Fear is something that is unavoidable. My personal philosophy is to cope with and even embrace it so that it doesn’t become a stumbling block.
Fatherhood is a humbling process. It is really tiring but extremely rewarding. And it’s something that you have to experience in order to understand the truth behind it.
My wife gave me a classic Volkswagen Beetle as a wedding gift, and I intend to bequeath it to our kids. Keeping old cars is certainly more sustainable than building new ones.
I spent my childhood with my grandparents in Kallang Bahru and hung out with the neighborhood kids playing at void decks and catching fish at the nearby monsoon drain. I don’t think my kids will ever experience that.
The smell and taste of freshly baked bread always comforts me. I guess my mum is responsible because she had bread cravings when she was carrying me.
Architecture is more than buildings—you also have to learn how to deal with aspects of law, social responsibility and managing human relationships.
Architects don’t design icons. It’s the people who decide what becomes one.
My post-graduate years in Bartlett were an eye-opening experience. I still recall my first project: It was about building a residential project for a new ethnic group in Liverpool.
It was a huge surprise when my course-mate presented the project. She brought a roast duck to class and even produced a recording of her preparing the dish. Through that documentation, I learned that the ritual of food in an ethnic community is something that is actually important when designing a residential location.
In my fourth year in Bartlett, I conceived The Nomadic Alien, a project where every facet of my life was intensively studied, even the microscopic particles of the rice I ate were scrutinized in a lab.
It’s a cliché but I always tell my students to travel because staying here will not sharpen your critical mindset as a designer.
Good design goes beyond style. It has to inspire and touch hearts.
I hate to take medicine because I have always believed that it’s best when my body heals naturally.
Long queues, traffic jams and rude drivers are some of my biggest peeves.
My mantra in life: Seek the truth, and beauty will inspire.
