I met Prof. Tay in my last year of my NUS Bachelor’s in Architecture, before moving on to do my Master’s. Back then, we explored the idea of Innovation through Diversity. This was the idea that when people from different walks of life or different industries gathered, these chance encounters held the potential for innovation and new ideas. The ‘catalyst’ for the new ideas would be the friction between what knowledge the individual possesses, and the knowledge he is presented with. Whether he chooses to adapt to the new knowledge or propose an alternative, both would serve the end of “innovation".
On the 15th of July, I had a call from Prof Tay, in his usual animated voice, he declared a new idea for another book titled Then and Now. He had already done three books. I admired his energy and persistence. He immediately started a Whatsapp group adding his past students and explaining his ideas. The book is about the learning process under the tutelage of Kheng Soon, and how it influenced their thoughts, leading to design thinking in their present practices. Through many discussions, and bouncing of ideas back and forth with Kheng Soon, we decided that it would be exciting to have a blog that constantly published articles from the students as they complete their reflections. The immediacy of spreading ideas and thoughts would have immediate responses, discussions, and clarifications. It would also be a record of the process of gathering them into an eventual ebook or printed form. That resulted in this blog. All contributions from past students can be forward...