William Lim Siew Wai (b. 19 July 1932, Hong Kong–d. 6 January 2023) was an architect, urban theorist and activist.1 The Singapore citizen was involved in the design of many iconic buildings in the country, including the former Singapore Conference Hall and Trade Union House (now known as the Singapore Conference Hall) and the People’s Park Complex. Lim also wrote and edited numerous publications, lectured around the world, and participated in various platforms on architecture and urbanism in Asia. To champion issues on urban development and conservation, Lim cofounded non-governmental organisations such as the Singapore Planning Urban and Research Group and the Singapore Heritage Society. He also contributed to Singapore’s arts and culture through personal financial donations.
Early life and education
The second of five children, Lim was born in Hong Kong in 1932, where his parents had met while studying at Hong Kong University (HKU).2 His Singaporean father, Richard Lim Chuan Hoe, was a lawyer and deputy speaker in David Marshall's government.3 One of Lim’s elder brothers, Arthur, is a famous eye surgeon in Singapore.4 Lim grew up with his mother’s family in Hong Kong until the age of 13, during which time he was educated entirely in Chinese.5 Following the end of World War II in 1945, Lim rejoined his family in Singapore and enrolled in the English-medium St Andrew’s Secondary School.6
Lim started his tertiary education in HKU, but subsequently switched to Melbourne University in Australia. After a chance meeting at his parent’s house with Gordon Brown, the former head of the Architectural Association (AA) in London, Lim’s passion shifted from mathematics to architecture.7 He completed a foundation year in architectural studies at HKU and was then accepted into the AA School in 1951.8 During his four years there, Lim’s tutors included John Killick, Bill and Jill Howell, as well as Peter and Allison Smithson.9 Their interest in modernism – Killick’s obsession with modernist architect Le Corbusier, and the Smithsons’ work in the brutalist style – heavily influenced Lim early in his career.10 While in London, Lim also got involved in the anticolonial movement through organisations such as the Malayan Students Union and the Malayan Forum.11
In 1956, Lim was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study in the Department of City and Regional Planning at Harvard University in the United States.12 The department’s faculty at the time, Walter Groupius, José Luis Sert and Jacqueline Tyrwhitt, gave him a broader understanding of the modernist movement.13 Lim also nurtured his interest in urban planning and development by taking courses such as land economics, planning law and an elective on public administration.14
Architecture career
James Ferrie & Partners: 1957–1960
Lim originally applied to work at the Public Works Department when he returned from his graduate studies, but was rejected because he was overqualified for the position of assistant architect.15 He ended up working for Scottish architect James Ferrie for the next three years.15
Malayan Architects Co-Partnership: 1960–1967
Despite being offered an opportunity to become a partner at James Ferrie & Partners in 1960, Lim left to start Malayan Architects Co-Partnership (MAC) with Lim Chong Keat and Chen Voon Fee. The trio, who met while studying in the United Kingdom, had pledged to set up a practice together. The MAC’s breakthrough project came about in 1961 when they won the competition to design the Singapore Conference Hall and Trade Union House. The building was gazetted as a national monument in 2010 and is now known as the Singapore Conference Hall.16 Other projects followed ,and MAC opened an office in Kuala Lumpur. The partnership, however, fractured as a result of conflicts over management and personality styles.17
Design Partnership/DP Architects: 1967–1981
