” Architectural ‘Lightning Rod’ Laurence Loh bestowed with highest honour at PAM Awards 2019 “
Type: Award
Date: July 2019
The Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM) awarded Professor Architect Laurence Loh with the Gold Medal for Design Excellence (2019) in early July 2019. The Gold Medal was conferred on him by PAM President Ar. Lilian Tay, witnessed by Penang Mayor Dato’ Ar. Yew Tung Seang, in a special ceremony as part of the Kuala Lumpur Architecture Festival (KLAF 2019). Another prominent architect, Ar. Jimmy Lim is also a recipient of the Gold Medal for Design Excellence. The Gold Medal represents the highest honour that PAM can bestow on an Architect to recognise lifetime achievement in architecture by Malaysian architects, whose careers have endowed the profession with great distinction and have promoted, either directly or indirectly, the advancement of architecture in Malaysia and internationally. Laurence was selected by an esteemed panel of judges, consisting of experts led by the Immediate Past President of PAM, Ar. Ezumi Harzani Ismail.
Since the inception of the Award in 1988 there have been 8 recipients. Prof. Ar. Laurence Loh joins a very short list of Gold Medal recipients which includes some of the most prominent architects the country has produced, such as Ar. Hijjas Kasturi, Dato Seri Ar. Lim Cheong Keat, Datuk Ar. Baharuddin Abu Kassim and Dato Dr. Ar. Kenneth Yeang.
In the Jury citation, Prof. Ar. Laurence Loh was recognised as the trailblazing pioneer of heritage conservation in Malaysia. “He has reinforced the role of the architect as a custodian of knowledge in the environment of historical buildings,” said Ar. Wooi Lok Kuang in his citation at the award ceremony.
The jury further acknowledged his numerous contributions to Malaysia’s built environment through his involvement in UNESCO and Badan Warisan Malaysia, in his capacity as director of Think City and his commitment to many other civic society organisations: “…as a hardcore architectural conservation advocate, practitioner, teacher, advisor and civil society activist, Laurence positioned himself as the lightning rod attracting believers willing to invest in ideas and transform sites into game changers.”
Through his practice, Arkitek LLA, Prof. Ar. Laurence Loh has been responsible for some of the country’s most recognised award-winning projects. The award for Design Excellence is especially fitting considering the breadth of his work: encompassing conservation and adaptive reuse projects such as the world-renown Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, Stadium Merdeka, Suffolk House and Bangunan UAB (winner of the PAM Building of the Year Award 2018), as well as contemporary architecture projects ranging from bungalows to high rise commercial buildings such as the Penang Swimming Club, the Penang Hill Stations and Sunrise Gurney, the recipient of this Year’s PAM Award for Highrise Commercial Buildings.
