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director's profile
Yasotha Chetty
PEng CEng MIEM MICE MRes BSc (Hons)
Yasotha Chetty is the founder of ohr. She has been involved in the delivery of projects in UK, Europe, Middle East and Malaysia. Yasotha worked in England for nine years with Buro Happold and Ramboll (Whitbybird), both highly regarded multidisciplinary building consultants. Returning to Malaysia in 2011 under the government's Returning Expert Programme, she joined AECOM, a Fortune 500 engineering firm, heading the civil and structural discipline within building engineering
Her works spread across various structural materials including concrete, steel, timber and masonry; and covers working with existing buildings to iconic architectures
Passionate about creative engineering solutions, Yasotha seeks to create a collaborative work environment to develop integrated and innovative design solutions. She is also actively involved with academic and industry bodies
Experience
- Director, ohr, Dec 2014 - Present
- Adjunct lecturer, School of Architecture, Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, Malaysia, Oct 18 - Aug 20
- Technical director, AECOM, Malaysia, Jan 13 – Sep 14
- Associate director, AECOM, Malaysia, Jun 11 – Dec 13
- Senior engineer, Ramboll, UK, Sep 07 – Jun 11
- Engineer, Buro Happold, UK, Sep 02 – Sep 07
Volunteering
- Commitee member, Institution of Civil Engineers Malaysian Chapter, 2019 - 2021
- Committee member, Professional Practice Subcommittee, Institution of Engineers Malaysia, Apr 19 - Present
- Elected council member, Institution of Engineers Malaysia, Apr 18 - Apr 21
- Committee member, Civil and Structural Engineering Technical Division, 2013 - Present
- Industry advisory panel, Segi University, Sep 11 - Present
- Task force for the amendments to UBBL to enable the use of structural timber, Malaysian Timber Industry Board, 2018 - 2019
- Visiting industrial tutor, University of Bath, Jan 04 - Jan 11
- Visiting industrial tutor, University of Wales (Cardiff campus), Jan 07 - Jan 11
- Yasotha also often speaks at industry events and gives guest lectures
Qualification
- Professional Engineer, Board of Engineers Malaysia
- Chartered Engineer, Engineering Council UK
- Member, Institute of Engineers Malaysia
- Member, Institute of Civil Engineers UK
- Masters of Research, Computational Modelling and Numerical Analysis in Engineering Mechanics, University of Wales, UK
- Bachelor of Science (Hons), Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
relevant prior experience
- Project Desa Melawati Sector B & C Phase 5 Location Desa Melawati, Kuala Lumpur Client Sime Darby Property Architect RIDZA II High-specification condominium development within the Desa Melawati township, located on a hillslope
- Project Wangsa 9 Residency Location Setapak, Kuala Lumpur Client Mitrajaya Homes Architect SA Architect II Hillside development of one 40-storey and two 30-storey residential towers on an 8-storey podium, cutting 25m at the deepest point into a hillslope with 80% Grade III slope and 10% Grade IV slope
- Project University of Bath ICIA complex Location Bath, UK Architect MUMA II The new home for the Institute of Contemporary Interdisciplinary Arts at the University of Bath was the subject of a limited design competition. Architecturally expressed concrete and cross laminated timber panels create a contemporary structure with flexible spaces
- Project Three Quays Location London, UK Architect 3D Reid II 11-storey reinforced concrete structure with a single-storey basement along the waterfront of Thames River. The building is located on a site of historical and environmental significance, with Tower of London and Tower Bridge to its east and London Bridge to its west. As such, the principal objective throughout the progression of this project has been to provide the most appropriate structural solution whilst also ensuring minimal archaeological and environmental disruption. Being adjacent to a trafficked river, the structure is also designed to resist potential ship impact
- Project Sky Palaces Location Business Bay, Dubai Architect Fosters + Partner II A nearly 200m tall development with three basements. The top 60% of the height of the building uses the concept of 6 stacked, separate palace structures stabilised by a small eccentric core
- Project Plot 18 Business Bay Location Business Bay, Dubai Architect Fosters + Partners II A high-specification development consisting of two 189m tall tower blocks with a connecting back core and a low-rise retail structure with four levels of basement. The architectural form of the towers enables the use of a trussed exoskeleton structure on the perimeter
- Project Chiddingstone Castle Gridshell Location Chiddingstone, UK Architect Peter Hulbert Architect II Restoration and refurbishment of a Grade I listed orangery at Chiddingstone Castle with a new glazed timber gridshell roof using locally sourced Chestnut. Wood Award 2007 Best use of British Timber
- Project John Hope Gateway Location Edinburgh, UK Architect Cullinan Studio II New visitor centre for the Royal Botanical Gardens of Edinburgh. Double-storey timber structure with deep Glulam tapered roof grillage and solid cross laminated timber panel flooring
- Project Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art Location Middlesbrough, UK Architect Erick van Egeraat II A 4-storey, highly detailed piece of modern architecture with aims to regenerate the town. The structural engineering provides integration with the services and complements the sculptural architecture
- Project Radisson Stansted Wine Tower Location Stansted, UK Specialist designer Edward Shirley Staging II A 14-meter-high glass wine rack complete with trapezing wine waitresses built on existing structure, the centrepiece of the 500-room Radisson SAS hotel at Stansted Airport
- Project Trafalgar Way Location London, UK Architect Make Architects II A futuristic two-tower scheme housing 397 unit residential complex to the east of Canary Wharf. The 34 and 28-storey towers sit on a 7m podium with sky balconies
- Project Schiphol Airport Sound Barrier Location Amsterdam, Netherlands Architect Various Architects II Schiphol Airport Sound Barrier is a design competition entry. The submission was shortlisted with nine other entries to progress to the second phase of the competition, where it was developed to conceptual stage. The design brief required a sustainable, self funding 2km long sound barrier that reduces sound by 7db whilst meeting the regulations of the various authorities. Dubbed Dynamic Sculpture, the proposed undulating retractable wall set in a sustainable technology park was intended to showcase the client’s commitment to innovation and sustainability
- Project APU Campus Location Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur Client APU Architect HL Design II Development of a new campus for APU at Technology Park Malaysia. The project was intended to be phased with a basement over the whole site area.
