UTAR Bachelor of Science (Honors) Architecture alumni and students clinched third, fourth and fifth place at Langkawi Bamboo Festival on 27 November 2022 held at Telaga Walk, Pantai Cenang, Langkawi.

Themed Art, Culture and Heritage, the competition aimed to create a cohesive and contemporary national identity around Malaysian Arts, Heritage and Culture (AHC) through the preservation and celebration of existing AHC assets and the strengthening of the ecosystem; Environment, enable Malaysia’s critical ecosystem of forests, rivers and seas to be clean and conserved for all Malaysians and serve as a refuge for all biodiversity and Community Development, to enable social and economic empowerment for vulnerable communities as a means to improve their wellbeing.

The team was supervised by Department of Architecture & Sustainable Design Specialist I Abd Muluk Abd Manan and academic Ts Dr Tan Kok Hong. “The festival is aimed to promote carbon-neutral construction as the local government encourage to use the abundant local bamboo resources and relatively mature engineered bamboo in wood building technologies. This will help in developing tourism among young villagers to return to their hometowns to start business and rebuilding a beautiful village, as well as to enable social and economic empowerment for communities to improve their wellbeing”, said Abd Muluk.

The first third place team with project titled Wingnest was Boon Jing Jack, Jessie Ku Hui Lun, MST Jesmin Sultana. The second third place team with project titled Oasis were Hee Kehao, Jeff Jee Wei Wah, Lee Chee Le, and Lim Zhi Xing. They walked away with cash prize RM1000, certificates each, medals and Adopt a Bamboo certificate.

The 3rd place winners also received $500USD for Bamboo retreat Home Design Competition and the actual realisation of construction on site of T.Rumah Development at Langkawi by Sara Design and Team.

The fourth place team with project titled Sailboat was Lim Zhi Xing, Lee Chee Le, Thoong Lee, Yap Hui Yee. They received certificates each, medals and Adopt a Bamboo certificate.

And the fifth place team with project titled Herbang was Jeff Jee Wei Wah, Hee Kehao, Cheng Xun, and Low Heng Shan. They received certificates each, medals and Adopt a Bamboo certificate.

Speaking on their winning entries, the participating teams said they had a good opportunity to explore the experience on working with bamboo design based on their creativities and inspirations, and they are glad and proud to be able to incorporates with bamboo and natural elements in their own design.

The Langkawi Bamboo Festival 2022 is organised by the Pertubuhan Amanah Warisan Kedah (PUTRA) in collaboration with the Tourism Malaysia, Malaysian Timber Industry Board (MTIB) and Langkawi Development Authority and Langkawi Craft Complex.

The Langkawi Bamboo Festival 2022 is being organized with the support of artisans, public and private institutions, agencies, and all involved in the bamboo industry. National and international buyers will participate in the festival, and buyer-seller meetings will be part of the exhibition. There will also be B2B and B2C sessions. The exhibition will feature office stationery, bamboo blinds, kitchen utensils, decorative items, interior design, bamboo furniture, building materials, and bamboo seedlings.