Australian RMIT professor Tom Kovac has been named as the artistic director of next year’s inaugural Malaysia Biennale, presented in conjunction with RMIT University.

The new event launched in the closing week of the recent Venice Architecture Biennale, appointing the Melbourne-based architect as its first ever artistic director – a decision that will give Kovac the rare opportunity to set the tone for what is set to become a major event for architects in the Asia Pacific region.

The Malaysia Biennale is scheduled for May 2015, and invites a diverse mix of notable international architects, urban designers, economists, engineers and built environment industry professionals to take part in active discourse on what lies ahead for Malaysia’s architectural landscape.

Titled the 100YC (Year City) World Wide Workshop, the Biennale will explore factors directly affecting the quality of life for Malaysians, with a view to projecting solutions for the next 100 years – topical global issues of population growth, rapid urbanisation, preservation of green space and the need for affordable, socially sustainable housing will be addressed in a series of open forums, exhibitions and talks.

Tom Kovac’s work has been exhibited in various countries while working as an educator across Japan, Europe and the US. Notably, Kovac was the only Australian architect selected to submit a design proposal for a new World Trade Centre.