Keys & Dowdeswell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Keys and Dowdeswell was a major international architecture firm operating out of Shanghai, and designing buildings throughout China and South East Asia in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. They designed some of the most prominent buildings in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, bringing an international standard of luxury to the Asian hospitality market. Major P. Hubert Keys and Frank Dowdeswell were British architects who relocated to Shanghai, China.[1] They were originally appointed by the Straits Government to design the general post office in Singapore, June 1, 1927.[2] They were designated A.R.I.B.A (Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects).[3] They designed in a historicist tradition, with many of their buildings in the classical style, although their design approach changed over the years, and some of their buildings are classified as Art Deco, and a few are Modernist.