Publications
Honourable Mansion: The Invisible Hands Behind Singapore’s Last Traditional Teochew House
Yeo, Kang Shua. Singapore: ICOMOS Singapore, 2025. 348 p., ill.
​ISBN: 978-981-94-3435-0
In the heart of Singapore, just off Orchard Road, the House of Tan Yeok Nee stands as the last surviving traditional Teochew courtyard mansion in the city-state. In a landscape transformed by rapid redevelopment, this rare architectural relic offers a tangible link to the values, aspirations, and craftsmanship of Singapore’s early Chinese communities.
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Built in the late nineteenth century by Tan Yeok Nee, a wealthy Teochew merchant with close ties to the Johor royal court, the house has served many roles: private residence, girls’ home, religious institution, and restored heritage landmark. Despite these transitions, its physical fabric has retained a remarkable degree of authenticity. This book traces the house’s evolution through detailed analysis of its architectural form, restoration history, and social context, arguing for the importance of material culture and architectural history as rich sources of historical insight.
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By closely reading the building’s structure, ornamentation, and adaptations over time, the book shows how it serves not only as heritage but as an architectural palimpsest. In doing so, it offers an alternative lens on Singapore’s past, rooted not just in archives, but in the meanings embedded in built space.
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Blending narrative clarity with academic rigour, this book will appeal to general readers, heritage professionals, and scholars interested in architecture, conservation, and Southeast Asian history. The House of Tan Yeok Nee is more than a national monument, it is a vessel of memory, a witness to change, and a vital part of Singapore’s cultural legacy.
The Nara Document at 30: Perspectives on Replication and Reconstruction in Architecture Conservation
Yeo, Kang Shua (ed). Singapore: Architecture and Sustainable Design, Singapore University of Technology and Design, and ICOMOS Singapore, 2024. 164 p., ill.
ISBN:Â 978-981-94-1606-6
​In a world of constant flux, we face difficult questions: Can rebuilding or replacement be authentic? How do we balance preservation with change? Is authenticity a clash of values—substance, form, and context? Or is it a matter of analysis, judgment, and decision? We invite you to engage with these questions and reflect on the symposium’s theme and intent through the book’s form.
Heritage in Singapore: Saving History to Build a Nation. ICOMOS-National Museum of Singapore World Heritage Day Symposium
Lim, Chen Sian and Chew, Rachel (eds). Singapore: ICOMOS Singapore, 2021. 78 p., ill.
​ISBN: 978-981-14-8827-6
The UNESCO General Conference of November 1983 adopted the resolution commending all Member States to declare 18th April of each year as ‘International Monuments and Sites Day’. 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of both Singapore and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). In celebration of this dual golden anniversary, ICOMOS Singapore joins the National Museum of Singapore, and the National Heritage Board in celebrating World Heritage Day with a symposium on heritage in Singapore. Themed and titled ‘Heritage in Singapore: Saving History to Build a Nation’, the conference brought together Singapore’s leading practitioners in the heritage scene, drawing from both ICOMOS members and colleagues from the National Heritage Board, Urban Redevelopment Authority and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. We are pleased to present the symposium papers in this volume.
Conservation Technical Handbook: A Guide for Best Practices
ICOMOS Singapore and Urban Redevelopment Authority. Singapore: Urban Redevelopment Authority, 2017-2019. Vol. 1: 116 p., ill.; Vol. 2: 90 p., ill.; Vol. 3: 101 p., ill.; Vol. 4: 89 p., ill.; Vol. 5: 81 p., ill.
​In collaboration with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), ICOMOS Singapore will be publishing a series of eight Conservation Technical Handbooks. To date, five volumes have been published. The series seeks to improve the competency level of the local heritage building industry, develop higher quality restoration projects and foster appreciation for local built heritage.