Tasmanian alum taking the Malaysian Architecture Industry by storm

Read Alan’s story about how Tasmania helped build his successful career

Alan Teh is one of Malaysia’s most renowned architects. His impressive architecture career began when he became an international student at the University of Tasmania (UTAS). We spoke to Alan about how his international student experience in Tasmania has shaped the career he has today.

Moving to Tasmania

Originally from Malaysia, Alan moved to Tasmania in 1995 to study a Bachelor of Architecture at UTAS. He had been offered a Tasmanian International Scholarship by the university.

“Apart from the scholarship, one of the reasons I chose UTAS was due to its smaller class sizes, which I figured would result in a more attentive teaching faculty at its School of Architecture.”

Studying at UTAS

When Alan began studying at UTAS, he was one of just three international students enrolled in his first year undergraduate course. Alan saw this as a chance to fully immerse himself in Tasmanian culture.

“I had the opportunity to mix and mingle with almost all of the local Australian students throughout the whole course, some of whom are still my friends today.”

Alan also says that he quickly bonded with the few other international students from Asia.

“The number of Asian overseas students on campus meant that we made friends easily through the various social activities led by the international student clubs. We took care of each other and often held delicious potluck (‘bring a dish’) dinners to mend our homesickness. Many of us remain close friends today, and whenever we travel to Singapore, Bangkok, Taipei or even Hong Kong, we catch up with our old mates!”

As Alan had predicted when he decided to study at UTAS, his student experience was enhanced by the university’s small class sizes, as well as the close-knit university community.

Alan says,“the smaller class sizes meant that we developed a closer mentor–mentee relationship with our lecturers. Contrary to the experience of my friends at some other universities, all our lecturers knew us by our full names! Peer learning was a very important part of our education too”.

European exchange

UTAS gave Alan the chance to participate in an exchange program with Bergen School of Architecture in Norway. For Alan, the experience was an invaluable one.

He says, “I was able to experience another style of learning in architecture education and a different doctrine of architecture philosophy”.

Alan also used the opportunity to backpack around Europe for three months and describes the trip as an “architecture pilgrimage”.

“I visited many of the world’s best architecture and building sites. The experience is still deeply ingrained in me today – so much so, it has helped to shape my own architecture philosophy.”

Current role

Alan has run his own architecture practice in Kuala Lumpur since 2005. The firm has an additional branch in Penang, and is made up of a team of 30 architects, assistant architects, CAD technicians and administrative staff.

Alan’s company has won multiple green architecture awards, including the Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia/Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM) Award in 2016, 2017 and 2020, and Project of the Year in the 2016 Malaysia Landscape Architecture Awards (MLAA).

Alan has also been individually recognised for his architectural talents and was most recently listed as one of Malaysia's top 10 architects in Top 10 of Malaysia magazine in 2017.

Along with running his very successful business, Alan is also a part-time lecturer at two local universities and participates in placemaking (reimagining/reinventing public spaces) projects in Penang.

Tasmanian inspirations

Since studying at UTAS, Alan has built an incredibly successful career in the architecture industry. He still credits the university with setting him up for success.

“With its emphasis on both the pragmatic and philosophical, the UTAS architecture program is one of the best in the world,” he says.

Alan’s enjoyment of Tasmania’s wild natural landscape has also shaped his passion for sustainable design.

“The abundance of outdoor activities such as bushwalking, hiking and skiing has made me a nature-loving person – one with a conscious mind for sustainable design and sustainable development goals, which is the most important topic in the world now. At UTAS, we learnt how to appreciate nature in design right from the first year of my course.”

Future plans

In the future, Alan wants to continue creating inspirational designs for his clients and the community, along with providing help to budding UTAS architecture students.

“I hope to come back to the university to contribute further through knowledge sharing and perhaps teaching collaboration, as I have been doing in Malaysia. And because I have benefitted from the scholarship offered by the university, one day I would like to establish a small pool of scholarship funds for the School of Architecture to attract outstanding international students to study at UTAS.”

But that’s not all. Alan also plans to publish a book about his firm’s selected works to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the firm’s establishment in 2025.

Advice

For any international students considering study in Tasmania, Alan has this advice.

“The world is getting smaller and smaller with the advent of the internet. So being able to study and live in a slightly isolated and pristine location such as Tasmania is really the chance of a lifetime. Just go for it!”