Pioneering architect Datuk Seri Lim Chong Keat’s work has shaped Singapore’s built environment. Datuk Seri Lim sought to capture the totality of the environment in his designs, which drew on the Bauhaus movement and his careful study of Southeast Asia’s built heritage. His monumental buildings, such as the Singapore Conference Hall and the Jurong Town Hall, inspired and blazed the trail for a whole new generation of architects. Together, Datuk Seri Lim and his students, which include veteran architects Tan Cheng Siong (Golden Mile Complex) and Tay Kheng Soon (Pearl Bank Apartments), have collectively developed a distinct language of tropical modernism.
Beyond architecture, Datuk Seri Lim staunchly supported the seminal Alpha Gallery. Established in 1971 on Alexandra Road as an artist cooperative, Alpha Gallery granted artists like Khoo Sui Hoe, Anthony Poon and Quek Wee Chew a vital platform for expression and growth. It championed experimental art, leaving a lasting impact on the visual arts ecology and also the fields of design, anthropology and systems theory.
In this keynote lecture for Suddenly Turning Visible: Art and Architecture in Southeast Asia (1969–1989), hear Datuk Seri Lim weave together perspectives on Singapore’s urban transformation.
Venue: National Gallery Singapore, City Hall Wing, Level B1, Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium
Admission: Free, registration required through www.nationalgallery.sg
When: 17 Nov 2019, 3pm - 4.30pm
By: National Gallery Singapore