SPEAKER
Mr Brian Yang
Partner & Architect, Bjarke Ingels Group

Brian Yang joined BIG in 2007 and has worked closely with Bjarke Ingels across a wide range of projects such as an energy efficient skyscraper completed in 2017 in Shenzhen, and the 8 House, a new typology of residential building completed in 2010 in Copenhagen. He has been the Project Leader on competition-winning proposals, including a new Waste-to-Energy plant in Copenhagen that doubles as a ski slope, and a sustainable wood construction multifamily residential development in Finland.

Most recently, he has been the partner-in-charge for a 280m tall mixed-use tower in the heart of Singapore that broke ground in 2018. With a background in energy efficiency research as well as undergraduate studies in economics, Brian brings additional focus on environmental and economic sustainability into all of his projects.

SPEAKER
Mr Curt Garrigan
Chief, Sustainable Urban Development Section, UNESCAP

Mr. Curt Garrigan is Chief of the Sustainable Urban Development Section for UN-ESCAP. In this role, he contributes to ESCAP’s efforts to promote sustainable urban solutions in cities throughout the region. Before joining UN-ESCAP, Mr. Garrigan spent seven years with UN Environment in Paris, France as Coordinator of the Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative and as Cities and Buildings Programme Manager. Prior to joining the UN system, Mr. Garrigan served more than 22 years in operational and management roles for the City of Nashville, Tennessee USA, including Deputy Mayor, Parks Director, and Infrastructure and Planning Coordinator for the city’s post-Flood Recovery Team.

SPEAKER
Prof Lam Khee Poh
Provost's Chair Professor of Architecture and Building; Dean, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore

Professor Lam is architect, educator and researcher who specializes in computational design support systems for total building performance analysis and building diagnostics. He is a Director of the Centre for Liveable Cities Ltd., Singapore, and Advisory Board member of Delos, USA. He is a building performance consultant for several major award-winning projects and certified green buildings in Singapore, China and USA. He received the 2013 Alexander Schwarzkopf Prize from the US National Science Foundation. He also received the IBM Faculty Award in 2010. He was conferred the inaugural iBuildSG LEAD Distinguished Fellow by the Building and Construction Authority, Singapore in 2020.

SPEAKER
Mr Sima Xiao
Dean & Chief Planner, Urban Planning and Design Institute, Shenzhen, China

As a well-known expert in the field of urban planning in China, a pioneer in local exploration and pragmatic reform studies, Xiao Sima has been committed to first-tier urban planning and design for more than 30 years. He has presided over and participated in more than 300 planning and design research and application projects, leading a number of excellent planning, design and technology development achievements.

In 2016, he was awarded the National Excellent Urban Planning Science and Technology Worker; in 2019, he was awarded the Special Allowance Expert of Shenzhen Municipal Government, Shenzhen High-level Professional and Technical Personnel (local level leader); in 2020, he was awarded the Special government allowances of the State Council and honoured with Engineering Survey and Design Master of Shenzhen (the first session). Over the years, he has achieved many awards for his academic and professional successes, and has won more than 40 prizes of national and provincial levels.

MODERATOR
Ms Teoh Zsin Woon
Second Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Development, Singapore

Previously as Deputy Secretary (Transformation) in Public Service Division, Ms Teoh Zsin Woon oversaw public sector transformation and curates service-wide efforts to achieve deeper transformation at the Whole-of-Government, agency and individual levels. She champions multi-agency efforts to develop integrated service delivery for citizens and businesses.

This not only involves leveraging on digital technology but also deepening engagement with citizens to better appreciate their challenges so that the Public Service can better design solutions. Zsin Woon also oversees public sector workforce development, and was involved in setting up the SG United Jobs and Skills Package initiative as a response to support Singaporeans who were displaced from their jobs arising from the COVID-19 crisis.