Koh Seow Chuan likes to see his life as a continuous painting, and himself as the painter. An Unfinished Canvas is about a unique individual who sees life as just that — a canvas that is never finished. This book traces his remarkable life from the age of four, following his journey as a stamp collector, national swimmer, architect and art collector. In all his endeavours, he reached the very top on a global field. The book makes clear how he lived and continues to live his life guided by two principles, his strong belief in the power of knowledge and the power of teamwork, which he found and followed relatively early in his life. Through stamps, he saw what knowledge could do for him academically and how it would always put him in a position of strength in whatever he did later in life. But it is in his absolute embrace of the power of teamwork that sees him succeeding in project after project. People see in him a leader they rarely see in the world of architecture, the leader who insists on we over I, group glory over personal glory. The architecture firm he founded, DP Architects, is more than 50 years old — and is now one of the biggest in the world. In his 80s now, he reminds us that his canvas is still unfinished.

Contents:

• Foreword


• Prologue


• Introduction


• A Head Start in Life


• People's Park Complex


• The Golden Mile Complex


• Esplanade — Theatres on the Bay


• Change and Consolidation by Design


• Talking About the Founder


• Lee Kuan Yew at 100


• Collecting Art, Supporting Artists


• A Patron's Role


• The Support He Did Not Make Public


• National Gallery Singapore


• The Art of Negotiation


• Conversations with God

Readership: Readers interested in Singapore history, art collection, stamp collection and architecture.

Key Features:

• Tells the never before told life story of Koh Seow Chuan, one of Singapore's pioneering architects


• Recounts, from Koh's perspective, the story of Singapore's formative years, and how he steered the country away from colonial dependence to nation building through rapid urban renewal and transformation


• Captures key developments in Singapore's history through the lens of architecture and urban planning


• Sheds light on the world of stamp collecting and art collecting, and the key takeaways Koh learned from these hobbies