William Siew Wai Lim (; 19 July 1932 – 6 January 2023) was a Singaporean architect. Some of his noted designs included People's Park Complex (1973), the

Golden Mile Complex Golden Mile Complex () is a high-rise commercial and residential building on Beach Road in Kallang, Singapore, within walking distance to Nicoll Highway MRT station. The building was formerly known as Woh Hup Complex. The complex contains 411 ...

(1974); and the Tanglin Shopping Center, all in Singapore. Lim wrote and lectured on a wide range of subjects relating to architecture, urbanism, and culture in Asia as well as on current issues relating to the postmodern, ''glocality'' and social justice. He was the author of ''Asian Alterity: With Special Reference to Architecture and Urbanism through The Lens of Cultural Studies'' (2008), as well as editor of ''Asian Design Culture'' (2009) and co-editor of ''Non West Modernist Past'' (2011).

Early life

Lim was born in 1932 in Hong Kong. He graduated from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London and continued his graduate studies at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. He was a

Fulbright Fellow The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

in the Department of City and Regional Planning at Harvard University, and returned to Singapore in 1957 after his studies.

Career

Lim started his career in 1957, working in Singapore and Malaysia in several businesses as a partner. His work began with the design of modernist structures for residential and commercial interests, and progressed to large-scale shopping centres in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. His designs include the People's Park Complex (1973) in Singapore, which went on to become the model for commercial development in the city, the

(1974), and the Tanglin Shopping Center. In 1981, he started his own business. He was a founding member of the Singapore Heritage Society and a co-founder and chairman of Asian Urban Lab and President of the Architectural Association of Asia (AA Asia). He was conferred a Doctor of Architecture ''Honoris Causa'' by the

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public university, public research university in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1887 by Francis Ormond, RMIT began as a night school offering cla ...

(RMIT) University, Australia, in 2002 and appointed Honorary Professor of LaSalle-SIA College of the Arts (Singapore) in 2005. Lim wrote and lectured on a wide range of subjects relating to architecture, urbanism, and culture in Asia as well as on current issues relating to the postmodern, ''glocality,'' and social justice. He was the author of ''Asian Alterity: With Special Reference to Architecture and Urbanism through The Lens of Cultural Studies'' (2008), as well as editor of ''Asian Design Culture'' (2009) and co-editor of ''Non West Modernist Past'' (2011).

Personal life

Lim was married to Madam Lena Lim. The couple had two children, a son and a daughter. Lim died on 7 January 2023 at home in Holland Road in Singapore at age 90. He had suffered from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

in late-2022.

Projects

Source(s): *1973 People's Park Complex, Singapore *1974

, Singapore *1980 Tanglin Shopping Centre, Singapore *1987 Church of Our Saviour (conversion), Singapore *1999 Marine Parade Community Building, Singapore *2000

Gallery Hotel Gallery Hotel () was a four-star boutique hotel at Robertson Quay on Singapore River, in the Central Area of Singapore. Originally known as Gallery Evason Hotel, it was the first "HIP" (Highly Individual Places) hotel in Singapore, and the sec ...

, Singapore File:People's Park Complex 2, Dec 05.jpg, People's Park Complex, Singapore File:Golden Mile Complex 4, Aug 07.jpg, Golden Mile Complex, Singapore File:Marine Parade Community Building, Sep 07.JPG, Marine Parade Community Building, Singapore

Books

* * * * * *

Notes

References

External links

William S. W. Lim on Singapore Government's Infopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lim, William S. W. 1932 births 2023 deaths Architectural theoreticians Hong Kong emigrants to Singapore Naturalised citizens of Singapore Singaporean architects Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni Alumni of the Architectural Association School of Architecture RMIT University alumni