COMMON SENSE AESTHETICS
By Mimi Hockman : ID Magazine
Oct / Nov 1997
Projects : updated 5th November 2002
Andrew Jones
Ed Poole
Partial Project List
-
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2003
Times
Square KL : Soo
Kee Jewellery
Clifford
Center : Soo
Kee Jewellery
Poole
Penthouse - reconstruction Phase 3
2002
Wall
Street Institute, Singapore
Maracas
:: Cocina Latina, Chijmes
Peoples
Park : Soo Kee Jewellery
IMM
: Soo Kee Jewellery
Suntec
City : Soo Kee Jewellery
Jurong
Point : Soo
Kee Jewellery
Wisma
Atria : Soo
Kee Jewellery
Toa Payoh
Central : Soo
Kee Jewellery
KL Central Air
Terminal : Brilliant
Rose Diamonds
Lot
10 KL : Brilliant Rose Diamonds
WallStraits.com,
Singapore
Ocho
Tapas Bar : additions
Cafe
Iguana, Singapore : Art Commissions
Block
D : Chijmes : Planning Studies
California
Bistro : Esplanade, Singapore
Maison
de Fontaine : Chijmes, Singapore
Brewerkz
Renovations 2002 : Phase 2 & 3
Poole
Penthouse - reconstruction Phase 2
Boulvar
- Hotel Inter.Continental, Dubai
Website creation and maintenance
:
www.nicheinterior.com
www.chinajump.com
www.ochotapas.com
www.maracasbar.com
l2001
Kenny
Heights show flats & Sales office - Kuala Lumpur
Signature
Eatertainment Outlet - Westin Hotel, Kuala Lumpur (opening early 2003)
Signature
F&B Outlet - Westin Hotel, Kuala Lumpur (opening early 2003)
Concept restaurants : The
Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, Singapore
Brewerkz
Renovations, Singapore : Phase 1
Aspial : Singapore
Asian Restaurant
| Bar, Singapore
China Jump renovations, Singapore
Teahouse at China Square, Singapore
Poole Penthouse, Singapore
Website creation and maintenance
:
www.californiacbd.com
www.willybaet.com
www.pearlbankapartments.com
Country Cl2000
GRP Limited, The Heeren, Singapore
Ocho Spanish Tapas Bar, Chijmes, Singapore
California CBD, Novena Square, Singapore
Parkway Parade : Aspial
Hougang Mall : Aspial
Junction 8 : Aspial
Bugs Junction : Aspial
T2 Changi Airport : Aspial
IMM Building : Aspial
Lot 1 : Aspial
Jurong Point : Aspial
Wisma Atria : Aspial
Tampines Mall : Aspial
CityLink Mall : Aspial
Front Page, No 18 & 19 Mohamed Sultan Rd JetFM.com Jalan Raja Chulan, KL.
Grappa Espresso, Jalan Raja Chulan, KL.
Café Iguana, Riverside Point, Singapore
Bobby Rubino's Singapore (renovations)
Website creation and maintenance : www.cafeiguana.com
>
(sold
to Brewerkz Investments - Sept 2002)
Lt
Wok & Roll, F1999
OutHouse Productions, Singapore
Club Eden, No. 25 Mohamed Sultan Road
Merc-Grands Crus, Bangsar Bahru, KL
Pasir View Park Apartment, Singapore
<ark>, cyberspace
Phuc Deli-Viet, Caltex House, Singapore
Petredec Services (Asia) Pte Ltd
Bedok Res. HUDC Masionette, Singapore
One Degree North Limited, Singapore
Wok & Roll, Fort Canning Country Club
1998
Hu'u Bar, The Singapore Art Museum
Sugar, No. 13 Mohamed Sultan Road
Next Page Pub, No. 17 Mohamed Sultan Road
House of Mao II: Orchard Hotel, Singapore
House of Mao III: The Red Book, London
Crispin's, Caltex House Singapore
1997
China Jump Bar & Grill, Chijmes
DY&R Partnerships, The Concourse
Provignage, Riverside View Singapore
Equinox Capital Ltd, Republic Plaza Level 11
The British Council, Singapore
SPANS Clubhouse, The Orchard Building
Lava Lounge, The Orchard Building
Revox Asia Pte Ltd, Suntec City Mall
The Blueginger Restaurant, The Heeren
House of Mao I, China Square Food Center
1996
Wunderman Cato Johnson, The Concourse
Hooters, Clarke Quay, Singapore
Qhue, Pasir Panjang Village, Singapore
Cafe Belaroma, Parklane Shopping Centre
Park Shore apartment, Singapore
Bobby Rubino's, Chijmes
Angelo Cafe-Bar, Chijmes
