Ken Yeang - Theoretical Approach

Theoretical Approach

Yeang is both a theoretician and a designer. It is this theoretical rigorousness that firmly underpins and legitimises his architecture and planning work and which gives critical substance that anchors his ecodesign work. Yeang's work on the theory of ecodesign and its advancement is where Yeang has significantly contributed and advanced this field of endeavor. His earlier Cambridge doctoral dissertation presents a unifying comprehensive theoretical model for ecodesign, defining its prime factors as four sets of interrelated 'environmental interactions', which he describes in the form of a mathematical partitioned-matrix of four sets of interdependent environmental interactions. This theoretical model served as the underlying guiding framework for all his subsequent ecodesign and ecomasterplanning work.

He recognized over 4 decades ago that human's callous environmental devastations and contamination of the natural environment will adversely affect the planet's natural balance, its ecosystems biodiversity and its biospheric processes (causing global warming and climate change). This led him to do research in this field for his doctorate in ecological design and planning at Cambridge University (UK) in the early 1970s.

Because ecodesign in the 1970s did not have the benefit of prior research or theoretical models and frameworks, Yeang early years involved doing empirical research, experimental design, and investigative studies of ecological processes that he could replicate or mimic in his humanmade structures. His early research work is evident in several of his key books including, Designing with Nature (1995), The Skyscraper, Bioclimatically Considered: A Design Primer(1997), The Green Skyscraper: The Basis for Designing Sustainable Intensive Buildings (Prestel), Ecodesign: A Manual for Ecological Design (2006), Eco-Masterplanning (2009), Eco Design Dictionary (an illustrated reference with co-author Lillian Woo, 2009)). He is currently researching for a monograph, Ecomimesis: Bases for Designing the Built Environment, on the mimicry of the ecological properties and attributes of ecosystems (Taylor and Francis).

Yeang’s recent projects exemplify the maturing of his design work with a growing complexity and confidence in creating an ecoarchitecture with an evident luxuriant greening that defines and becomes his own identifiable architectural style. With the high level of verdant landscape in his builtforms, whether externally (or placed internally within the builtform in his projects in temperate and cold climates), his ecoaesthetic is described by his colleagues as 'indeterminate', 'hairy', 'constructed habitats'. 'vertical landscaping'.

The most significant impact of Yeang's work on architecture might be contended to be his revisiting of architectural design to be now no longer as designing architecture simply as synthetic and inanimate objects, but as the complex creation of built structures as 'constructed living systems', that he contends must of course also address other user programmatic functions such as exceptionally fulfilling user needs, creating vitally experiential and pleasurable spaces, etc. Yeang now applies this concept of designing architecture as 'built ecological habitats' to all his work. This might be regarded as taking ecodesign to its next level - redefining the relationship of our human-made synthetic built systems with the ecology of the landscape enabling a higher level of biointegration.

We might contend that in reviewing Yeang's oeuvre of design, built and theoretical work, his most important and instructive contribution to ecological design is his advancing the landmark macro ecology-based landuse planning approach of one of his mentors, the landscape architect Ian McHarg and then extending and articulating this ecomasterplannng work from its large-scale urban planning scale with its ecology-based approach to the 'micro level' of architectural design at the scale of the built form. This was an endeavour that McHarg had sought to do for his architect colleagues but unable to achieve, likely limited by being an landscape architect.

Continuing to carry out a research programme on ecodesign in-house within his professional practice and undertaken over several decades, Yeang uniquely applies his research outcomes concurrently in his built work. This progressively developing body of work led Yeang to being recognized internationally as a pioneer, advocate, writer and innovator in authentic ecological design. By the mid 1990s both private and public sector clients worldwide, dissatisfied with the limitations of conventional accreditation systems and with the ecoengineering-hardware based design approach, sought Yeang for their signature (iconic) ecodesigned architecture projects, ecomasterplans and large scale ecocity designs.

Yeang's design work is characterized by their ideas-driven builtform where each design usually expounds one or more of his newly invented eco systemic or technical ideas pn or novel devices (such as the eco land-bridge and the eco-undercroft in the Guangzhou masterplan, China), the 'ecocell' (in the Kowloon Waterfront Masterplan, Hong Kong), the 'green ecoinfrastructure' (in the SOMA Masterplan, India, the continuous green-wall (in DiGi Data Centre in Shah Alam, Malaysia), the 'Vertical Linear Park' (in the Solaris building, in Singapore) and others.

