Mr Richard Kuppusamy, 41, was born with spina bifida which left him wheelchair bounded.
Not letting his disabilities set his limits, he works as the regional digital integration manager of leading international property group Lendlease.
Before he took up the job a year ago, he enjoyed a successful architectural career in Britain and Singapore.
“I may not be able to pour concrete, but I can certainly make my way around a construction site; I’ve done it for the last 15 years,” says the graduate from the Mackintosh School of Architecture in Scotland.
He bulldozes stereotypes in other ways too.
He is the captain, as well as coach, of the Singapore Wheelchair Rugby (SWR) team and champions inclusion, equality and diversity through his role as the president of the Disabled People’s Association (DPA).
“From a very young age, I was told that there would come a point in time when I would not walk anymore,” says Mr Kuppusamy, who walked on crutches until he was 24.
He adds: “I think, to have people accept me for who I am also means that I have to accept myself. I don’t see my troubles as any special adversity. We all get dealt a deck of cards in life and it’s up to us to play the hand and make the best of it.”
His early years were peripatetic, spent in New Zealand, the United States and Switzerland.
Although unsettling, the constant moving and travelling taught him to be independent and self-sufficient. This was reinforced by his parents’ refusal to mollycoddle him.
When he was 11, he came back to Singapore and spent the next seven years schooling at United World College.
He had, he says with a grin, dreams of becoming a doctor but not the grades to make them come true. He settled on architecture because he grew up “critiquing buildings”.
To find out what the profession was about, he scored a three-month internship at a practice through a family friend who was an architect.
In 1995, Mr Kuppusamy set out for Scotland after gaining a place at the Mackintosh School of Architecture which is part of the Glasgow School of Art, an accredited institution of the University of Glasgow.
It was a life-changing journey.
“I went to an art school with a science background. Most students with a science background would have gone to an architectural school which was more engineering-driven. I deliberately went to one out of my comfort zone.”
It was also the first time he travelled anywhere without his parents in tow.
“For the first time, it dawned on me that I had a disability. I started to realise what my limitations were because of physical and social barriers,” he says, adding that the experiences reinforced in him the resolve to always plan ahead and take himself out of situations where he could not get things done.
But he more than adapted.
“You develop a pretty thick skin because when you work on a project in architecture school, it’s very public and all your classmates, as well as professional architects, get to have a poke at it,” he says.
Mr Kuppusamy did well enough to get into the master’s programme and was offered a job after graduation by architecture firm Keppie in Glasgow, where he had served an internship.
In 2012, after more than 15 years away, he decided to come back to Singapore.
“I told myself I had to take a difficult position and make a difficult decision. If not, I’d always be in the same place,” he says, adding that his ageing parents were also a pull factor.
He landed a job at an acclaimed design practice Woha Architects, where he takes the opportunity to address the broader issue of accessibility and inclusion.
Last year, he made yet another bold decision by joining Lendlease, where he heads a 15-strong team in Asia, driving innovation in the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM).
Engaged to a book retail executive, he finds fulfilment in his roles at the DPA and SWR. He is also a lecturer at the BCA Academy and an executive committee member of the Handicaps Welfare Association (HWA).
“I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about who I am, and what purpose I have. I pick to have battles over social inclusion and (equality) for disabled people because I believe that is part of my purpose.”
He adds: “As an architect and as a human being, I believe in leaving behind a lasting social legacy. I want to do things that, even if no credit falls on me,will have been part of impacting people’s lives positively.
“That, in essence, is why I work where I do, why I volunteer my time in HWA and the DPA, and why I teach.”
Watch his video story below:
Read more here.
Source: The Straits Times, 4 March 2018