Siong Vui Choong

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Siong Vui Choong ("SVC") for their original perspective and innovative approach to design as well as their creative lifestyle, we are very pleased to share our interview with our distinguished readers.

DL: Could you please tell us a bit about your design background and education?

SVC : I was born in Malaysia, I went through the primary and half of the secondary school systems in Malaysia. I moved to New Zealand with my family and finished my secondary and university education there. I studied architecture and urban design while at my alma mater. I moved to Australia to work and passed my examination and registered as an architect in Victoria, Australia. I moved to Hong Kong in 2013 and stayed in Hong Kong since then.

DL: What motivates you to design in general, why did you become a designer?

SVC : I wanted to be an architect since I was in high school where I find some urban spaces were horribly designed and I saw the faults of it. I have also been intrigued by the relationship between traditional and contemporary. In some parts of Asia where I grew up, I saw traditional architecture being abandoned and replaced by contemporary, a huge disparity between the old and new.

DL: Did you choose to become a designer, or you were forced to become one?

SVC : It was a personal choice. One simply cannot be forced to be a designer.

DL: What do you design, what type of designs do you wish to design more of?

SVC : Generally. architecture and urban design work. The more the site issues or constraints, the better they are. The heavier the cultural contents, the better they are. I find residential, cultural and public architecture interesting.

DL: What should young designers do to become a design legend like you?

SVC : Explore your own styles and your thinking in design. Be outspoken and be daring about your design. Make your work stand out, market yourself and do lots of networking. Build a personal brand.

DL: What distinguishes between a good designer and a great designer?

SVC : A good designer solves the current issues unique to the project, but a great designer will come up with a design that revolutionizes the whole industry.

DL: What makes a good design a really good design, how do you evaluate good design?

SVC : A good design should not be just about the appearance, but it should also fulfill the functional requirements and solves the problem. A really good design will be revolutionary too. Most of the time a good design will also have at least an award attached to it.

DL: What is the value of good design? Why should everyone invest in good design?

SVC : People are willing to invest in good design as it helps to reduce cost, improve safety, more sustainable, solves the problem, visionary, generate patronage or traffic and will even be proud of or associate themselves with a good design. So it makes sense and clients will pay top dollars for it too.

DL: What would you design and who would you design for if you had the time?

SVC : I would also design for under-privilege people who do not often have access to good architectural design.

DL: What is the dream project you haven’t yet had time to realize?

SVC : I have always wanted to improve my projects at architectural school, especially the final year thesis, but never had the opportunity to do so. To me, the projects at architecture schools are perhaps the purest, without much influence from other parties, compared to a real scenario.

DL: What is your secret recipe of success in design, what is your secret ingredient?

SVC : There is no secret recipe for design, it is very open-ended. If the concept matches the brief, expectation of the clients and context, then it is good design. Better still, if it meets or exceeds the user’s expectation. That the user also feels proud of being in the building. Also most importantly, follow your mind.

DL: Who are some other design masters and legends you get inspired from?

SVC : Thomas Heatherwick; Snohetta; Diller, Scofidio and Renfro; Zaha Hadid; Kisho Kurokawa; Tadao Ando; Shigeru Ban; Rem Koolhaas, Vo Trong Nghia; Steve Jobs, Philippe Starck, WOHA; Kerry Hill and Glen Murcutt.

DL: What are your favorite designs by other designers, why do you like them?

SVC : It depends on the projects. Normally, I like some of their projects but not all of them.

DL: What is your greatest design, which aspects of that design makes you think it is great?

SVC : The first design I was involved in had weathering steel, it was one of the first buildings in the world to have used it. I remembered we spent a long time trying to figure out the details and a long time dealing with the council about the rainwater runoff. In the end, we got there and the end result looked really good. Recently I am quite proud of the triangular window of 46 FLT Kowloon City, we insisted the client pursue it and convinced the building authority to accept it. Generally the more the problem is, once we were able to deliver it, we think it’s great, as it isn’t easy at all.

DL: How could people improve themselves to be better designers, what did you do?

SVC : Focus on the resolution of four major elements in a project: Site, Client, Brief and budget. Rigorously testing out your design until you find a solution you are happy with.

