Hijjas Kasturi


Hijjas bin Kasturi is a Malaysian architect. Active for more than fifty years, he has been responsible for some of the most significant buildings in South East Asia, in the modern, postmodern, and deconstructivist styles. He is considered the father of Malaysian architecture of the second half of the twentieth century.

Early life

Hijjas was born in Singapore in 26 September 1936. His Chinese mother was raised in Indonesia and then married a Singaporean Javanese. He and went to Raffles Institute to continue his secondary education, and he was then granted a scholarship by the Australian Government to study at the University of Adelaide; he eventually graduated from the University of Melbourne. He moved to Malaysia in 1967 and founded the first professional degree program in Malaysia, The School of Art and Architecture at MARA Institute of Technology. In 1977, he founded his own practice, Hijjas Kasturi Associates Sdn.

Career

Hijjas started as a Draughtsman with the Singapore Housing Trust in 1956, preparing the Master Plan for Queenstown, and lowcost flats for Singapore. After three years, he joined the South Australian Housing Trust as a Draughtsman preparing the Master Plan for Elizabeth Town,South Australia, and various housing schemes.
In 1961, Hijjas became an Architectural Assistant with Brown & Davis, South Australia, working on hospital planning, commercial and religious buildings and housing. In 1965, he became an architect with Hume Proprietary Ltd., Melbourne, Australia planning the construction of factories, warehouses and district offices.
In 1966, Hijjas returned to Singapore and became an Architect/Planner with Urban Renewal Department of the Housing and Development Board of Singapore, in charge of the central transportation terminus study, planning for Ministry of Internal Defence Headquarters and city Development.
However, in 1967, he left Singapore for Malaysia and become the Team leader for feasibility study for the establishment of InstitutTeknoloji MARA. He was also the Founding Head of, School of Art and Architecture, Institut Teknologi MARA and the Master Planner for ITM Complex at Shah Alam. He was also the architect for MARA Vocational Institute, Malacca.
In 1969, he was the founding principal partner of AkitekBersekutu, subsequently AkitekBersekutu Malaysia. He was also the Founding principal of Hijjas Kasturi Associates Sdn., Architects and Planners.

Notable buildings

Hijjas was the architect of Wisma Equity one of the most prominent brutalist buildings constructed in Malaysia. Located at 150, Jalan Ampang, 50450, Kuala Lumpur, it is on a prominent site and was completed in 1982. It was officially opened in 1983 by Dato Elyasbin Omar. Wisma Equity is an 11 floors office building including a lower ground. It is made of exposed concrete, and the building appears to defy gravity and structure by becoming larger as it rises. In this regard, it bears a formal similarity to Marcel Breuer's Whitney Museum in New York City.
Major buildings designed by Hijjas Kasturi Associates include the Menara Maybank, Tabung Haji, Telekom Tower, Putrajaya International Convention Centre and the 4G11 Tower in Putrajaya.

Awards

Hijjas married Elizabeth Fay Wilson, an Australian from Melbourne, and the couple had three children who were born in Australia, including daughter Serina Hijjas. Serina Hijjas now serves as director of Hijjas Kasturi Associates Sdn. Hijjas is now married to Angela Jane Longworth, with whom he has two daughters.
In 1994 the couple launched a residency program for artists, writers, performers and choreographers. The residencies are based in heritage buildings that the two restored in Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Over the years the program has provided lodging and sponsorship to more than 100 artists. Hijjas and Angela were both recognized by Forbes Asia as Heroes of Philanthropy in 2011.