Background
Berthel Michael Iversen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1906. The seventh and youngest child in the family, he was christened Berthel, after the famous Danish sculptor Berthel Thorvaldsen.
(The Cathay is a mixed-use 17-storey cinema, shopping mall...)
The Cathay is a mixed-use 17-storey cinema, shopping mall and apartment building located at Handy Road and Mount Sophia in the Museum Planning Area of Singapore. Owned and managed by Cathay Organisation, the building originally opened in 1939 as Cathay Building.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cathay
1939
(Shaw House and Shaw Centre is a complex of two neighbouri...)
Shaw House and Shaw Centre is a complex of two neighbouring buildings built by the same developer, Shaw Organisation. Located at the junction of Orchard Road and Scotts Road in Singapore, it features the flagship Lido Cineplex for the Shaw Organisation, a major shopping mall with Isetan as an anchor tenant, and two office buildings. Shaw House is a shopping mall and the home of Lido Cinema, which was constructed in 1958 as a 10-storey office block, and was officially opened by Lim Yew Hock on 22 November 1958.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaw_House_and_Centre
1958
Berthel Michael Iversen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1906. The seventh and youngest child in the family, he was christened Berthel, after the famous Danish sculptor Berthel Thorvaldsen.
Iversen exhibited an artistic streak from a young age. With a great passion for drawing, he studied architecture at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen.
In 1928 Iversen came to Malaya and began his career as architect. His elder brother Werner Iversen had been a successful planter in Malaya since 1918, and convinced Berthel to relocate. Young Iversen worked for Keys And Dowdeswell firm when he first landed Asia. In 1936, Iversen established his own firm with S.H Van Smitteren in Ipoh- Iversen, Van Smitteren & Partners. Iversen was a member of the Building Association of Ipoh, in the state of Perak.
Among the many famous landmark buildings which Iversen was responsible for (in Ipoh) were: the Grandstand at the Ipoh Race Course, five of the numerous cinema halls (Majestic, Rex, Ruby, Cathay and Lido) established by the Shaw Brothers, Jubilee Park, the Mercantile Bank, an art deco row of Fair Park Shophouses (now demolished), and the Lam Looking Bazaar. After setting up his own firm, he went on to design the Ipoh Swimming Club, the MCA Building and the Geological Survey Building in Ipoh; the Loke Yew Building in Kuala Lumpur; and the Chinese Swimming Club in Penang. He also designed prefabricated houses and private houses for the rich, government buildings, hospitals, schools, radio stations and churches.
(The Cathay is a mixed-use 17-storey cinema, shopping mall...)
1939(Shaw House and Shaw Centre is a complex of two neighbouri...)
1958He was married and had two children, Ruth Iversen Rollitt (daughter) and Per Iversen (son).