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Design Trajectory
how did CL3 come into existence?
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| has it been challenging transitioning from corporate interior to hospitality? At the beginning it wasn’t easy. We had to look at how we did things, at how we do detailing, at how we spec furniture. It was almost like starting from scratch and we went through a few pretty tough years trying to do that transition. Also, at the time the economy was quite bad, so fees were quite competitive. But it is important to diversify what we do, so we can pick the best projects. We do still take corporate work but we only do the interesting corporate work. For something that is purely a space planning exercise, we try to stay away from that kind of work.  with so much hotel development in China, there must be a lot of opportunity for designers? There are a lot of people coming to us, but we’re very cautious about taking on work. A successful project is not just the design. Design is only just the beginning of it. It is how the client operates it, how they run it. I’ve seen many projects where clients have really good intentions with the design, but the lack of a good operator totally ruins the project and makes it look really bad. So even though the market is very good in China and there a lot of people looking for designers, we are very cautious about what kind of work we take on. what are there common mistakes that should be avoided by developers? I think one of the most common mistakes that inexperienced clients make is thinking that the designer can do everything. They don’t realise that they need a lot of other input to make the project work. Even for very simple small projects like a restaurant, clients sometimes don’t realise they need a good operator, and that even the chef has to be part of the design process to make it work. As the project gets bigger, the mistake gets even worse. If you are doing a hotel without the operator’s input then it’s bound to fail. A lot of clients still don’t realise that, and they also don’t realise that there’s a lot of critical consultants that need to be brought onboard, that the interior designer is only doing a very specific role; Like your lighting consultant, your E&M consultant, structural and acoustics engineer. Great design is really teamwork – there needs to be specialists in each field. Developers should recognise that making the commitment to design will pay. what are the main challenges for interior designers operating in Asia today? Where there’s an opportunity, there’s a challenge. It’s really important to stay focused. With a market like this, you can expand your office to three times the size if you want. But it’s very important to not get greedy, and do continue to do good projects. In the last year or so, since the market has picked up, some design firms are taking on a lot of projects, and can risk being understaffed. We were actually asked by clients to go in and fix work that other people had done. These were new projects that had just been completed. It goes to show that when the market is good, speed becomes an issue and mistakes can get made. When this happens, you’re unlikely to get paid, your reputation gets ruined, I think it’s better just not taking those projects. finally, in two sentences or less, what is the key message you would share with people involved in the industries of the built environment in Asia? Design pays. Developers should recognise that making the commitment to design will pay. For designers and architects, they should be careful not to underestimate the value their design can add. RFP
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Key title: RFP magazine
Abbreviated key title: RFP mag.
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