After MAC was dissolved in 1967, Lim set up Design Partnership with two former MAC associates, Tay Kheng Soon and Koh Seow Chuan. The new firm successfully designed what have become some of Singapore’s most architecturally significant buildings during the nation-building phase. These include People’s Park Complex (1972), a high-rise residential slab block perched on a multifunctional podium and with two interlocking massive rooms designed to house the street activities characteristic of cities in Asia;18 and Woh Hup Complex (1974; later known as Golden Mile Complex), a similar mixed-use development that was the first in Singapore to have a steppe terrace. The sheer scale, complexity and density of these developments – combining residences, offices and shops – helped spread the ideas of shopping centres and multiuse complexes in Asia.19
William Lim Associates: 1981–2002
Despite the success of Design Partnership, which was renamed DP Architects in 1975, Lim left the firm in 1981 as he was tired of conflicts with partners and commercial projects.20 He took a sabbatical, travelling and lecturing part-time at the School of Architecture, National University of Singapore (NUS).21 Lim, then 49 years old, had planned to retire, but after his accountant warned that it was not economically wise to do so, he formed William Lim Associates (WLA) later in 1981 together with young architects Mok Wei Wei, Richard Ho Kong Fatt and Carl Larson.22
From the mid-1970s, Lim started to believe that the tenets of modernism in which he was schooled did not serve the common people as claimed. He then began experimenting with postmodernism, exploring a wider range of aesthetic options and unconventional designs visible in buildings such as the Chapel of the Resurrection (1980) and the Yeo Hiap Seng Factory (1981).23 This new approach was evident in projects completed during WLA’s first decade, such as the pink-coloured condominium, Unit 8 (1983), and the Tampines North Community Centre (1989).24
In 2002, Lim retired from his architectural practice at the age of 70.25
Urban theorist
Alongside his architecture career, Lim wrote extensively about urban development, particularly in Asia. Beginning with Equity and Urban Environment in the Third World (1975), he wrote books advocating for an urbanism that rejects the wholesale adoption of Western planning theories in developing countries.26 Instead, he championed a “contemporary vernacular” architecture and an “Asian new urbanism”, both of which he believed are socially just and sensitive to the plurality and complexity of the region’s cultures, values, lifestyles and developmental needs.27 Many of Lim’s books were published by Select Books, a bookstore and publisher specialising in Southeast Asian subjects started by his wife in 1976 with his assistance.28
Lim was also the editor of RUMAH, the Singapore Institute of Architects’ journal, from its inaugural issue in 1960 until 1966.29 He was a member of the World Society for Ekistics, a group that studies human settlements, and sat on the boards of various publications, including the London-based journal Habitat International; the Manila-based Solidarity, which looks at current affairs, ideas and the arts; and Mimar, Architecture in Development, a periodical focusing on architecture in the developing world.30 From the mid-1990s, Lim began lecturing extensively around the world and was appointed as an adjunct professor in the Faculty of the Constructed Environment at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia, in 1996. Three years later, he became a guest professor at China’s Tianjin University.31
Lim’s discourse on Asia was supported by the various regional groups in which he was involved. In the mid-1960s, he began participating in the Asian Planning and Architectural Collaboration (APAC), meeting up every two years with prominent Asian architects such as Charles Correa (India), Sumet Jumsai (Thailand), Tao Ho (Hong Kong), Fumihiko Maki and Koichi Nagashima (Japan) to exchange ideas about urbanisation in the region.32
Beginning in 1970, he became involved with the Southeast Asia Study Group, an informal organisation of intellectuals of various disciplines to discuss development’s relationship to cultural, moral and spiritual values.33 In 1990, he founded AA Asia with other graduates of his alma mater to create a platform for architectural discourse in Asia. Officially registered as a society in Singapore in 1993, the group has conducted workshops, study tours and published several monographs.34 After retiring from practice, Lim founded the Asian Urban Lab with Sharon Siddique in 2003, which aims to promote a greater understanding of issues in Asia, facilitate multidisciplinary research on modern Asian urban life and architecture, and disseminate the findings.35
