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Born in Malaysia and educated in the USA, Rene Tan--who describes himself as an accidental architect--now resides and practices architecture in Singapore. He grew up in Penang amidst discussions over jazz, art and football with his father.
Rene received his BA both in architecture and music at Yale and his MArch from Princeton. At Yale he remembers balancing countless hours of piano practice in the basement of Hendrie Hall and all nighters at architecture studio; he attributes learning the 'core values' of aesthetics from Yale. From Princeton he recalls sleeping once every two nights while learning the true value of the plan. He believes he is a survivor.
Today as Director at RT+Q Architects (a firm he co-founded with partner TK Quek), Rene leads a team of about fifteen in their search for the elusive ideals in architecture. The lessons he learnt from music school shape their work. To transcend themselves, Rt+Q pursues a counter-intuitive approach toward design. He has two daily reminders for his team and himself: 'never think like an architect' and 'always put the wrong thing at the right place'.
RT+Q's portfolio covers works of various types, scale and sizes; they have done work locally and internationally. Amongst recent projects are a tombstone, a bus stop, a high-rise residence and a ski resort. They have been conferred awards by the Singapore Institute of Architects, the Chicago Atheneum amongst others, and have been finalists at the World Architecture Festival on various occasions. Rene was 'Designer of the Year' laureate of the 2016 President's Design Awards, Singapore--an honour he shares with everyone at RT+Q.
Active in academia, Rene teaches and lectures in forums, conferences and schools. He has held teaching appointments at Berkeley, Syracuse, Hong Kong and Singapore. Fall 2017 he was Adjunct Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore. Strong advocates of travel, education and fun, his office now confers the annual 'RT+Q Rome Prize' at the Singapore University of Technology and Design.
To maintain work-life balance, Rene divides his time between finding the next manageable ski-slope with wife Woei Woei, showing daughter Lara the next opera house, and struggling himself to finish learning Liszt's Liebestraume no3. His wife, who remains his biggest influence, advises him from world affairs to paying the next bill on time. His daughter reminds him that "the real beauty of architecture is not about the looks, but about the heart and character in the building".
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Image: Agrapolis Urban Permaculture Farm by David Johanes Palar
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Today as Director at RT+Q Architects (a firm he co-founded with partner TK Quek), Rene leads a team of about fifteen in their search for the elusive ideals in architecture. The lessons he learnt from music school shape their work. To transcend themselves, Rt+Q pursues a counter-intuitive approach toward design. He has two daily reminders for his team and himself: 'never think like an architect' and 'always put the wrong thing at the right place'. RT+Q's portfolio covers works of various types, scale and sizes; they have done work locally and internationally. Amongst recent projects are a tombstone, a bus stop, a high-rise residence and a ski resort. They have been conferred awards by the Singapore Institute of Architects, the Chicago Atheneum amongst others, and have been finalists at the World Architecture Festival on various occasions. Rene was 'Designer of the Year' laureate of the 2016 President's Design Awards, Singapore--an honour he shares with everyone at RT+Q. Active in academia, Rene teaches and lectures in forums, conferences and schools. He has held teaching appointments at Berkeley, Syracuse, Hong Kong and Singapore. Fall 2017 he was Adjunct Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore. Strong advocates of travel, education and fun, his office now confers the annual 'RT+Q Rome Prize' at the Singapore University of Technology and Design. To maintain work-life balance, Rene divides his time between finding the next manageable ski-slope with wife Woei Woei, showing daughter Lara the next opera house, and struggling himself to finish learning Liszt's Liebestraume no3. His wife, who remains his biggest influence, advises him from world affairs to paying the next bill on time. His daughter reminds him that "the real beauty of architecture is not about the looks, but about the heart and character in the building".
The AYDA Awards is part of Nippon Paint’s vision to nurture the next generation of Architectural and Interior Design talents. It serves as a platform to inspire students of these disciplines to develop their skills through cross-learning.