DL: If you hadn’t become a designer, what would you have done?

SVC : Probably starting a business of some sort, I have never thought about it.

DL: How do you define design, what is design for you?

SVC : To me, Design is making historical, site and project context work with client expectations. Along with problem-solving of constraints of all sorts and program; Design is not only about appearance, but it is also about form, function, and context – at the end, they are used by occupiers. The design must also come with a simple but convincing story that relates to form, context, human experience, and resolution of prevailing issues.

DL: Who helped you to reach these heights, who was your biggest supporter?

SVC : My wife supported whatever I do. I owed her a big thank you. Other than that my employers have been really supportive too.

DL: What helped you to become a great designer?

SVC : I am a person who likes to improve myself, so I always worked to overcome and push my barriers or limits.

DL: What were the obstacles you faced before becoming a design master?

SVC : I am not a design master as such, but I have faced hurdles in the past including my years at University. It takes strong determination to overcome your limits and barriers. You learn about yourself, the way you design and etc, through this process and become better and better.

DL: How do you think designers should present their work?

SVC : Be proud of your work, even if your work is not great. Put up a convincing pitch and story. Sometimes it is not about the quality of your work, it is also the way you convey your ideas. Every designer should learn how to pitch their work and salesmanship. Think about Apple’s Steve Jobs and how he pitched his product.

DL: What’s your next design project, what should we expect from you in future?

SVC : Not at this moment as I am focusing more on Design Management, Business development, and Studio Management. I am hoping to jump back into designing again once the dust settled down.

DL: What’s your ultimate goal as a designer?

SVC : Build a personal brand of myself, but a signature design language uniquely about myself. Be an expert in my own field.

DL: What people expect from an esteemed designer such as yourself?

SVC : To provide them a better solution or visions that solves their problems or needs.

DL: How does design help create a better society?

SVC : As mentioned earlier, good design inspires people and people love to be in a well-designed space or use well-designed products. It gives people hope and society propels as a whole.

DL: What are you currently working on that you are especially excited about?

SVC : I am working on a Seniors Living project, it’s my first project to design for an age group which I have never designed for. It will be quite interesting as they have a different set of requirements.

DL: Which design projects gave you the most satisfaction, why?

SVC : I really enjoy working on cultural projects or any project that requires me to carry out cultural studies and understanding of different cultures. Or projects that relate to dwelling (residence) where it is personally tailored to the client or the user group. Also, projects that interface with nature.

DL: What would you like to see changed in design industry in the coming years?

SVC : I hope Architects and Designers will be more respected and valued upon in the future. At the moment architects and designers are not well paid compared to other professionals. In many parts of the world, people even expect the design to be given for free.

DL: Where do you think the design field is headed next?

SVC : I think the design field is heading towards specialization, designers will be very territorial about their own specialization. A lot of designs will be departmentalized, it is hard for graduates not to be pigeonholed. So designers will always have to prove their own value. No doubt, AI will have a profound influence in the fields of design. They will assist us to visualize much better and cut our design time. In Southern China, AI is able to generate a basic building form based on the input and site constraint and shadow diagram in a very short timeframe. Exciting times ahead but more people will also lose their job.

DL: How long does it take you to finalize a design project?

SVC : For architecture during a conceptual phase, ideas will come up within a week or two. It is all subject to refinement and testing. However, it takes months to get it up to the design development stage when all the regulations and codes were satisfied. Typically a building from concept to completion could take from 1 to several years.

DL: When you have a new design project, where do you start?

SVC : I research about a particular subject or ideas first and then sketch them out on tracing papers. I will then test the ideas on SketchUp or Rhino depending on complexity. Documentations are done on Revit. Final renders are done by others on Lumion, 3D Studio Max or VRay.

DL: What is your life motto as a designer?

SVC : Make stress your best friend sometimes, it helps you to be a better designer.

DL: Do you think design sets the trends or trends set the designs?

SVC : I am not a strong believer of a particular trend, but normally it is designed that sets the trend. If we use a smartphone as an example, Apple released the iPhone around 10 years ago and it was such a great design that every other manufacturer followed suit. Those who didn’t change their product were out of business. Ie. Nokia.

