An Unfinished Canvas: Life of Koh Seow Chuan

by Tai Ho Woon

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.


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

381 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 12, 2024