IDr. Lai Siew Hong, co-founder and chief executive designer of Blu Water Studio.
‘LESS is more’ is an adage that IDr. Lai Siew Hong has long subscribed to. “You do less, so that you set the stage to allow other things to do the talking,” the distinguished interior designer explains, describing the ethos behind his clean, functional designs that seamlessly blend classic and modern styles.
Lai, who is the co-founder and chief executive designer of award-winning boutique design firm Blu Water Studio, boasts extensive expertise in the hospitality industry, with a vast portfolio that includes notable projects such as EQ KL, The Edison George Town and Kyo Niseko Resort, Hokkaido.
His projects have been recognised with numerous accolades for outstanding design in the hospitality and F&B categories. A testament to his impactful 30-year career, he was honoured with the Asia’s Most Influential Designer Award at the Designer of the Year (DOTY) Awards in 2020.
Outside of aesthetic leanings, the ‘do less’ principle he adheres to can also be seen in his commitment to sustainability when practicing design. With a focus on reducing waste, energy consumption, and carbon footprint, he favours materials that offer long-lasting durability while advocating for recycling and upcycling practices.
Led by a desire to preserve and create a better world for the future through enhanced discussion and collaboration amongst designers, architects, and industry enthusiasts, Lai recently teamed up with Cosentino to bring the Design X Dialogue series of design-centred sessions.
The set of talks, which kicked off last year and returned this year, spotlights notable designers who share learnings from their past works and impart valuable creative insights to attendees. Following the first Design X Dialogue talk of the season in March, three more sessions are scheduled for this year, with the next one taking place in late June.
“We wanted a platform that allowed us designers to have more conversation and take the whole design community further,” he comments.
Bound by a like-minded approach to sustainability and community, Lai has worked with Cosentino since 2018, having incorporated its innovative and eco-friendly surfaces into design projects such as Étoile Bistro at EQ and Amari Spice Penang.
In this sit-down with Lai, he tells us more about the nuances of interior design work in the hospitality industry, the importance of sustainability and timeless design, and fusing tradition with modernity.
When it comes to designing for hospitality, what are the major considerations?
Guest experience is number one. We will look at hospitality on a bigger spectrum, starting from before the guests even arrive at the main door. How should the experience of being dropped off be?
How do we create these moments as they progress from one space to another? What are we trying to communicate? This all depends on the scale and the category of the property itself. It’s not so much about how it should look, but rather, how we want to make guests feel when they enter the space.
In each hotel we will normally research and explore its local community and neighbourhood, and find elements we can celebrate or inject into the hotel, so that we can craft a beautiful story. For us at the studio, everything starts from a narrative, because narratives are what inspires our whole design process.
What inspires your clean, modern aesthetic?
I believe design should be timeless. It shouldn’t carry a very strong sense of what is in trend, as that might only last you five to ten years. And that leads to another aspect I believe in, which has to do with sustainability. By that I mean things that age well; that are long-lasting and timeless so you don’t need to throw them away.
Furniture, fabrics, or carpets may need to be updated, but we create an overall clean, crisp, contemporary carcass that, even as time goes on, allows for adaptation and playing around with in terms of loose components.
Of your past projects, which ones stand out to you as particularly rewarding?
EQ Kuala Lumpur is a very unique project as we were able to take aspects of traditional heritage and transform it into an expression of modern hospitality in a Malaysian hotel. You won’t see wood carvings or batik, but instead, all these elements are infused in a layered manner.
For example, we drew inspiration from traditional textiles like songket, but rather than just hanging the fabric on the wall, we contemporised it and applied it to details such as the reception backdrop and the lobby’s glass tower.
The narrative for it was based on the idea of timeless chic heritage, and we were quite happy with the end result as it really stood out.
Another very interesting project was The Edison George Town. It is situated in a heritage zone, so there were a lot of limits on what we could do.
The challenge was to restore the old mansion, and only after that could we move on to renovating it with upgraded bathrooms and new furnishing. Our goal was to bring back the original soul of the building, and it was very tricky!
What types of materials do you gravitate to, and why?
We like materials that are unique, easy to apply, and have longer life. Texture and character are also important. We also like to explore new ways of playing with a material and creating a different look.
We’re seeing a lot of new innovations from companies like Cosentino that offer flexibility, such as manmade materials which emulate the look and feel of granite, marble or wood. There are more sustainable options that don’t come at the environmental cost to produce as something like marble. Hopefully we will continue seeing more new creative materials that can help us to do better design, while also requiring less maintenance.
Having already done a few Design X Dialogue talks, what have been some takeaways you’ve gotten from these conversations with emerging and established designers?
I’ve realised that the more you give, the more you receive. We had four of these sessions last year and it’s been quite encouraging.
The main purpose for them is to listen to the insights of all the designers, and we have been able to invite creative people and give them the platform to shine.
I hope the participants who come have learned something new from them, and it is great to see a lot of familiar faces of people who return for multiple sessions.
I found that it has been a great platform where we bring people together, share ideas and impact the whole community, so my aim moving forward is to have more sessions like these.
This article first appeared in Star Biz7 weekly edition.
