We Can Build It

KATARXIS N°2

We Can Build It

Tasis American School in Lugano, Switzerland by David Mayernik Contemporary Traditional Architecture New Townhouse in Melbourne, Australia by Christopher Doyle

"The revival of traditional urbanism and architecture is, unlike modernism, decidedly not an utopian project. Tradition draws deeply from a culture spread vastly across time and space, and as such mirrors humanity's contradictions, foibles, and fallen nature. Since imperfection is therefore guaranteed, I believe that we should, paradoxically, strive for perfection. For as Robert Burns put it, --'A man's reach should exceed his grasp, else what's the heaven for?'--"

Milton Grenfell, Architect

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Public Housing in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg

by Mulhern & Steil, Luxembourg

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Ertegün House, Bodrum, Turkey (1973)

by Turgut Cansever

(Photo by Christopher Little)

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture

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Datai Hotel, Pulau Lang Kawi, Malaysia (1989-1993)

Client: Teluk Datai Resorts Sdn. Bhd.

by Kerry Hill Architects:

Kerry Hill, Wong Mun Summ, Gerald Richardson, Karen Lim

Associate Architects: Akitek Jururancang Sdn. Bhd.

A New Hotel in Malaysia

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Datai Hotel in Pulau Langkawi, Malaysia

by Kerry Hill Architects

(Photo by Albert Lim)

"The Datai, a five star hotel on a popular resort island in northern Malaysia, is an example of how far developer and architect can go to achieve a symbiosis between terrain and built form, tradition and tourism, vernacular styles and modernism."

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture

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Datai Hotel in Pulau Langkawi, Malaysia

by Kerry Hill Architects

(Photo by Albert Lim)

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Datai Hotel in Pulau Langkawi, Malaysia

by Kerry Hill Architects

(Photo by Albert Lim)

"The Hotel is set in a 750 hectare site, which includes a beach, untouched rainforest, and a sensitive ecosystem of swamps, streams and wildlife. It is comprised of free-standing buildings, pavilions and isolated villas located on a ridge away from the beachfront."

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Datai Hotel in Pulau Langkawi, Malaysia

by Kerry Hill Architects

(Photo by Albert Lim)

"The Hotel contains 124 guest modules, arranged as rooms within blocks of accommodation and as freestanding villas.

The design of the resort is extremely sensitive to the fragile environment in which it is set, and demonstrates a fairly large intervention can be built within a tropical rainforest which allows nature to reclaim terrain after construction.

The buildings themselves are fine examples of a synthesis between traditional forms and materials and the rigour of modern architecture."

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture

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