Speaker

Ken Yeang

Eco-Architect & Author | Do Radio Guest, It's Not About Trees with John Lunn

Catch Ken on Do Radio:
It's Not About Trees with John Lunn 22-28 September 2025

Dr. Kenneth Yeang is a globally recognized architect, planner, ecologist, and author from Malaysia, renowned for pioneering ecological architecture and master-planning since 1971. His academic research focuses on creating a theoretical and practical foundation for bio-integration, designing the built environment as a constructed ecosystems that harmoniously connect human-made structures with natural systems. His concept of eco-mimicry emphasizes mimicking not merely the visual aspects of nature but its structural, systemic, and ecological processes. He is distinguished for developing bioclimatic design principles as a core subset of ecological architecture, ensuring buildings are future ready, climate-responsive, energy-efficient, and contextually integrated. His theoretical framework, originating from his Cambridge Ph.D. dissertation, proposes a mathematical model for eco-design based on interdependent environmental interactions, guiding his innovative architectural and master-planning work. The Guardian (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guardian) newspaper (2008) named him "one of the 50 people who could save the planet".

Show notes

In this episode of It’s Not About Trees, John Lunn talks to world-renowned architect and pioneer of ecological design, Ken Yeang. From his early days studying in the UK and Australia to decades of pushing the boundaries of green architecture, Ken shares his vision for integrating the built environment with the natural world. He reflects on the evolution from simply minimising environmental impact to today’s urgent need for regeneration, and explains why true green buildings are more than just a roof garden, they are living, connected ecosystems.Ken draws on nearly 50 years of research and practice, revealing the commercial realities, client challenges, and the creative “guerrilla” tactics he’s used to embed ecological features in projects. From spiralling greenery in skyscrapers to urban ecological corridors, his work blends science, design, and persistence. With characteristic candour, Ken talks about the pressures of the profession, the loneliness of being an ecological architect, and the five key components he believes must be integrated for a sustainable future: nature, human society, buildings and materials, energy, and water.

Highlights include:

How a Cambridge research project on the “autonomous house” sparked a lifelong agenda in ecological design.
The shift from mitigating environmental harm to repairing and regenerating ecosystems.
Why connectivity - linking green spaces within and beyond cities - is essential for biodiversity.
Designing spirals of greenery to attract butterflies, songbirds, and migratory birds at different building levels.
The political, commercial, and cultural barriers to green architecture - and how to overcome them.
The role of biophilia in human wellbeing and why “making people happy” is the ultimate purpose of architecture.

Book: On the Road - Jack Kerouac

Song: Tenderly - Rosemary Clooney (inspired by childhood memories)

Quote: “It’s not easy being green.” – Kermit the Frog

Talks

46:38

Work With Nature

Ken Yeang•Creativity

Ecodesign is the seamless and benign biointegration of everything that we make and do as human beings with the natural environment. The key principles of green design and planning will be illustrated by examples from Ken’s designs and projects.

DO Wales

2008