Urban activist
Lim advocated for urban change through various non-governmental organisations he founded with others. In 1965, Lim formed the Singapore Planning and Urban Research Group (SPUR) with a group of architects and planners, serving as its first chairman.36 This independent think-tank debated issues relating to planning, housing and the urban environment, and proposed several alternatives to the government’s plans to urbanise Singapore. Lim specifically asked for public and private housing to be planned in close proximity and also made a case for the Mass Rapid Transit system in Singapore when the government was considering whether to have an all-bus system or a rail network.37 Between 1968 and 1971, Lim was SPUR’s representative on the Transport Advisory Board set up by the Ministry of Communications.38
In the early 1980s, Lim began urging for urban conservation as he was concerned about Singapore’s architectural heritage being lost to development. He restored several Straits Chinese shophouses in Emerald Hill, including one that he owned, just as the government announced plans to turn the neighbourhood into Singapore’s first conservation area.39 Lim believed that conservation should not be done for tourism’s sake, and entire areas should be kept instead of just single buildings.40 In 1982, he helped Bu Ye Tian, a private enterprise led by poet Goh Poh Seng, to conceptualise a S$52-million plan for the conservation and adaptive reuse of Boat Quay.41 The plan came about months before the government organised a competition to gather ideas on how to preserve the area.42
In 1984, Lim was part of the Singapore Coordinating Committee that published Pastel Portraits: Singapore’s Architectural Heritage (1984) to showcase Singapore’s “rich and eclectic” built heritage.43 He tried unsuccessfully to start a heritage society that same year. In 1986, however, the Singapore Heritage Society was established with Lim elected as its first chairman.44 His tenure lasted until 1997, during which time the society conducted conferences and also produced a series of publications, including a 1992 report on establishing a heritage trust in Singapore that was prepared by Lim, Kwa Chong Guan and Chua Beng Huat, at the request of then Minister for Information and the Arts George Yeo.45
Contribution to arts and culture
Lim was an ardent supporter of Singapore’s arts and culture, being a regular attendant at performances and exhibitions.46 He became involved in the arts early on in his career when he was elected president of the Singapore Film Society in 1962.47 In 1961, he was the first editor of the short-lived sociocultural Malayan magazine Monsoon.48 He was also on the editorial advisory board of the pioneering literary publication, Tumasek.49
Over the years, Lim donated to numerous arts groups and causes. In 2007, he donated S$1 million to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at NUS for the establishment of the William Lim Siew Wai Fellowship in Cultural Studies in Asia that enables the faculty to appoint one visiting academic each year to teach and conduct research work at the university.50
For his 80th birthday in 2012, Lim donated an undisclosed six-figure sum to six local arts organisations and two independent artists.51 The recipients of his donation were theatre groups The Necessary Stage, TheatreWorks and Wild Rice; dance group The Arts Fission; independent arts centre The Substation; the Singapore Art Museum; and playwright Alfian Sa’at and artist Zai Kuning. Besides financial support, Lim brought together many of Singapore’s artists and cultural producers through informal salons and parties at his home.52
Family
Lim met his wife, Lena Lim U Wen, in 1957 when she was still an undergraduate at the then University of Malaya. They married in December 1962 and have a daughter, Chiwen, and a son, Weiwen.53
Architecture career
1957–1960: James Ferrie & Partners.
1960–1967: Co-founder and principal architect, Malayan Architects Co-Partnership.
1967–1981: Co-founder and principal architect, Design Partnership (renamed DP Architects in 1975).
1981–2002: Co-founder and principal architect, William Lim Associates.
