Eleena Jamilwas born in Penang and left Malaysia at the age of 18 to study in the UK. She received her PhD in architecture from the Welsh School of Architecture in 2005, founding her own practice in Kuala Lumpur the same year. A member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Board of Architects Malaysia (Persatuan Akitek Malaysia PAM), Jamil's work has won international accolades for its contemporary character balanced with a research-based focus on the specific social and environmental context of each brief. Projects developed within her practice have been widely published in international press and have been shortlisted for awards such as the World Architecture Festival Award, the Italian Plan Award, the LEAF Award, the American Architecture Prize and Dezeen Architect of the Year 2018.