IFI LEADS ASIA 2024: The inside scoop on Kuala Lumpur’s engaging dialogue

by Aisha Capulong

The internationally renowned speaker series by IFI took place in Asia for the very first time, where IFI CEO Shashi Caan channeled a dynamic conversation with five prominent speakers representing Malaysia

The Luminary Experts, Architects & Designers Speaker (LEADS) series, an annual initiative by the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI), is a compelling speaking session series featuring prominent figures from the global design community. Taking the form of 50-minute discussions, the IFI LEADS programme provides a platform for expert insights and knowledge exchange on critical global challenges.

The very first IFI LEADS in Asia was held in Kuala Lumpur last Friday November 8, 2024. This year’s selected speakers are esteemed leaders in their own right who shared a range of thought-provoking ideas that challenge local perspectives around the theme, ‘Design: Wellness Reimagined’. A part of the discussion revolved around the very principle of wellness design, while another explored the ‘reimagining’ of it — or what the future holds for design that is meant to augment user wellbeing.

Keynote contribution by IFI LEADS ASIA Guest of Honour

Yang Berhormat Datuk Amar Prof Dr Sim Kui Hian, Deputy Premier and Minister for Public Health, Housing and Local Government of Sarawak, Malaysia, was invited as the inaugural IFI LEADS ASIA’s Guest of Honour. Sending the speaking session off to an inspiring start, Yang Berhormat Dr Sim Kui Hian gave a keynote address detailing the different wellness design initiatives he has worked on in Sarawak, a state in Malaysia with green community actions embedded into its political landscape.

Yang Berhormat Dr Sim Kui Hian shared his perspective as both a cardiologist and policymaker, revealing how wellness design should ideally encompass both physical and mental wellbeing. Especially so in medical environments, a connection to nature is important in providing peace to its users — of which can be seen at the Sarawak Heart Centre, where Yang Berhormat Dr Sim Kui Hian is a member of the Hospital Visitor Board overseeing its green community initiatives.

Yang Berhormat Dr Sim Kui Hian then expanded on some of Sarawak’s energetic public spaces that have been built to encourage connection and provide healing third places for the community. He also emphasised on the holistic nature of which wellness design needs to be considered. It is not limited to just aesthetics, but rather all the factors that come into making the space, including the accessibility and social inclusivity of its final users. A space that is designed to promote wellbeing should not be limited to only certain demographics.

What’s more, wellness design should take into account the planet’s wellbeing, too. Through principles like a circular economy and relying on renewable energy, designers can integrate green movements and technologies into the spaces they create to ensure both its users and planet Earth are taken good care of.

Ending on an uplifting note, Yang Berhormat Dr Sim Kui Hian encouraged designers to reimagine wellness design by thinking big and starting small. All initiatives in history have been incepted from singular ideas; it is the small, scaleable actions that follow that make them possible.

IFI CEO Shashi Caan's expert guidance and moderation

IFI CEO Ar Professor Shashi Caan acted as the moderator at IFI LEADS ASIA 2024. As she skillfully steered the dialogue, several key points stood out as her overarching outlook on ‘Design: Wellness Reimagined’. Shashi spoke on how thoughtful design has the power to become antecedents in society’s support systems, and how integrating human values and emotion into spaces is also a part of wellness design.

Shashi believes wellness design is comprised of three dimensions: societal fit, design impact and mental repose. For a space to be designed for wellbeing, it should ideally cater for as many ages, backgrounds and cultures as possible. It should also have an impact on its users, be it tangible or intangible — like reducing stress, for instance. Above all, the space designed with wellness in mind should provide mental peace through a play on the senses. It could be visual or auditory, or something else entirely, which Shashi entrusts to designers with an air of, “Surprise me!” in her implication.

The accomplished Professor advocated for designers around the world to put inclusivity and sustainability at the forefront of their designs, and while perpending on the ways in which wellness design can be reimagined, Shashi’s confident the human aspect to creativity and art will always be ahead of generative artificial intelligence (AI).

