RT+Q Architects
RT+Q Architects was founded in Singapore in 2003 by Rene Tan and TK Quek. Since its founding, the practice has been exploring architecture as an inter-disciplinary craft that combines both the elusive beauty of art and the rigour of building technology.
RT+Q has completed numerous projects, both built and unbuilt. Its built works range from individual houses, residential towers, commercial and office complexes and resorts, to master planning and, also, architectural interiors. The smaller scale projects allow experimentation with materials and detailing; while the larger ones provide opportunities for exploring issues of scale and form in urban contexts.
RT+Q has received numerous awards and mentions both in Singapore and internationally for its work. These include ones from the Singapore Institute of Architecture (SIA) Architectural Awards, PAM Awards, Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) Architectural Heritage Awards, ArcAsia Awards for Architecture and the World Architecture Festival (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018). In 2016, The Capers in Kuala Lumpur was awarded by the Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award. RT+Q was also honoured in the President’s Design Awards in the same year, where its director, Rene Tan, was named “Designer of the Year 2016” – Singapore’s most prestigious design accolade.
Apart from professional work, RT+Q is also an active participant in academia, where both founding partners have taught in the National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore University of Technology and Design (STUD), LaSalle College of the Arts, Singapore, UC Berkeley, Syracuse University and University of Hong Kong. RT+Q has also received invitations to speak in forums and conferences around the region, most recently the President’s Design Award 2016 Recipient Forum II. In 2013 and 2014, Tan was also invited as both speaker and juror in the World Architecture Festival held in Singapore, and to be a juror to the 2017 World Architecture Festival in Berlin.
RT+Q operates in a studio setting and is built around a small group of individuals, each with unique expertise that contributes to various aspects of the practice. Its ethos is for each member to express their individuality, yet belong to part of larger team that strives towards the success of each design project. As part of continued education and to inject fun into the practice, RT+Q embarks on annual office trips. Some previous destinations include Italy, France, Germany, Greece, Spain and, most recently, India; where they went in search for the works of the great Le Corbusier.
