New chief for Board of Architects

RITA Soh, director of RDC Architects Pte Ltd, has been elected the new president of the Board of Architects Singapore (BOA).

The new 15-member board, which started its three-year term on Jan 1, 2010, comprises three ex-officio members, six members appointed by the Minister for National Development, and six members elected by the architect community.

The BOA is a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development, set up to enhance architectural practice in Singapore.

Ms Soh said: ‘BOA will continue to work closely with the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA) to highlight the importance for all architects in Singapore to practise ethically and professionally.’

She intends to provide opportunities for architects here to ‘keep abreast of changes in the industry and technology’. She added that BOA hopes to encourage more young people to ‘join the profession’.

To this end, the board will continue to work with relevant institutions, such as the National University of Singapore (School of Design and Environment).

These institutions will aid the BOA in ‘facilitating education and training opportunities’, said Ms Soh.

She succeeds Chan Sui Him, who served nine years as BOA president.

He spearheaded various initiatives during his tenure as president, such as the introduction of the Professional Practice Examination Candidate system.

He also oversaw the streamlining of the professional registration examinations, increased the transparency of the board’s disciplinary proceedings, and pioneered an election system to give professional architects greater say in selecting board representatives.

Mr Chan led BOA in a series of discussions on the mutual recognition agreements (MRA) to improve the mobility of architects for the provision of services throughout the Apec and Asean regions.

The board stated that it has greatly benefited from Mr Chan’s leadership and placed on record its appreciation.

Members of the new board include Ashvinkumar s/o Kantilal, president of SIA, and Ong See Ho, commissioner of building control.