AnA Singapore 2025

About the Speakers

Charu Kokate sees architecture as a catalyst for positive change, influencing communities and cities alike. As Senior Partner and Director of Safdie Architects’ Singapore office, she leads the firm’s projects across Asia, ensuring that complex designs are executed with precision and integrity. Her portfolio includes iconic landmarks such as Marina Bay Sands and Jewel Changi Airport, both recipients of Singapore’s prestigious President’s Design Award. She has also contributed to projects such as Altair Towers in Sri Lanka, Boulevard 88 | EDITION Singapore, and Surbana Jurong’s rainforest campus. Currently, Charu is part of the leadership team overseeing the expansion of Marina Bay Sands. A champion of humanist design, Charu represents Safdie Architects at global forums such as TEDx and the World Architecture Festival. As a thought leader, speaker and mentor, she is dedicated to empowering women in design and inspiring the next generation of architects. www.safdiearchitects.com

Richard Hassell is the co-Founding Director of WOHA. He graduated from the University of Western Australia in 1989 and was awarded Master of Architecture from Melbourne’s RMIT University in 2002. He has lectured at many universities, had served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Australia and was appointed the Seidler Chair in the Practice of Architecture at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. WOHA projects are living systems that connect to the city as a whole. With every project, the practice aims to create a matrix of interconnected human-scaled environments that foster community, enable stewardship of nature, generate biocentric beauty, activate ecosystem services and build resilience. WOHA apply their systems thinking approach to architecture and urbanism in their building design as well as their regenerative masterplans. WOHA received a number of architectural awards such as the Aga Khan Award for One Moulmein Rise as well as the RIBA Lubetkin Prize and International Highrise Award for The Met in Bangkok. The practice was awarded the CTBUH Urban Habitat and Best Mixed-Use Building and World Architecture Festival World Building of the Year for Kampung Admiralty and CTBUH Best Tall Building Worldwide for the Oasia Hotel Downtown and the Pan Pacific Orchard in Singapore. www.woha.net

Elora Hardy is the Founder and Creative Director of IBUKU, a studio at the forefront of nature-integrated architecture. She has received recognition from Architectural Digest and the Royal Society for her pioneering work. A TED speaker, she has presented globally at institutions including MIT, the World Government Summit, and the US Green Building Council. Her innovative approach has led IBUKU to design over 200 groundbreaking structures, redefining materiality and spatial experience. IBUKU has completed over 60 bamboo structures in Bali and the surrounding region, including notable projects like the Green School, Green Village, Sharma Springs, and Bambu Indah Hotel. These works have been featured in international publications such as Architectural Digest, Vogue, and the Huffington Post. IBUKU’s goal is to provide spaces where people can live in harmony with nature, redefining luxury through sustainable architecture and design. IBUKU’s engineers, architects, and designers have developed a new design vocabulary that leverages bamboo’s unique properties to create structures that connect occupants with nature and enhance quality of life. www.ibuku.com