- Project ISKL Location Kuala Lumpur Architect HOK (UK) / Veritas (Submission) II The development is designed for 2600 students on 26 acres of land and aims to be the greenest development on this side of the tropics
- Project University of Reading Educity Campus Location Iskandar, Johor Client University of Reading Architect Scott Brownrigg II Development of a new Malaysian campus for University of Reading, a concrete structure with a large ETPE roof over the public space
- Project Arts Alliance Mobile Theatre Location Worldwide Architect Various architects II The client for the Arts Alliance mobile venue set a tough brief. The structure had to be capable of being erected within two weeks, and when remounted, it had to fit inside a reasonable number of shipping containers for transportation across the world. This brief was met by providing a rigid but lightweight steel central drum with self-supporting pneumatic extensions. World Architecture Festival 2009 Future Project Award
- Project Saville Garden Visitor Centre Location Windsor Great Park, UK Architect Glen Howells Architects Structural design of a 90m x 25m doubly curved timber gridshell roof using locally grown larch from the Crown Estates forests and birch plywood sheathing, all supported on a curved steel edge beam on quadraped legs. IStructE Supreme Award for Structural Engineering Excellence 2007, Wood Awards 2006- Gold Award, RIBA National Awards 2007, Shortlisted for RIBA Stirling Award 2007
- Project Queen Alexandra Hospital Location Portsmouth, UK Architect BDP II Private Finance Initiative redevelopment of the Queen Alexandra Hospital aimed to enhance the delivery of patient care to the local community in Portsmouth
- Project North Somerset Crematorium Location Weston-Super-Mare, UK II Structural appraisal of an early 1960s crematorium building for new layout and compliance with Disability Discrimination Act
- Project Torbay Palace Theatre Location Paignton, UK Architect Stride Treglown Tektus II Refurbishment of existing collation of buildings dating from 1890, including modifications to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act
- Project 4 West Cafe, University of Bath Location Bath, UK Architect Stride Treglown Tektus II Structural appraisal of an existing 1950s educational building for introduction of a new café on one of its floors. The project required detailed assessment of the capacities and loadings
- Project John Stripe Theatre Location Winchester, UK Architect Design Engine II Refurbishment and extension of existing 1970s lecture theatre using steel frame with composite metal deck
- Project Oxford Brooke University Redevelopment Location Oxford, UK Architect Design Engine II Structural appraisal of an existing 1958 5-storey educational building to determine the capacity and likelihood of extending the building life for a further 30 years, including retention of the façade
- Project Court Farm Location Marksbury, UK II Initial assessment of the conditions of the existing farm buildings of Court Farm in relation to converting the buildings to residential units, principally for holiday letting. The buildings date from pre-1820s to pre-1950s
- Project SOAS Masterplan Location London, UK Architect John McAslan + Partners II Proposed redevelopment of the School of African and Oriental Studies’ Bloomsbury Campus, which includes extension to a 1970s building and introduction of a new top floor to a row of Georgian townhouses
- Project Royal Shakespeare Theare Redevlopment Location Stratford-upon-Avon, UK Architect Bennett Associates II Redevelopment to provide the Royal Shakespeare Company with a new 1,000-seat theatre auditorium and a new theatre campus (Chapel Lane)
- Project Mapletree Warehouse Location Shah Alam, Selangor II Structural assessment of defects, testing and remediation of the ground floor slab of the warehouse
- Project Menara Maxis Location Kuala Lumpur Client ISG II Desktop assessment of a floor of Menara Maxis for change of use and layout