Lianhe Zaobao, 杨茳善与陈家毅展开“宅”与“庙”深度对谈

(Summarised translation)

Architectural historian Yeo Kang Shua, Associate Professor of Architecture and Sustainable Design at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), will join architect Tan Kay Ngee for a deep architectural dialogue at Grassroots Book Room. Spanning home and temple, private and public, and history and the contemporary, the conversation invites audiences to relearn how to closely read architecture and to recognise the often-invisible hands that profoundly shape space and culture.

Anchored in Associate Prof Yeo’s new book, Honourable Mansion: The Invisible Hands behind Singapore’s Last Traditional Teochew House, and his earlier publication Yueh Hai Ching Temple: A Dialogue between Architecture and History, the dialogue takes a “one house, one temple” perspective to explore Teochew architecture, spatial practices, and cultural memory.

During the session, Associate Prof Yeo will share insights from his long-term research and writing on the former residence of Tan Kah Kee, highlighting the often-overlooked craftsmen, skills, and knowledge systems behind the architecture. He will also reflect on the Yueh Hai Ching Temple as a public and spiritual space through both architectural and historical lenses.