As visitors to his home can attest, Tan Loke Mun walks the talk. His personal abode, the famous S11 House, embodies his brand of architecture. Completed in 2011, Tan’s home is naturally cooled, and boasts other features such as the black water treatment, solar panels, daylight tubes, which made it the first house in the country to earn a Green Building Index (GBI) Platinum rating.

What made the home even more remarkable is how Tan, an architecture doctorate degree holder, was able to incorporate the technological innovations with the visual language of the home, recycling parts of the structure and retaining some of the surrounding features to preserve the space’s character.

He brings the same thoughtful approach to all his projects that range in scale from home renovations and shopping centres, to corporate offices, master-planned neighbourhoods and townships, not just in Malaysia but around Asia as well.

Tan’s architectural firms have gained recognition from various organisations, among them, the Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM), Malaysian Institute of Interior Design (MIID) REKA Awards, ASEAN Energy Award, Asia Pacific Design Awards for sustainability, and the Futurarc Green Leadership Award.

Despite his busy schedule and enviable stature, Tan makes time to share his experiences and knowhow, as a lecturer at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia in Johor, and as industry advisor to both Taylor’s University in Selangor and Tunku Abdul Rahman University College in Kuala Lumpur. He is also recognised for leading the team that set up the GBI green rating tool specifically for the tropics, and for promoting green building in Malaysia. In 2018, he founded Atelier International, a publishing company specialising in architecture and related subject matters, which has published seven books to date.

This year, Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia (PAM) or Malaysian Institute of Architects awarded Tan the Kington Loo Medal, the organisation's the highest honour in recognition of a lifetime of commitment, services, and contribution to the professional body and the architecture profession.