The five driving forces at IFI LEADS ASIA 2024

The inaugural IFI LEADS ASIA speaking session saw the involvement of five prominent speakers representing Malaysia: John Jong of Thinkscape Design Group, Tennyson Chia of Sachi, Ramesh Seshan of seshan design, Ar Daniel Koh of Arkitek Daniel Koh and Wong Koon Nam, Senior Project Manager at Hap Seng Land. Find the discussion highlights around ‘Design: Wellness Reimagined’ by each speaker below:

John Jong
Founder of Thinkscape Design Group
on ‘Design: Wellness Reimagined’

John sees wellbeing as something that needs to be intrinsic and implemented across all aspects. At Thinkscape, he brings about wellbeing starting from every background process and even down to how he manages his team. John finds that wellness design is not just about the final outcome of the space.

At the mention of ways to stay ahead of generative artificial intelligence (AI), he calls for a systemic change in education moving forward. John suggests nourishing creativity in the youth, because human ingenuity is something that generative AI cannot recreate. By fostering an acute understanding of psychology from the get-go in future generations, creativity will remain society’s forte.

When asked where he sees Thinkscape in the next 3-5 years, John hopes to actualise a dedicated in-house team around tech observing. He believes that with a whole unit keeping an eye on the latest systems out there, their design work will stand as the industry pacesetter.

Tennyson Chia
Concept Architect of Mercedes-Benz South East Asia, Principal at SACHI
on ‘Design: Wellness Reimagined’

Tennyson is of the opinion that injecting life into spaces is wellness design, in and of itself. In order to reimagine design, Tennyson understands that artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay, and so, he spurs for designers to incorporate it into their processes one way or another.

AI as a tool can help simulate the environments needed to evolve wellness design and can be used as a sandbox to test out the findings of human sciences around design. Use AI in ways that are groundbreaking, Tennyson alludes, and not to replace the art factor that human minds bring to the table.

In the next 3-5 years, he plans to collaborate with forces outside the design industry to further explore what wellness is. Wellbeing should be approached as a holistic philosophy, not only in design but everything else as well, which is why Tennyson hopes to bring in the opinions and influences of those from other industries into wellness design.

Ramesh Seshan
Founder of seshan design
on ‘Design: Wellness Reimagined’

Ramesh’s attitude towards wellness design is longevity. In time, he has lived with the notion that spaces should be designed to evolve with its users. This also involves financial accessibility to a certain extent, as spaces designed with wellbeing in mind should also work for the different generations that will inhibit it, no matter their financial or social standing.

Wellness design is something that encompasses entire lifestyles. A user’s wellbeing comes from their particular environment and so, these environments should be designed with all the small factors that make up the overall picture, from utilising colour sciences to the practicality of its furniture.

Plus, Ramesh believes that as psychology as a science develops, wellness design will quickly follow suit. As we know more about the human mind, designers will naturally be able to assimilate those findings into their work.

Ar Daniel Koh
Founder of Arkitek Daniel Koh
on ‘Design: Wellness Reimagined’

As an architect, Ar Daniel sees the world with all its complicated technicalities while maintaining a sense of high art in his outlook. Wellness design, to him, needs to make sense for its location. Specificity is part of accessibility, and thus, wellbeing — so if a space does not work for its surroundings, questions Ar Daniel, does it really benefit its users?

He is firm in his stance against generative artificial intelligence (AI). Ar Daniel is certain generative AI will never recreate the humanity of art and design, but he sees the potential of predictive AI tools in boosting task efficiency. As he chuckles, Ar Daniel reveals he still plans to”keep AI at arm’s length”.

Wong Koon Nam
Senior Project Manager at Hap Seng Land
on ‘Design: Wellness Reimagined’

In reimagining design, Koon Nam speaks on how predictive artificial intelligence (AI) can help make things more efficient. He shares a predictive AI use case from a former project, recounting how it aided his team in pinpointing specific problem areas in a large-scale plan.

Although predictive AI can aid in data processing and pattern finding, something that Koon Nam regards as irreplicable by AI is the human nature of observation. Looking at how a space is used and making the relevant empathic connections is a distinct characteristic that AI cannot recreate.

Moving forward, Koon Nam is of the mind that no matter one’s stance around AI, designers may still need to absorb it into their processes in order to stay competitive in the industry. In the coming years, it could make a difference in who is more apt with the ‘smaller’ tasks that come with design.

IFI LEADS ASIA 2024 is organised by