Genevieve Tok
Name: Genevieve Tok
From: Singapore, Singapore
Age: 23 years old
Program: Architecture Bachelor degree, second year
How would you describe yourself in 5 words?
Maverick, creative, fun, technophile, chill
Tell us something about your country:
Singapore is a country, a city and an island. As a metropolitan city state, we have people from all over the world, skyscrapers and high rises and rich culture and diversity. One of the things Singaporeans love is food , so if you ever visit, do expect a really wide variety of amazing dishes!
Who is your favorite architect and why?
I shall go a bit left field and say Bompas and Parr. Though not architects in the conventional sense we have been taught in school, these architects and their experimental approach to building spaces and experiences, from a Bio-responsive garden (L’Eden), Alcoholic Architecture in which a drink was vaporised in a space and people were able to enjoy their drink in a fully immersive, multi-sensory experience – these works challenges us to think about the role of the architect, what we create and to find out that there is actually a market for such work is also incredibly cool and inspiring.
Why did you decided to come to Prague?
My grandparents live in Vienna and I’ve always liked living in Central Europe since spending summers here. And well, Prague has an architecture school that teaches in English, so here I am.
Favorite place in Prague:
That’s tough to only choose one, I have to say probably Cafe Imperial. Stunning Art Nouveau interiors and delicious food, it’s the perfect spot for a night out in town and I definitely have wonderful memories of the place. Great food, and great architecture. What more can you ask for?
What is your ideal approach as a future architect?
I have to say I still don’t see myself as an “architect” in the traditional sense of the profession. I believe that the ability to create things in the physical dimension, to interact with a team of people and manage a project are all very essential skills that one learns in architecture school. Ideally I’d like to take a multidisciplinary approach to creating new things. It could be a building, an installation, a piece of tech or software or a work of art. But at the end of the day it’s finding the niche of clients that is in line with your interests and providing solutions that add value to their projects.
Instead of school. Do you have another passion?
Tech is very much a passion of mine. From programming to tinkering with various gadgets, it’s been something I’ve always loved to do since I was a child. And I used to be a professional photographer.