DL: What is the role of technology when you design?

SVC : The role of technology is to help me to test and visualize my design the quickest way. It also helps us to reproduce our work quickly without redrawing from scratch again.

DL: What kind of design software and equipment do you use in your work?

SVC : I research about a particular subject or ideas first and then sketch them out on tracing papers. I will then test the ideas on SketchUp or Rhino depending on complexity. Documentations are done on Revit. Final renders are done by others on Lumion, 3D Studio Max or VRay.

DL: What is the role of the color, materials and ambient in design?

SVC : These are highly relevant. They are the essential elements that will change the look and feel of your design or architecture drastically. The value of your designed product can be expensive or cheap depending on the material you use.

DL: What do you wish people to ask about your design?

SVC : The story behind the concept of my design or the process I went through and my thoughts about it. Understanding the cultural and historical aspect is important to me.

DL: When you see a new great design or product what comes into your mind?

SVC : Reading the idea about the design or product, study the reason behind it.

DL: Who is your ideal design partner? Do you believe in co-design?

SVC : I work in an individual manner to generate design concepts by testing it out on sketches. The sketches will then be passed onto my colleagues to further develop on digital models. Sometimes I will even be building digital models myself. The design will be reviewed again and again and modified on the computer again and again within a team environment.

DL: Which people you interacted had the most influence on your design?

SVC : Not long after my graduation, I joined RTA Studio in Auckland, New Zealand as a graduate. The firm had a profound influence and shaped my thinking as to what an architect does. The expectation, outcome, and resolution of a project were extraordinary. At RTA Studio, the Directors were so skillful that they are good at the concept from the big picture level, all the way down to a very fine detail level. They are also multi-skilled taking a project from concept to completion. With bigger firms, the staffs’ skills are often departmentalized.

DL: Which books you read had the most effect on your design?

SVC : S, M, XL by Rem Koolhaas, a few books by Japanese architects and historical and theoretical books.

DL: How did you develop your skills as a master designer?

SVC : Designers who have clear design directions and an out of the box idea are good indicators of good designers. Those who are not afraid of challenging the norm, which helped to push the limit or boundaries. So that’s the golden rule I worked with.

DL: Irrelative of time and space, who you would want to meet, talk and discuss with?

SVC : Thomas Heatherwick, Rem Koolhaas, Philippe Starck and etc. just to name a few.

DL: How do you feel about all the awards and recognition you had, is it hard to be famous?

SVC : It takes more than just awards, one really needs to have an impact and publicity about the work you do. There are many bright and award-winning designers who have gone unnoticed. One really needs to work hard on selling themselves and build a personal brand. Explore the territory where others have not gone to and make an impact there. One can certainly engage a Public Relations consultant as well to help with the internet and media exposure.

DL: What is your favorite color, place, food, season, thing and brand?

SVC : Blue and orange are my favorite colors

DL: Please tell us a little memoir, a funny thing you had experienced as a designer?

SVC : I remembered I criticized a building about how inconsiderate the architect was and what was funny about the design of the building. Little did I know, the man who asked me that question was the actual architect of the project. I was embarrassed as I used some really harsh words, but he didn’t mind. He actually liked what I said.

DL: What makes your day great as a designer, how do you motivate yourself?

SVC : If there is a project I like and a problem I cannot resolve, it will motivate me.

DL: When you were a little child, was it obvious that you would become a great designer?

SVC : As a child, I like building things, Legos. I don’t always follow the instruction and I tend to build my own things. As a result, my lego kits were pretty mixed up and I love to sketch and draw buildings, planes, and cars. I didn’t know I was going to be a designer until I saw the architecture course at my alma mater.

DL: What do you think about future; what do you see will happen in thousand years from now?

SVC : It is impossible to tell, maybe we won’t even exist judging by the speed we are destroying the earth.

DL: Please tell us anything you wish your fans to know about you, your design and anything else?

SVC : I push my limits and challenge myself to obtain more design awards. In the near future, I am hoping to do a Doctor of Philosophy course to test out and further refine my ideas and directions through research.