design and responsive architecture. She has a particular passion for researching and exploring forward-thinking architecture and innovative design solutions. Cindy is eager to support the department’s projects and initiatives, collaborating closely with both faculty and students. Her experience in project management, research, and design will be valuable assets in her new role. | ||||||
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Mr Muhd Akmal Bin Moksin Teaching Trainee for BAArch |
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| Akmal is excited to join the Department as a Teaching Trainee for the BA Arch programme. Having recently completed his Master’s degree in Architecture from NUS, he specialises in urban design and communal spaces, with a focus on community living and co-habitation. Akmal is eager to give back by providing assistance to the Department and guidance to his fellow juniors still in school. Beyond work, Akmal is an avid photographer, loves hiking and occasionally indulges in fishing, especially around the southern islands of Singapore. | ||||||
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Mr LIU Heng Teaching Trainee for BAArch |
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| Having recently completed a Master’s in Architecture from NUS, Liu Heng is passionate about architecture and design that draw from local informal cultures. He finds it fascinating how design can transform bits of information into tangible elements of the environment. In addition to architecture, Liu Heng is interested in graphic design, digital and physical illustration and photography. He is excited about opportunities to utilise his skill sets during his time at NUS. Currently, his obsession is finding the smoothest and inkiest pen for sketching. | ||||||
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Ms Belinda HUANG Student Wellbeing Adviser |
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| Belinda Huang, co-founded ARC Studio Architecture + Urbanism with her husband Khoo Peng Beng. They are recipients of the prestigious of the President’s Design Award for the Designers of the year in 2021 and are currently working on projects in Singapore, Malaysia, China, India, Myanmar, Cambodia and Rwanda. Belinda is extremely interested in the human dimension of architecture. She believes that good architecture can inspire and transform human lives. She shares her humanistic approach with her studio at NUS, with a focus on emotions and architecture. Belinda has also obtained a Master in Counselling and volunteers as a pro bono counsellor to those in need. She has helped many youths and young adults in finding a better purpose and meaning in their lives. | ||||||
New Appointments
DEPUTY HEADS
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| Assoc Prof CHEAH Kok Ming Deputy Head (Academic) |
Assoc Prof Thomas KONG Deputy Head (External Relations) |
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| Assoc Prof YUAN Chao Deputy Head (Research) |
PROGRAMME DIRECTOR
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| Prof HO Puay Peng Programme Director, MAArc |
Dr Federico Simone RUBERTO Programme Director, BAArch |
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| Dr Victoria Jane MARSHALL Programme Director, MLA |