DATUM: KL CONFERENCE, 6 JULY (9.00 AM – 5.00 PM) Plenary Hall (Level 1), Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre DATUM:KL is a major event of the Kuala Lumpur Architecture Festival (KLAF) and is PAM’s annual international architectural design conference that is both a platform of quality discourse and to showcase exemplary architectural projects all over the world. International and regional speakers are selected to share their philosophies and ideas. Since its inception in 2003, the conference attracts up to 2,000 participants each year that includes not just architects but industry partners, academicians, students and designers in other fields of built environment. 1. Wael Al-Masri (Jordan) Based in Jordan, with work around the Middle-east, Wael Al-Basri was notable in the region for his passion for identity architecture which was manifested through practice. He had a strong adherence to Middle-eastern architectural identity, which he had consistently pursued throughout his architectural career. His pursuit of Middle-eastern architecture was recognised through several awards, including “Arab Architect Award” in 2008 for lifetime achievements from the Arab Towns Organization Award Foundation in Doha, Qatar. 2. Chen Xi (China) creative architect with a poetic touch to his works. The works were bedded in culture, history and context, yet have universal appeal and tug the interest the universal onlooker. Architecture and art blended in the works, along with the provision of scale, function and immersive experience. 3. Kun Lim (USA/Malaysia) Kun Lim run a practice in Seattle, USA: Kun Lim Studio LLC, and the office in KL is headed by his brother, Lim Kun San. The offices were known for their design attributes as well as being grounded in practice. For several decades Kun Lim had been providing visionary ideas on architectural design for his practices as well as those that had engaged him. He was also an engaging communicator on architectural practice, as displayed at the conference. 4. Jo Nagasaka (Japan) Based in Tokyo, Jo Nagasaka and the team from Schemata Architects were known for their flamboyant attitude toward architecture and interior design. They cherished the process of architecture with outcomes that were thick with details and subtleties, while portraying elegance with the control immersion of natural light. The works were consistently recognisably Japanese and modern. 5. Jim Caumeron (Philippines) Jim Caumeron addressed the Philippines context in a universalist way that did not depend on local stylistic sentiments. He used just a few materials to capture the poetics of space and the outcome was recognisably Modern, that recalled early Modernism. The works decidedly avoided traditional Philippines’ stereotypes and could be considered innovative and even radical in that way. His works were recognisably rigorous in concept and execution, as well as the way climate was addressed.