DIVINE CUSTODY
A History of Singapore’s Oldest Teochew Temple – Wak Hai Cheng Bio

bit.ly/obrolanheritage59

Wak Hai Cheng Bio or also known as Yuen Hai Ching Temple is a Chinese temple in Singapore, located in Raffles place. Believed to be established in the 1820s, the temple is one of the Singapore’s oldest Chinese Teochew temples. It is a Teochew architecture with the influences of Southeast Asian characteristics. Although it was gazetted as national monument of Singapore (1996) and protected under the Preservation of Monuments Act 2009, the temple still had to face the problem of termites, moisture penetration and neglect. Between 2010 and 2014, with support from academics and local practitioners, the owner conducted a conservation project to save the temple.

In 2014, Wak Hai Cheng Bio projects won the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation. The project is an example of excellent conservation comprising comprehensive research of technical problem, visual and photographic surveys, condition assessments, LiDAR scanning and compilation of archives.

In this heritage talk, Yeo Kang Shua as part of the team of Wak Hai Cheng Bio project, will walk you through his findings and insights from over 10 years of research, which is collected in a book published this year – Divine Custody. Together, we are going to explore the social history of the temple, its role in the community, as well as stories around the 4 years of restoration of the temple.

Obrolan Heritage
OH #59 | 12-2021

Speaker:
Yeo Kang Shua
Associate Professor & Associate Head of Pilar in Singapore University of Technology and Design

Tuesday, 14 December 2021
15.00-17.00 JKT/BKK (16.00-18.00 SGT)
@zoom Jurusan Arsitektur Universitas Trisakti

Registration [pda]
bit.ly/obrolanheritage59

Nilai kum 3 bagi anggota IAI

Obrolan Heritage is jointly organised by :
Pusat Dokumentasi Arsitektur,
Ikatan Arsitek Indonesia, and
Jurusan Arsitektur Universitas Trisakti