His recent work explores the concept of 'ecomimicry' as designing the human built environment as constructed ecosystems that mimic the processes, structure and attributes of ecosystems, such as ecosystem biological structure, ecosystem materials recycling, increasing efficient energy use, etc. ‘Ecomimicry’ is a term he uses, adopted from a first use of the term in a paper called Leaning From Natue: The Ecomimicry Poject sent to him electronically by Dr. Alan Marshall (based on Marshall's Poster Paper at a mid-2006 Environmental Education conference in Western Australia) but the term is an obvious outgrowth from the terms ‘biomimicry’ and 'ecomimetics', both used profusely before 2006. Yeang's version of ecomimicry refers to the physical, structural and systemic mimicry, and not to be mistaken with a simplistic 'visual' mimicry which he regards as superficial. This work is developed from his earlier research (in his Cambridge doctoral dissertation, 1974) on the use of biological analogies in design, or 'bionics' (see his paper in Architectral Association Quarterly (AAQ) 1972).

Fundamental to Yeang's design work is an ecological nexus as an ecoinfrastructure within the built structure. All of Yeang’s architecture and ecomasterplans have an internal as well as an external ecological connectivity within the built forms or masterplans that is connected to the landscape at the ground plane and where possible to the hinterland's natural landscape, and which further seek a benign and seamless biointegration between human activities and its built systems with the surrounding ecosystems in the landscape (e.g. in the Zorlu Masterplan, Istanbul, Turkey). He draws a systemic analogy here with 'prosthesis' in surgery with designing for biointegration of our synthetic constructed systems with their host organism. He identifies three levels of designing for biointegration: physical, systemic, temporal.

Most of the current generation of architects and engineers approach “green” design and construction through cleantech ecoengineering ('ecogadgetry') or simply through compliance to green accreditation systems. To Yeang, while these practices are relevant and can be progressive, they do not constitute green design in an environmentally comprehensive and inclusive way inherent in an ecologically-based approach.

Yeang states, “..it is easy to be misled or seduced by technology and to think that if we assemble enough eco-gadgetry (e.g. in the form of solar collectors, photovoltaic cells, biological recycling systems, building-automation systems and double-skin facades, etc.) in one single building that this can automatically be considered ecological architecture..". Yeang contends that although these technologies are commendable ecoengineering systems, they are merely useful components towards an ecological architecture and achieving an ecological outcome. Yeang's asserts that ecological design is not just about cleantech or ecoengineering or carbon neutral systems; but that ecotechnologies and engineering must be integrated with and be influenced by the ecology, climate and physical conditions of the site.

Yeang sees our existent built environment as having alienated humans from nature which needs to be rectified. He defines ecodesign as 'achieving a benign and seamless biointegration of our built environment and human activities with the natural environment', He sees this biointegration function to include enhancing biodiversity, repairing human-caused fragmented ecosystems, enhancing ecological nexus (through devices such as eco landbridges, eco undercrofts, vertical green walls and landscaping), use of ecocells, use of constructed wetlands, repairing ecologically fragmented territory by ecological corridors and fingers to provide an ecological nexus to connect to the landscape and to the hinterland minimising disruptions with adjoining ecosystems, maintaining sensitive ecobalance, enhancing existent urban greenery, reducing or having zero dependency on non-renewable sources of energy, designing for water conservation and management, providing sustainable drainage systems, using green building materials that are recyclable, reusable and re-integratable into the environment, and others. His recent advances (see below) include designing built systems as 'living systems' through designing to create constructed habitats (in the Gyeongi Masterplan, Seoil, Korea).

Many mistakenly regard Yeang’s work as simply placing vegetation in his builtforms or as just creating an ecological nexus (continuous link) within his builtforms to enhance local biodiversity. Yeang’s work does much more than just that. What is unique is that his buildings and ecomasterplans are total 'living systems', designed as constructed ecosystems requiring the creation of new habitats within and around the development, involving the matching of selected native species with these constructed habitats, setting their ‘biodiversity targets’, and providing physical conditions within these habitats to enable them to survive over the seasons of the year. In achieving this, his built work become more than just ‘vertically-landscaped architecture’ but are in effect constructed ‘living systems’ (See pages 252-253 in Hart, Sara, 'Ecoarchitecture – The Work of Ken Yeang', publ. John Wiley & Sons, UK, 2011). This designing of developments as living systems differentiates his work from the work of those who imitiate his work by just placement of planting within their builtforms.