Nomads Mongolian Cafe, Chijmes
Jay Gee House, Singapore
Regency Park apartment, Singapore
Mandarin Gardens apartment, Singapore
Haagen-Dazs Kelapa Gading, Jakarta
Holland Road penthouse, Singapore
Casa Rosita apartment, Singapore
Carrier Singapore, East Coast Road
Equinox Capital Ltd, Republic Plaza level 52
Website creation and maintenance :
www.cactus.com.sg
www.poole-associates.com
www.one-degree-north.com
1995
Wunderman Direct, The Concourse
The Food Exchange, Singapore
Haagen Dazs, East Coast Road, Singapore
The Spot on The Hub, Science Park 1
TV Innovations, Shaw Tower
TV Innovations, Bugis Junction
DY&R Design, The Concourse
Song & Kelly offices, Chinatown
Burson Marstellar, Odeon Towers level 16
Keppel Corporation HQ, Singapore
Bizan Lounge, Menara BCD Jakarta
Liang Court Holdings, Tiong Bahru Plaza
Region Development, Tiong Bahru Plaza
Tung Lok Group, Tiong Bahru Plaza
Tiong Bahru apartment
1994
DY&R Partnerships, The Concourse level 30
Wunderman, The Concourse level 32
The Blue Ginger Restaurant, Tanjong Pagar
Haagen-Dazs outlets, Singapore
TV Innovations, C K Tangs
Technigroup Far East, Circular Road
Scandinavia Warehouses, Clementi
Dr. Martens HQ, Wisma Gulab, Singapore
Dr. Martens Asian Flagship, Ngee Ann City
Royal Sporting House HQ, Singapore
Singapore Dress, Paragon Shopping Centre
Four Seasons apartment, Singapore
1993
STADIUM, Ngee Ann City
Haagen Dazs, Le Meridien Hotel Singapore
Haagen Dazs, Lot 10 Kuala Lumpur
Haagen Dazs, Holland Village
Haagen Dazs, Tembeling Centre
Haagen Dazs, Wisma Atria (not constructed)
Nassim Mansion penthouse
Prix Corp Showroom, Bangkok
Scoops Cafe, Ngee Ann City
1992
Q'ta Superstore, Bandung Indonesia
Haagen Dazs, Ginza Plaza
Abtrust Fund Managers, Boat Quay
Olympia Lounge, Wisma Gulab Singapore
Four Seasons Hotels (office) Singapore
Universal Cable, Johor Bahru
1991
Haagen Dazs, Hilton Hotel Singapore
Haagen Dazs, Pedder Street, Hong Kong
Club 21 Accessories, Le Meridien Hotel Singapore
DY&R, Kallang
RPM Mega Music Store, Singapore (not constructed)
|
MIMI
HOCKMAN catches up with Ed Poole and Andrew Jones of the six and a half year-old
architectural and design firm POOLE ASSOCIATES, during a pause in their dizzy schedule,
for some lively conversation on their distinctive brand of work. The two have just
returned the night before from Beijing where they had gone to investigate and source for
their current project, House of Mao. In between mouthfuls of Fiddleheads' delectables,
they speak about their 'fresh insight' approach to design, past and current jobs, sources
of inspiration -- and being expats doing 'New Asian' designs.
(About visiting Beijing for the House of Mao)
ED I suppose you could call what we're trying to create 'a casual
theme restaurant called the House of Mao.' So we needed to go and get the feel of what it
must have been like back in the '50s and '60s. That and to taste the food. It's quite
spicy, this Hunanese-type fare. Our design was already 50% done, but now we'll make a
couple of alterations to make it a little bit more authentic....
Based on the food?
ED Well, the food and just getting a feel for the character of
Beijing. We were also looking for authentic things, like these light fittings that are
from Tiananmen Square.
Where is (House of Mao) going to be?
ED Down here on Telok Ayer Street at the China Square Food Centre.
ANDREW (Beijing) was a much more modern city than we expected it to
be. Much more organized.
E The architecture is very monumental...
A ...planned to the nth degree.
E There are these tremendous trees lining very wide boulevards.
