The Intellectual Connoisseur
Tatler Singapore|March 2024
Known for his boundary-crossing body of work, veteran architect Tan Kay Ngee discusses the inspirations fuelling his creative spirit—and that of his upcoming projects
Asih Jenie
The Intellectual Connoisseur

With an illustrious four-decade career, one would have a hard time condensing the influence and sheer variety of architect Tan Kay Ngee’s body of work into a few paragraphs on an award submission form. Having known Tan for 20 years, architect and architectural historian Lai Chee Kien successfully distilled why Tan should receive the President’s Design Award (PDA)’s Designer of the Year title— Singapore’s highest accolades for architects and designers, requiring peer nomination—in two key points: his “boundary-crossing” work and “erudition in design”. The endorsement saw Tan honoured with the Designer of the Year title last year.

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