Australian designer HY William Chan has made Forbes magazine’s ’30 Under 30 – Asia’ list under the ‘Industry, Manufacturing and Energy’ subcategory.
The latest project led by Mr Chan, who works for Cox Architecture, has links to Greece.
He co-created a plastic waste recycling scheme with youths at refugee camps in Athens.
Presented to the United Nations in 2018, the project successfully refined plastic waste material collected from Skaramagas and Eleonas camps, including discarded bottles that were becoming problematic, and converted the waste into 3D-printed objects.
“What is printed should be useful or meaningful to their lives,” Mr Chan told The Fifth Estate.
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The only honouree currently working in architecture, Forbes Asia editor Rana Wehbe recognised Mr Chan as one of the “game-changers disrupting their sectors and not taking ‘no’ for an answer,” a sentiment shared by executive chairman of Cox Architecture, Patrick Ness.
“As a design practice that is driven by ideas and the innovations that support them, William’s recognition by Forbes acknowledges the important role our up-and-coming leaders play as visionaries and disrupters in the field of design,” Mr Ness said.
Mr Chan said this was important, particularly in the industry of architecture, engineering and construction, which he claims is one of the least disrupted sectors globally.
“Architects have a uniquely creative skill-set, but we need to be more agile and entrepreneurial in how we design solutions that address the economic and social challenges of our cities so that we remain relevant as an industry,” he said.