Selected works
Architectural projects54
1965: Singapore Conference Hall and Trade Union House (later renamed Singapore Conference Hall)
1973: People’s Park Complex
1974: Woh Hup Complex (later renamed Golden Mile Complex)
1978: St Andrew’s Junior College
1979: Ken Thai House
1980: Chapel of the Resurrection
1980: Tanglin Shopping Centre
1981: Yeo Hiap Seng Factory
1981: Merlin Hotel, Johor Bahru
1983: Unit 8 condominium
1984: House at Emerald Hill
1986: Central Market, Kuala Lumpur
1987: Church of Our Saviour
1989: Tampines North Community Centre
1990: Reuters House
1990: Central Square, Kuala Lumpur
1991: LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts
1992: Former Telok Ayer Market (Lau Pa Sat)
1999: Marine Parade Community Building
2000: Gallery Evason Hotel (in collaboration with Tangguanbee Architects; now known as Gallery Hotel)
2001: Postmodern 3
2003: Postmodern 5
Books (author)55
1975: Equity and Urban Environment in the Third World56
1980: An Alternative Urban Strategy57
1990: Cities for People: Reflections of a Southeast Asian Architect58
1998: Asian New Urbanism59
2001: Alternatives in Transition: The Postmodern, Glocality and Social Justice60
2003: Alternative (Post)modernity: An Asian Perspective61
2004: Have You Been Shanghaied? Culture and Urbanism in Glocalized Shanghai62
2004: Architecture, Art, Identity in Singapore: Is There Life After Tabula Rasa?63
2005: Asian Ethical Urbanism: A Radical Postmodern Perspective64
2006: Contesting Singapore’s Urban Future65
2006: Architecture, Culture, Ethics: A Workshop with William Lim66
2008: Asian Alterity: With Special Reference to Architecture and Urbanism through the Lens of Cultural Studies67
2012: Incomplete Urbanism: A Critical Urban Strategy for Emerging Economies68
Books (co-author and/or editor)69
1997: Contemporary Vernacular: Evoking Traditions in Asian Architecture70
1999: World Architecture: A Critical Mosaic (1900–2000): Vol. 10 Southeast Asia and Oceania71
2002: Postmodern Singapore72
2009: Asian Design Culture73
2011: Singapore Shifting Boundaries: Social Change in the Early 21st Century74
2012: Non West Modernist Past75
2014: Public Space in Urban Asia76
Exhibitions
2000: Mohamed Sultan: A Postmodern Phenomenon of Urbanism in Singapore at the 7th Venice Architecture Biennale.77
Selected awards and honours
1956: Fulbright scholarship
2002: Honorary Doctor of Architecture, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia
2005: Honorary professor, LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, Singapore78
2015: Singapore Design Golden Jubilee Award79
Author
Justin Zhuang
References
1. Sajan, C. (2023, January 8). Architect behing People's Park Complex dies at 90. The Sunday Times, p. A17.
2. Nanda, A. (2011, April 11). Singapore's urban legend. The Straits Times, p. 4. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
3. Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, pp. 15, 18. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO)
4. Leong, C. C. (1996, July 4). 2nd book of works to be launched. The Straits Times, p. 6. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
5. Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 15. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO)
6. Nanda, A. (2011, April 11). Singapore's urban legend. The Straits Times, p. 4. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
7. Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 16. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO)
8. Nanda, A. (2011, April 11). Singapore's urban legend. The Straits Times, p. 4. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
9. Lim, W. S. W. (1990). My personal philosophy and my work. In Cities for people: Reflections of a Southeast Asian architect (pp. 3–14). Singapore: Select Books, p. 6. (Call no.: RSING 711.40959 LIM); Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 16. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO)
10. Lim, W. S. W. (1990). My personal philosophy and my work. In Cities for people: Reflections of a Southeast Asian architect (pp. 3–14). Singapore: Select Books, p. 6. (Call no.: RSING 711.40959 LIM); Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, pp. 16–17. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO); Naidu, D. (2001). William S. W. Lim: Pioneer, provocateur and pluralist. In K. M. Tan (Ed.), Asian architects 2 (pp. 151–157). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 151. (Call no.: RSING q720.95 ASI)
11. Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 16. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO)
12. Naidu, D. (2001). William S. W. Lim: Pioneer, provocateur and pluralist. In K. M. Tan (Ed.), Asian architects 2 (pp. 151–157). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 151. (Call no.: RSING q720.95 ASI)
13. Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 18. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO); Naidu, D. (2001). William S. W. Lim: Pioneer, provocateur and pluralist. In K. M. Tan (Ed.), Asian architects 2 (pp. 151–157). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 151. (Call no.: RSING q720.95 ASI)
14. Lim, W. S. W. (1990). My personal philosophy and my work. In Cities for people: Reflections of a Southeast Asian architect (pp. 3–14). Singapore: Select Books, p. 6. (Call no.: RSING 711.40959 LIM)
15. Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, pp. 19–20. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO)
16. Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, pp. 20–21. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO); National Heritage Board. (2015, July 2). Former Singapore Conference Hall and Trade Union House (now Singapore Conference Hall). Retrieved from 2016, March 31 National Heritage Board website: http://www.nhb.gov.sg/places/sites-and-monuments/national-monuments/former-singapore-conference-hall-and-trade-union-house-now-singapore-conference-hall
17. Naidu, D. (2001). William S. W. Lim: Pioneer, provocateur and pluralist. In K. M. Tan (Ed.), Asian architects 2 (pp. 151–157). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 152. (Call no.: RSING q720.95 ASI); Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, pp. 22–23. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO)
18. Naidu, D. (2001). William S. W. Lim: Pioneer, provocateur and pluralist. In K. M. Tan (Ed.), Asian architects 2 (pp. 151–157). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 152. (Call no.: RSING q720.95 ASI)
19. Bay, P. J. H., Ang, C. K., & Chen, P. (1998). Contemporary Singapore architecture. Singapore: Singapore Institute of Architects, pp. 43–44. (Call no.: RSING 720.95957 CON)
20. Lim, W. S. W. (1990). My personal philosophy and my work. In Cities for people: Reflections of a Southeast Asian architect (pp. 3–14). Singapore: Select Books, p. 13. (Call no.: RSING 711.40959 LIM); Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 31. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO); Nanda, A. (2011, April 11). Singapore's urban legend. The Straits Times, p. 4. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Wikes, J. A., & Packard, R. T. (Eds.). (1989). Encyclopedia of architecture: Design, engineering & construction (Vol. 4). New York: Wiley, p. 505. (Call no.: RART 720.3 ENC)
21. Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 31. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO)
22. Nanda, A. (2011, April 11). Singapore's urban legend. The Straits Times, p. 4. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 32. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO)
23. Lim, W. S. W. (1990). My personal philosophy and my work. In Cities for people: Reflections of a Southeast Asian architect (pp. 3–14). Singapore: Select Books, pp. 10–11. (Call no.: RSING 711.40959 LIM); Gasmier, M. R. (1994, September 2). Charm, clean lines win out. The New Paper, p. 5. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
24. Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, pp. 32, 36. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO); Naidu, D. (2001). William S. W. Lim: Pioneer, provocateur and pluralist. In K. M. Tan (Ed.), Asian Architects 2 (pp. 151–157). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 155. (Call no.: RSING q720.95 ASI)
25. Nanda, A. (2011, April 11). Singapore's urban legend. The Straits Times, p. 4. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
26. Lim, W. S. W. (2000). Asian New Urbanism and social justice. In K. M. Tan (Ed.), Asian Architects 1 (pp. 31–45). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 38. (Call no.: RSING q720.95 ASI)
27. Lim, W. S. W., & Tan, H. B. (1998). Contemporary Vernacular: Evoking traditions in Asian architecture. Singapore: Select Books, p. 27. (Call. no.: RSING 720.95 LIM); Lim, W. S. W. (2000). Asian New Urbanism and social justice. In K. M. Tan (Ed.), Asian architects 1 (pp. 31–45). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 35. (Call no.: RSING q720.95 ASI)
28. Select Books. Published by Select. Retrieved from Select Books online website: http://www.selectbooks.com.sg/selectPubs.aspx; Millington, A. (1981, October 4). Bookshop that once had no books. The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Goh, C. L. (2014, April 19). Putting S-E Asia works on global bookshelf. The Straits Times, p. 6. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
29. Editorial [Microfilm no.: NL 8943]. (1966, June). In SIAJ: Journal of the Singapore Institute of Architects, 1, 1; Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 23. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO)
30. Naidu, D. (2001). William S. W. Lim: Pioneer, provocateur and pluralist. In K. M. Tan (Ed.), Asian Architects 2 (pp. 151–157). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 153. (Call no.: RSING q720.95 ASI)
31. Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 38. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO)
32. Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 21. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO)
33. Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 28. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO)
34. Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 35. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO)
35. Lim, W. S. W. (2004). Architecture, art, identity in Singapore: Is there life after tabula rasa? Singapore: Asian Urban Lab, pp. i–ii. (Call no.: RSING 720.95957 LIM)
36. Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, pp. 23–24. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO)
37. Lim, W. S. W. (1967). Environment in a democratic socialist state. In SPUR 65–67 (pp. 49–53). Singapore: Singapore Planning and Urban Research Group, pp. [n.p.], 1, 2, 50. (Call no.: RCLOS 711.4095957 SIN); Lim, W. S. W. (1970, December 24). The case for a mass rapid transit system in Singapore [Microfilm no.: NL 6638]. The Singapore Herald, pp. 2, 12.
38. Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, pp. 23–24. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO)
39. Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 33. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO); Gretchen, M. (1984, April 15). Step right into history. The Straits Times, p. 8; Preserving cultural heritage. (1981, August 21). The Business Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
40. Ngoo, I. (1982, 19 June). Don’t preserve old city just to please tourists. The Straits Times, p. 14; Lim, F. (1980, August 19). Keeping old Singapore alive. The Straits Times, p. 8. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
41. Gretchen, M. (1983, May 6). The things dreams are made of. The Straits Times, p. 18; Watch a wayang, sip some tea. (1983, May 8). The Straits Times, p. 3; Gretchen, M. (1983, May 8). Boat Quay’s businessman and poet. The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
42. Gretchen, M. (1983, May 6). New face plan for Boat Quay. The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
43. Gretchen, M. (1984). Pastel portraits: Singapore’s architectural heritage. Singapore: Singapore Coordinating Committee, p. 6. (Call no.: RSING q722.4095957 PAS)
44. Powell, R60. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 34. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO)
45. Paper on Heritage Trust for MITA. (1993, May). Roots. Singapore: Singapore Heritage Society, pp. 4–5. (Call no.: RSING q959.57 R-[HIS])
46. Chia, A. (2012, July 21). Architect donates to the arts. The Straits Times, p. 2. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
47. Film Society drive. (1962, September 23). The Straits Times, p. 11. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
48. Editorial [Microfilm no.: NL 9520]. (1961, October–December). Monsoon, 1, 1; Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 21. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO)
49. Editorial [Microfilm no.: NL 12114]. (1964). Tumasek, 1, 1; Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 22. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO)
50. Koh, E. B. (2008, February). New Cultural Studies programme that cuts across boundaries. Retrieved from National University of Singapore website: http://newshub.nus.edu.sg/ke/0802/articles/pg08.php
51. Chia, A. (2012, July 21). Architect donates to the arts. The Straits Times, p. 2. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
52. Powell, R. (2002). Inciting rebellion. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 14–46). Singapore: Select Publishing, p. 45. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO); Nanda, A. (2011, April 11). Singapore's urban legend. The Straits Times, p. 4. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
53. Lim, L. U. W. (2002). Willy the conventionally conventional. In No limits: Articulating William Lim (pp. 121–133). Singapore: Select Publishing, pp. 123–124. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO)
54. No limits: Articulating William Lim. (2002). Singapore: Select Publishing, pp. 136–155. (Call no.: RSING 720.92 NO)
55. Suryadinata, L. (Ed.). (2012). Southeast Asian personalities of Chinese descent: A Biographical dictionary. Singapore, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, p. 667. (Call no.: RSING 959.004951 SOU)
56. Lim, W. S. W. (1975). Equity & urban environment in the third world. Singapore: DPConsultant Service. (Call no.: RSING 711.4 LIM)
57. Lim, W. S. W. (1980). An alternative urban strategy. Singapore: DP Architects. (Call no.: RSING 711.40959 LIM)
58. Lim, W. S. W. (1990). Cities for people: Reflections of a Southeast Asian architect. Singapore: Select Books. (Call no.: RSING 711.40959 LIM)
