Research Colloquia Lilian Chee

Telling through Encounter: Architecture and Affect

Abstract: ‘Telling through encounter’ brings together the writing of architecture, the notion of affect, and the role of fabulation. It pays attention to how we tell, specifically what happens to what we know when we stay close to the stickiness of a situation we encounter. I argue that the act of design, frequently perceived as visual and tactile, is equally influential in what we account for, and how we relate to what is experienced. I discuss what happens when the immediacy of encounter is transposed into the written form, and why the evidence of encounter is important to hold onto in architectural discourse. The second half of this talk will focus on my book, Architecture and Affect, which I employ as a kind of object lesson to think through this idea of writing architecture-as-design.

Date: 25.03.2026

Place: Studio 3

Speaker: Lilian Chee

Short-bio: Lilian CHEE is the Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst DAAD Visiting Academic for the Spring Semester, 2026 at Berlin International. She is also Dean’s Chair Associate Professor of Architectural Design and Visual Cultures at the Department of Architecture in the National University of Singapore, where she leads the Research by Design Cluster, and Assistant Dean at the College of Design and Engineering. She is co-founder of the Social Design Lab where she works on developing a toolkit for the city and women. Her recent publications include Architecture and Affect (2023), Art in Public Space (2022), and Remote Practices (2022), and the documentaries To Work At Home (2025), Objects for Thriving (2022) and 03-FLATS (2014). She led the Social Sciences Research Council-funded Foundations for Home-based Work (2021-24) and conducted a limited study on Dementia, care, and public housing (2023-24). She writes on affect, architectural representation, domesticity, and works creatively across the intersections of architecture and visual cultures. She is working on two book projects revolving around home, labour and care. 

For more information: linktr.ee/lilianchee