Every building is very classically oriented with pediments and Schinkelesque symmetry, but
all with a Chinese twist to it. Even the modern buildings are great. And the railway
station is incredible.
With this project I suppose the answer is fairly obvious, but with your other jobs, by
what criteria do you decide how the design should be?
E The first thing obviously is the brief by the client, second
would probably be the location, where a project fits within the city, or even within a
specific building...
...and that would influence the design?
E ...yes, of course it would, because often when you go into a room
or a space and you know what the program is, whether it's going to be a restaurant or an
office or whatever, you can get a general read of the space to feel what will be a
comfortable, logical orientation for the layout. Then, after that, of course, there'd be
the budget and then the commercial viability of what we're doing.
...meaning what?
E Well, for instance, if someone tells us they want to do another
cafe, we say 'do you seriously want to enter a saturated market...'
A ...when there are lots of big boys already playing the game, can
we really take them on?
E We've kind of learned the hard way that while we're always trying
to push the aesthetics of new design, we can't go too far because if people don't relate
to it, then it won't work in Singapore. The market here is just too small to not be very
careful about commercial viability.
A And in these niche markets, you need to understand the types of
people whom you're dealing with, who live or work in that area. And cater the design to
suit that target clientele.
E A good example of that would be the Haagen-Dazs at Century Square
(in Tampines) versus the design for Qhue at Pasir Panjang Village. The design approach
from the very beginning would be totally different because the demographics are worlds
apart.
What percentage of your work now is residential and what percentage commercial?
E Well, our current residential projects will be our last.
A It's the most difficult, time-consuming and least cost effective
thing to get done. If you don't have a client who is clued in with your vision, it can be
very soul-destroying. We find that many people are attached to that well-worn sofa from
University days and it's very difficult to get them to move away from that and go in a
more refined and minimalist direction.
E Yes, that always irritates me tremendously -- when a client says
'oh, let's just throw this into the corner of the room'. It's important to plan where
things can go, especially if they're monumental pieces. They need to have a place to be
put that makes sense of the overall scheme.
Do you find that each successive job is an evolution of the one that came before? And
do you feel you can go a little bit further from the last job?
E Yes and no. You can be going in one direction but you're also
veering off into all these different paths at the same time. And sometimes a path is cut
altogether, but might be resurrected again several years later because of some new design
movement where the market now accepts something that it didn't before. And of course, each
client is different, so we can't repeat the same thing.
A There's actually the demand of time and the client's money to
consider. As soon as they put down a deposit or rental on the lease, the clock is ticking
and they want us to produce as quickly as possible. It's difficult to always be coming up
with new ideas all the time. You have to go out there and find other influences or hope
the client will come to you with a brief that you haven't really thought of before. That
can take you off in a completely different direction, but you have to do some research
very quickly and find out what it is they're looking for and whether it fits the market.
Do you have many clients that come to you with inspired ideas or ideas that inspire
you?
E Oh yes, definitely. In fact, House of Mao is a very good example.
The client was very clear about what he wants to have happen and now we're developing that
idea together. It's going to be a multi-layered expression when it's done, with a lot of
sublime messages.
It's not going to be a take-off of the China club in Hongkong?
E Oh no, no. That's way more upmarket. House of Mao is about
frugality. A basic noodle bar kind of thing, but very fun -- a little tongue-in-cheek in a
way.
Is this going to be an outlet specific to Singapore or regional?
E They have plans to go abroad as well.
Do you find that most of your business is in Singapore or do you have a lot of
projects abroad?
E Right now it's mostly here but a year and a half ago, we were
actually doing 90% outside, mostly in Indonesia.
How do you get most of your jobs?
E We don't get them, they come to us. We have never gone out
specifically to market ourselves.
But how does it happen?
A First, of course, there's our reputation for quality work. And
some of it comes through publications and design magazines, and these magazines tend to
circulate within the design community -- which is not necessarily where commercial clients
would look. You do find that residential clients will go and look in a magazine if they're
looking to do a new apartment. One recent client came to us having seen something of ours
in a magazine and now we're doing her flat, but things like office jobs tend to be
referrals. A lot of the time it's the same company coming back, moving into a new building
or needing expansion space. For example, we've been working with DY&R (Dentsu, Young
and Rubicam) for 6 years now.
Tell me a little bit about where your ideas and inspiration comes from.
E That's an interesting question -- interesting in a philosophical
sense. Where does any inspiration come from?
