Tay Kheng Soon (1940– ) Architect. A 1959 graduate of Singapore Polytechnic, Tay Kheng Soon was a founding partner of Design Partnership, but left the practice in 1973. He returned in 1976 to form Akitek Tenggara. Tay was also a member of urban planning group SPUR. He argued that the climatic and cultural suitability of imported architectural models be reassessed. Parkway Builders Centre (1985) was his riposte to the ubiquitous enclosed atrium, and the Institute of Technical Education at Bishan (1986) questioned the general reliance on air- conditioning. In the Kampong Bugis Development Guide Plan (1990), he raised fundamental questions about the planning of megacities in the tropics. Subsequently with KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (1997), Tay developed a modern tropical architectural language of ‘Line, Edge, Mesh and Shade’ to a high level of sophistication. In 2000, Tay took up the post of adjunct professor of architecture at the National University of Singapore, but continued to practice. He is known for his strong views on architectural production in Singapore and for his spirited attacks on ‘the lack of self- regard that drives always towards Western solutions’. He is the younger brother of politician Tay Eng Soon.

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