Archicentre, the building advisory service of the Royal
Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) is set to expand its
operations into Malaysia.
The Malaysian Minister for Housing, Seri Ong Ka Chuan will
launch a joint venture between Archicentre and the Malaysian
Institute of Architects (PAM) Thursday May 8th in the Malaysian
capital, Kuala Lumpur.
The new venture will be called the Architect Centre.
Robert Caulfield, Managing Director
of Archicentre said through the partnership in Malaysia Archicentre
will be actively promoting Australian professional services and
building products into Malaysia, and eventually other countries in
the South East Asian region.
Image right: Robert Caulfield, Managing Director of
Archicentre
"The joint venture will see Australian design, renovation and
pre-purchase inspection services, coupled with the potential export
of large quantities of locally-made building materials.
"Archicentre will provide pre-purchase, building fault, building
status and pre-tenancy reporting services to be conducted by
Malaysia's 2,000 architects.
"One hundred Malaysian architects are already signed up as
members of the Centre, and 60 of them have already done our training
modules."
Mr Caulfield said that over the past 27 years Archicentre has
helped 400,000 Australians with a wide range of architectural
services.
"This joint venture in Malaysia reflects a growing demand for
quality assurance and consumer protection in our neighbouring
countries, which has been an Australian tradition for a long time.
"The venture is expected to generate no less than 4,000
inspection reports in the first year of operations, and increase to
about 10,000-12,000 within two to three years. Malaysia has
approximately 25 million people, and the demand for Architect
Centre's services will continue to rise as the concept catches on
across the country."
Mr Caulfield said the joint venture is a win-win situation for
both countries.
"Our architects will be able to train Malaysian architects to
conduct the highly professional services we already offer in
Australia, and in return, there is much that our architects can
learn from the design concepts from a country like Malaysia.
"Additionally, we believe this will open major opportunities for
wide-scale export of Australian building materials to Malaysia.
"A significant part of our business in Malaysia will also centre
around the delivery of seminars. Their architects face similar
challenges to what our architects in Australia face.
"We will also be developing a website that will house an
international database on housing and commercial buildings to
encourage an interchange of knowledge and information.
About Archicentre
Since 1981, Archicentre has offered
architectural services to home buyers, new home builders and
renovators. The services are packaged into streamlined set-fee,
set-service formats so that people who might not otherwise have
considered using an architect can have access to a range of
professional architectural services.
Archicentre has more than 900 architects Australia- wide who are
available in nearly every suburb and just about any region, to
promptly perform professional services. There are offices in
Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart and branches
in many regional centres.
Archicentre distributes free technical advice to thousands of
home buyers across the country, through the range of property
inspections, the Architect's Advice line, and the series of
Homebuyer Seminars run in most States.