Well, Jungian philosophy aside, I realise it's going to be different for every project
but for instance, with (a private apartment in Casa Rosita), did you derive any of your
ideas from your concept of the owner?
E As with any job, the first thing is the format: he wanted to
knock out a bedroom because it wasn't useful and turn it into another function. He didn't
like the cramped feel of the dining room and he had a general idea of a certain kind of
ambience he wanted, certain kinds of materials. He also had a collection of art that he
wanted to display. Out of that we started to get an overall picture. Then you enter into
more conversations, and eventually, the job develops. In his case, we saw that he was very
open-minded so we started throwing in ideas about using some very strange materials, but
you know, the horse hair-lined cabinets did not get built.
So with that you drew from his character and his criteria, and with commercial food
projects, you might get some inspiration from the food itself...
E Well, with Rubino's, we started with the concept of ribs. What
are ribs about? What is the history of ribs. And that's how we ended up with Bobby
Rubino's, a kind of 60's jazz supper club atmosphere. There's always some kind of
generating factor. A lot of it is just keeping your ears open and listening to what the
client is telling you, and sometimes what they're not telling you.
A Then quite often, you have to interpret that and take it further
than what they think they want, because quite often, they're not clear.
E It's a matter of trying to pick up on clues that will lead us to
the next level.
Do you find that clients are generally agreeable to your ideas or does it take some
convincing?
A It's not like, they talk to us, then we go away and spend two
weeks doing something and then we get back to them. We're always in contact. The thing
becomes a synergy between us and them and we're all going in the same direction.
E So we tend to hit on one idea and go with that. But we never
submit scheme a, b and c and then convince them to go with one. And so far, we've never
had an idea rejected, because a solution is based on logical common sense.
How do you find the competition here? And who would be the competition?
E What competition...?
...Of course.
E But seriously, the Singapore economy is still so buoyant, there's
a lot of open scope for lots of different kinds of projects. We really don't compete
against other firms.
A We do have clients who come to us and say that they are talking
to other designers...
And when that happens, who are those people or firms?
E Hirsch Bedner, Bedmar & Shi, Tony Chi Associates, Andree
Putman...
Does being expats in Singapore have any impact on your doing design business here?
E My one complaint about doing business here is that the cost of
living is higher for foreigners because we don't have the opportunities of housing. You're
stuck with very little opportunity for your basic need, which is housing. Consequently,
the fees must be a little bit higher. The smallest shophouse on this island is at least
$1.5 mil and that's what, twenty thousand dollars a month on a mortgage which is, let's
face it, just not possible on today's design fees. So, we're out of the market for HDB and
can't go into private property. It causes me to question whether there is any long term
viability because I'm losing my retirement to rent.
But, as expats, you don't feel discriminated against when it comes to getting jobs?
A No, that's never been a problem, it's just, as an expat, it's
difficult to live in Singapore because of the expense. We have, however, had a few Asian
clients who approach us to do an Asian concept and they will say to our face, 'How can you
do an Asian concept, you come from the UK and America, what do you know about Asia?' And
all we can answer is that Ed's been here for eight years and I've been here for four, and
we've kept our eyes open. Actually, it's easier for us to look at what's interesting from
the outside as we tend to pick up things that a lot of locals miss because it's too common
to them. We have the benefit of fresh insight. Also, we tend to re-evaluate the old things
whereas a lot of the local designers only look for new things. And all the new stuff
generally comes from the west.
What's been your biggest project to date?
E Biggest, as in most influential, would have to be the restaurant,
Blue Ginger.
A It seemed to focus the direction of the company and at the same
time, really crystallize our ideas.
E We didn't necessarily get jobs from it! But I find that we're on
these kind of parallel paths where certain design ideas perpetuate and yet morph with each
new job. One of those paths is a sort of non-design, for instance, with Hooters. But Blue
Ginger was the node on the path which we like to call 'New Asian' Design. This includes
projects like DY&R, Qhue, China Jump, House of Mao, and the Casa Rosita apartment, to
some respect.
Besides House of Mao, what other projects do you have in the works now?
E The Singapore Police Association for National Servicemen's
clubhouse on Orchard Road, a large penthouse in Holland Village, an apartment in Regency
Park, Revox in Suntec City, the British Council renovation of their lobby and office, DDB
Singapore, the headquarters for Jay Gee Enterprises (Levi's)...(to Andrew) is that all (on
the list)?
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