59. Lim, W. S. W. (1998). Asian new urbanism. Singapore: Select Books. (Call no.: RSING 306 LIM)
60. Lim, W. S. W. (2001). Alternatives in transition: The postmodern, glocality and social justice. Singapore: Select Publishing. (Call no.: RSING 306 LIM)
61. Lim, W. S. W. (2003). Alternative (post)modernity: An Asian perspective. Singapore: Select Publishing. (Call no.: RSING 303.4 LIM)
62. Lim, W. S. W. (2004). Have you been Shanghaied? Singapore: Asian Urban Lab. (Call no.: RDKSC 307.760951132 LIM)
63. Lim, W. S. W. (2004). Architecture, art, identity in Singapore: Is there life after tabula rasa? Singapore: Asian Urban Lab. (Call no.: RSING 720.95957 LIM)
64. Lim, W. S. W. (2005). Asian ethical urbanism: A radical postmodern perspective. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing. (Call no.: RSING 307.1216095 LIM)
65. Lim, W. S. W. (2006). Contesting Singapore’s urban future. Singapore: Asian Urban Lab. (Call no.: RSING 307.76095957 LIM)
66. Lim, W. S. W. (2006). Architecture, culture, ethics: A workshop with William Lim. Singapore: Centre for Advanced Studies in Architecture, Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore. (Call no.: RSING 720.103 ARC)
67. Lim, W. S. W. (2008). Asian alterity: With special references to architecture and urbanism through the lens of cultural studies. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing. (Call no.: RSING 720.95 LIM)
68. Lim, W. S. W. (2012). Incomplete urbanism: A critical urban strategy for emerging economies. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing. (Call no.: RSING 307.1 LIM)
69. Suryadinata, L. (Ed.). (2012). Southeast Asian personalities of Chinese descent: A Biographical dictionary. Singapore, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, p. 667. (Call no.: RSING 959.004951 SOU)
70. Lim, W. S. W., & Tan, H. B. (1997). Contemporary vernacular: Evoking traditions in Asian architecture. Singapore: Select Books. (Call no.: RSING 720.95 LIM)
71. Lim, W. S. W., & Taylor, J. (1999). World architecture 1900–2000: A critical mosaic: Vol. 10 Southeast Asia and Oceania. New York: Springer. (Call no.: RSING q720.959 WOR)
72. Lim, W. S. W. (Ed.). (2002). Postmodern Singapore. Singapore: Select Publishing. (Call no.: RSING 959.57 POS -[HIS])
73. Lim, W. S. W. (Ed.). (2009). Asian design culture. Singapore: AA Asia. (Call no.: RSING 720.95 COL)
74. Lim, W. S. W., Siddique, S., & Tan, D. F. (Eds.). (2011). Singapore shifting boundaries: Social change in the early 21st century. (2011). Singapore: Asian Urban Lab. (Call no.: RSING 306.095957 SIN)
75. Lim, W. S. W., & Chang, J. H. (Eds.). (2012). Non west modernist past. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing. (Call no.: RSING 724.6 NON)
76. Lim, W. S. W. (2014). Public space in urban Asia. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing. (Call no.: RSING 307.76095 LIM)
77. Lim, W. S. W. (2000). Mohamed Sultan: A post-modern phenomenon of urbanism in Singapore. Singapore: Select Books. (Call no.: RSING 307.3416095957 LIM)
78. Suryadinata, L. (Ed.). (2012). Southeast Asian personalities of Chinese descent: A Biographical dictionary. Singapore, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, p. 667. (Call no.: RSING 959.004951 SOU)
79. DesignSingapore Council. (2015). Singapore Design Golden Jubilee Award. Singapore: DesignSingapore Council, p. 31. Retrieved 2016, March 31 from Design Singapore website: http://www.designsingapore.org/Files/151020%20SDGJA%20Booklet%20(1).pdf
The information in this article is valid as at 31 March 2016 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
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