GAETAN SIEW

Gaetan siew is a leading visionary in the field of Architecture & Urbanism. Through his tenacious drive towards architectural excellence, he helped in the setting up of the Mauritian Association of Architects, and occupied numerous roles through the African Union of Architects, before serving as the first Vice President and President of the International Union of Architects (UIA), the international governing body regrouping 1.5 million architects worldwide.

Through his architectural practice, and numerous collaboration requests, his work expands across more than 1500 projects in numerous countries across the 5 continents.

As a true world citizen, Gaetan Siew travelled the world and explored over 100 countries and 500 cities in his pursuit to comprehend the many global issues in our contemporary society. Over the course of three months, he backpacked the historic Silk Road with a partnership with the Aga Khan Foundation, gaining a profound understanding on Architecture, Culture and People.

Through his foundation, the Global Creative Leadership Initiative, Gaetan advocates for societal equity and poverty alleviation through urban innovation. His work focusses on poverty struck regions in Small Island States, and the African continent. Through his foundation he animates global conferences and shares ideas on innovative solutions for Communities, Councils and Governments. His drive to share knowledge earned him a position as a visiting professor on Architecture & Urbanism in universities in France

and China, and he publishes extensively in newspapers, magazines, academic journals, and conference proceedings. Dedicated to foster collaborations and dwell in work that catalyses physical change in our landscape, he served as a resource person to the European Commission ICOMOS, Shanghai & Beijing University and in various industry think tanks.

Gaetan was also the board member of ‘Future Cities’ for the Government of United Kingdom and served as Chairperson for the Government of Mauritius for the Construction Industry Development Board, and for the Smart Cities driving innovative urban projects amounting to more than 4 Billion pounds. Through those positions, he played a pivotal role in the design and establishment inter-governmental agreements for emerging cities in other African countries.

For his remarkable work, Gaetan Siew received various honors and was featured in the ‘100 Architects of 2014’ by the Korean Institute of Architects. For his contributions to society, he was honored to receive 5 Honorary and Presidential medals from Architectural Bodies, 3 Honorary Membership and Fellowship from Architectural bodies and 3 governmental decorations by the Republic of Mauritius and the French Republic.

Whether at a conceptual or concrete level, Gaetan Siew aspires to work that connects to the society and to our planet, thus contributing to the betterment of our world.

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What I like about Gaetan is that he does not keep himself within the defined boundary of his profession. He has a global humanitarian view. He has a vision of a world where he is not the centre of his world. He wants a world with human values, not driven by selfish motives. In all the years I have known him, I have never seen him flinch from his defined path, or the obstacles that have inevitably arisen alnog the way. I admire him for his dedication and commitment.

MUHAMMAD YUNUSNOBEL PEACE PRIZE
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'Humanism' might be the word that best describes the great work of Gaetan Siew, as an architect, a team leader and a visionary. Being involved in future studies, I was myself very sensitive to Gaetan's determination to promote Smart Cities that would remain human centered rather than mostly focused on performance and technology. His concern for a sustainable environment and his devotion to preparing a positive future are other very remarkable qualities of his.

VIRGINIE RAISSONPRESIDENT, LEPAC
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When South Africa emerged from isolation in the early 90’s to join the global network of architects, Gaetan Siew led the charge. At that time he was Secretary General of the Africa Union of Architects (AUA) and also a member of Council of the International Union of Architects (UIA) so South Africa had an immediate champion. He later moved up to chair the UIA and became a trustee of the AUA thereby retaining his feet firmly for architecture in Africa as well as worldwide.

RODNEY HARBER PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF KWA ZULU NATAL
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Mr Gaetan has been successful in accessing architecture related problems. he is a very charismatic person, a man of genius. When characterising Mr. Gaetan, one could say he is a person of global thinking, capable of bringing together people and providing them with information of global professional importance.

JURIS MONVIDS SKALBERGS PAST PRESIDENT, BALTIC ARCHITECTS UNION ASSOCIATION
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As a UIA Past President, Mr. Gaetan Siew’s main priorities was a comprehensive programme of structural transformation aimed at revitalising the Union and making the professional world body more effective. He was a constant advocate for fairer mobility of the 1 500 000 architects within the 130 member countries establishing international practice norms engaging with WTO, setting up international qualifications recognition in collaboration with UNESCO and the creation of a global Continuous Professional Development system.

WEIMIN ZHUANG DEAN OF ARCHITECTURE, TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY
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During his term as the Presidency of the World body of Architects (UIA), he worked largely in connecting architects of the developing nations and advocated strongly for their empowerment through innovative solutions for sustainable communities by infusing African architecture with cultural values which was strongly supported and promoted through his Vision and Strategy committees he chaired at both world body and for the African Continent.

TOKUNBO OMISORE PAST PRESIDENT, AFRICAN UNION OF ARCHITECTS
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Grace a ce réseau qu'il a bien voulu active chaque fois que nécessaire, suite au tsunami en 2004 pour la mise en place d'actions d'assistance aux populations sinistrées en Indonésie et au Sri Lanka ou encore suite au séisme du Pakistan en 2007, il a permis la mobilisation des entités nationales d'architectes des pays touches et favorise ainsi la reconnaissance de notre action et son développment.

PATRICK COULOMBEL CO-FOUNDER, ARCHITECTES DE L'URGENCE
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Gaetan Siew is a discrete and truly inspiring figure, admired by his peers and lcoal community. He dedicates his time selflessly for the betterment of the urban fabric. We need more architects like Gaetan; devoted to contribute to building a more sustainable world. He deserves this recognition for selflessly dedicating his career to the betterment of the world, providing possibilities for Governments, Councils & Communities to achieve resilience and urban coherence.

ZAHEER ALLAMCHAPTER CHAIR, INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR TRADITIONAL BUILDING, ARCHITECTURE & URBANISM
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In international forums or on collaborative initiatives, Gaetan has impressed us with his natural ease to connect Western thinking to Eastern sensibilities, and vice versa, whatever the project or the audience. I also believe that his approach to architecture and planning work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision, and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture.

MARTA C. FAJARDO FORMER PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS