Brand Story
With an interdisciplinary approach, tailored details and a modern outlook, Renaissance Planners & Designers crafts cohesive abodes for the discerning
Renaissance Planners & Designers crafts homes for the discerning with its modernist aesthetic and interdisciplinary approach
Renaissance Planners & Designers started the same way many design practices did—with residential apartments making up the bulk of its projects. In over two decades since the company was founded, it has expanded from a three-person team to its current staff strength of 25. While 90 per cent of the firm’s work still revolves around residences, its portfolio now includes landed homes (many belonging to clients who have upgraded over the years), as well as the whole spectrum of building types, ranging from offices to boutique hotels, both in Singapore and overseas.
MULTIDISCIPLINARY FLAIR
What gives Renaissance its edge is the cross-disciplinary set-up that comprises not just interior design, but also architecture, landscape and product design. “We wanted to venture beyond interior design into all aspects of design and construction, which was why we created all-encompassing, 360-degree design and building solutions,” says Kelvin Bing, the firm’s founder and design director. Bing has played an instrumental role in charting Renaissance’s design and business direction. Trained as an interior designer and subsequently in architecture, he started out working for interior design companies before establishing his own company in 1994.
The firm’s designs have always been predominantly influenced by modernist ideas, such as those from the Bauhaus movement. One recent example is a bungalow on Crescent Road, where Bing looked to the Scandinavian masters of Nordic modernism for inspiration—ultimately creating a home defined by straight edges and minimalist forms. Its pentagonal roof makes a bold architectural statement and conveys the modernist design ethos that drives the team. In another project at Sunset Way, the firm drew inspiration from Le Corbusier’s Cubist aesthetic, creating a striking building that appears like a cube sitting atop another. Its austere facade is paired with a timber screen with groove lines, and a cantilevered roof that helps shield the interior spaces from the mid-day sun, while creating a visual contrast between the different floors.
CREATIVE MODERNITY
While every project is uniquely tailored according to the individual client’s lifestyle and identity, Bing constantly challenges himself to design innovative solutions that have not been done before. The fundamental approach is the same for every project, he says: “We start each job by endeavouring to understand our client’s
GEOMETRIC LINES, ANGULAR SHAPES AND WIDE OPEN SPACES DEFINE THESE STRIKING PROJECTS
needs and subsequently engage them through our design proposals.” The Crescent Road homeowner’s brief called for a large garage and entertainment area, so Bing dedicated the entire first storey to a six-car garage and a double-volume foyer where most of the recreational activities take place. Even when it comes to unconventional ideas, Bing usually faces very little resistance from the homeowners, who tend to leave the majority of decisions to him. “Most of our clients come to know us through wordof-mouth or through referrals from friends whose homes we designed,” he explains. “This establishes a certain level of confidence and trust in us right from the beginning.” The Crescent Road project is a good case in point, he adds. “The client entrusted us with his home and gave us free rein to design the architecture and the rest of the interiors as I wished—as if I were to treat his abode as the site of my own dream home.”
MODERNIST IDEAS INSPIRED BY THE BAUHAUS AND CUBIST ART MOVEMENTS CONTINUE TO SHAPE THE FIRM’S DESIGN CONCEPTS