Making of a mansion
IN the book Crazy Rich Asians, Tyersall Park is the name of Nicholas Young’s family estate in Singapore.
When girlfriend Rachel arrives at Tyersall Park for the first time, she is surprised by the size and sheer opulence of the property.
She describes it as a “palace” while Nicholas has a different perspective. “It’s just a big house,” he says sheepishly.
Tyersall Park serves as the backdrop for many pivotal moments in the film.
Star2 met with Crazy Rich Asians movie production designer Nelson Coates during a set visit to Singapore back in 2017.
He shared that his team had to get creative with the making of Tyersall Park.
In fact, the house is actually made up of at least three different locations in Singapore and Malaysia.
First, there is the scenic winding driveway filled with trees leading up to Tyersall Park. Coates said his team was looking for roads without guard rails or coloured curbs on the sidewalk.
“We had to use the hidden service route at Champions Golf Course in Singapore. It was filled with monkeys but it was the perfect road to illustrate the drive,” Coates said.
For the palatial residence, Coates and his team made their way to Carcosa Seri Negara in Kuala Lumpur. The colonial-style heritage building was then converted into the Young family mansion.
They also created a conservatory for the event where Rachel meets Nicholas’s grandmother and mother for the first time. It was at a party to witness a rare flower blooming. You know, just the things rich people do.
However, there is one problem with the Carcosa Seri Negara location.
“It had no working kitchen,” Coates lamented.
Crazy Rich Asians has scenes that needed to be filmed in a sizeable kitchen with Peranakan design and motives as a nod to Nicholas’ grandmother.
The hunt led them to another heritage building near Royale Chulan Hotel in KL.
“This old house has a large space with designs that matched Carcosa Seri Negara. That’s where we built the Tyersall Park kitchen.”
All the effort paid off when Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh, who plays Nicholas’ mother Eleanor, walked into the kitchen.
“Michelle Yeoh was so excited to see the kitchen. She wanted to know how we got the food and the design right.”
Coates described Crazy Rich Asians as a universal story set in a specific place.
“We wanted it as a love letter to Singapore and to the culture in the Straits.
“I’ve never heard of Peranakan before starting on this project. It’s a culture that has never been explored in Hollywood movies before,” he added. –AY