Penang Story Lecture: Komtar and the Buckminster Fuller Connection
Date: Saturday, 23 August 2014, 1.30pm to 4:30pm
Venue: KOMTAR, Auditorium A, Level 5
The talk will include an Exhibition and a Tour of the Dewan Tunku Geodesic Dome. The speaker is none other than Datuk Seri Lim Chong Keat, who has kindly accepted our invitation to share his experiences with us.
To register for a space, please email info@pht.org.my or ring us on 04-2642631
Abstract
Datuk Seri Lim Chong Keat will present his narration on his experiences and contributions to Urban Planning for George Town, (prior to the Planning Act); under the Central Area Planning Unit (CAPU) from 1971 to 1973, which pioneered recommendations for Urban revitalisation and Conservation. This led to proposals for the Penang Urban Centre, later called KOMTAR, towards the revitalisation of the city. The saga of the building of Komtar (from 1974 to 1985) will be recounted, including the geodesic dome called Dewan Tunku, which involved the participation of R. Buckminster Fuller, a world renowned 20th century designer, inventor, philosopher and visionary. Fuller made frequent visits to Penang for the Campuan Meetings on World Affairs at the Bellevue on Penang Hill (co-organized by Fuller and Lim) which transmigrated from Bali, notably in 1981 and 1983.
Biodata
Datuk Seri Lim Chong Keat
DGPN, DSPN, BBM, APAM. FASc B.A. Hons. Arch. (Manchester), M.Arch. (M.I.T.), LL.D. honorius causa (Manchester)
He has had an active career as an Architect and Urban Designer in the firms he founded: Malayan Architects Co-partnership and Architects Team 3/ Jurubena Bertiga. He was born in Penang, studied at the Penang Free School, obtained professional degrees from the University of Manchester with first class honours, and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He won several awards including the Heywood Medal, Rome Scholarship Finalist and the Commonwealth Fund (now Harness)Fellowship. Datuk Seri Lim helped to establish the first school of Architecture in Singapore and was President of the Singapore Institute of Architects, also serving on several public boards including the Singapore Housing & Development Board, the Lands Appeals Board, and the UN Panel for State & City Planning, and in Malaysia: the National Art Gallery, Penang Museum and other public committees, including the Botanic Gardens. He was active in cultural affairs and contributed as Chairman of the Special Features Committee under the State Cultural Council. He has also served as President of the Penang Ratepayers Association, and was the Founder Chairman of the Penang Heritage Trust.
He was involved in the planning work of CAPU for central George Town, and in the design and implementation of Komtar as director of the Development Consortium. Recently he has served as honorary advisory consultant to the Penang Hill Corporation on strategic development planning.
He was recently elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia.
About Penang Story
The Penang Story Initiative was started in 2001 by Penang Heritage Trust and jointly organized by Star Publications with the support of various stakeholders. With the UNESCO WHS Inscription in 2008 and the growing awareness about cultural heritage issues, the new chapter of the Penang Story, Penang in Global History, continues to celebrate cultural diversity and has expanded to include a re-discovery of Penang’s place in local, regional and global history. The public lecture will bring together various scholars from all over the world to share their research on a particular subject of interest.
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