Crest

Coat of Arms

University Coat-of-Arms tend to be based on the simple combination of the regional arms and the open book symbol. The NUS Coat-of Arms incorporates the State Lion symbol with the triple ring symbol. The last is representative of Nanyang University before the merger. For Temasek Hall, the invention was to create a design which had a regional or Asian imagebility and that which is also particular to its origins.

Hence, the heraldic lion in the NUS arms is transcripted onto a capital ‘T’, symbolising the Hall as upholding the values of the States in its own ideals and aspirations. Such ideals and aspirations would be encapsulated in an overarching value system (known as ‘traditions’) by which residents would live by during their sojourn in the Hall. The five green bands – green denoting the geographical insularity of Singapore – represents the five residential blocks ‘banded’ together in unity and commonality to form the background or setting for the Hall. This aptly illustrates the duality of the individual and group identities. The chevron is a shield which encloses the scroll – our choice as the symbol of learning – and represents the knowledge quest. The tip of the chevron is known as the ‘honour point’ and it upholds the capital ‘T’. The decorative motifs on the chevron are of Javanese origins and form a link to our own cultural past; ‘Temasek’ being ’sea town’ in Javanese. This is the element that gives the Hall its Asian imagebility. The continuous escrol beneath the crest bears the Hall motto and acts visually as the base for the crest. The motto reads “Inspirare, Conficere’; that is ‘To inspire, To achieve’.

The arms can be abstracted into simple line forms; a triangular base upon which an apex sits at ‘T’ which in turn bears the lion symbol. The symmetry of the design is further reinforced by the shape of the shield which becomes the ‘ground’ for the ‘figure’. The symmetrical design serves to emphasize the clarity of the form and proportions of the arms.

It must be mentioned at this end that the various connotations that constitute the iconographic contents of the arms requires the passage of time and events before it can be imbued with the Hall’s traditions and before the Hall Coat-of-Arms can leave the world of artistic motifs and images and enter the world of symbolic values.