Urban Splendours

In town to speak at Art Stage Singapore’s Southeast Asia Forum 2018 in January, Hong Kong architect and art collector William Lim tells Hong Xinyi how his love for art has influenced his career and pursuits

s former british colonies turned Asian hubs, Singapore and Hong Kong share many affinities, and it seems that it even extends to the cities’ arts-loving architects. In Singapore, there is William S W Lim, a pioneer architect who is also known as an urban theorist and ardent patron of the arts. In Hong Kong, there is William Lim, the founder and managing director of architecture and interior design firm CL3 and an early supporter of Hong Kong contemporary art. Singapore’s William is in his 80s, more than 20 years older than Hong Kong’s William, who has actually been hearing about the former since he was a student at Cornell University in the US. “I would go back to school from my holidays, and people would tell me, ‘I saw your project’. I think they were confusing me with him,” he recalls. “About eight years ago, he invited me to an event in Singapore, and it was really great to finally meet him. He’s very passionate about urbanism in Asia, and I find that very admirable.” The vitality of Asian cities is also a subject that is close to his own heart, particularly when it comes to Hong Kong. “In the last 20 years, people here have started to realise that we have a heritage we need to preserve,” he notes, citing neighbourhoods such as the Hollywood Road area as an example of Hong Kong’s singular urban personality. “For an urban context to be interesting, you need both the old and the new. In Hong Kong, it’s all mixed together, with high-rise buildings next to old temples and traditional shops. That, mixed with our street life and the buzz of the city, is the character Hong Kong needs to preserve.” He is also heartened by the city’s growing support for the arts, a development he has helped to shape. “I started my art collection about eight years ago, when there was no attention given to Hong Kong artists at all. I felt a little sad about that, so I started to support them.” These days, with Art Basel Hong Kong growing from strength to strength and more museums and galleries sprouting up in the city, things have changed a great deal. “It’s a very exciting time for Hong Kong. Art is a very essential part of life, and I hope this interest can be sustained.” This year marks the opening of a Cl3-designed project that means a lot to him—the 24-storey H Queen’s building that will house major international art galleries such as the David Zwirner Gallery and Pace Gallery. “The design is very transparent, very pure, almost like a crystal structure,” William says. “It’s like a dialogue between the architecture and the occupants inside, and it lets me look at architecture from a more artistic point of view.” Beginning in 2008, he actually devoted about three years to fully exploring his artistic side, seeking inspiration from everyday objects such as paper bags, lunchboxes and bamboo scaffolding, producing about 100 paintings in the process. “I wanted to have this parallel identity as a painter, and it was a struggle. I was trying to find myself through this series of works.” In the end, he came to the conclusion that there was no need to demarcate his passions so clearly. These days, he views his architectural sketches as part of his art making, and integrates experimental ideas more strongly in his architectural designs. With an art collection that includes Hong Kong artists such as Samson Young and Wong Ping, as well as ethnically Chinese artists in the diaspora, including Singapore’s Heman Chong and Ming Wong, William’s exploratory phase also influenced the way he approached collecting. “I’m glad I went through that period. I found an answer at the end of it—that art is not just about the end product, it is also a process,” he says reflectively. “I often tend to follow the careers of the artists I collect, instead of just collecting one work. It’s a more interesting way to collect comprehensively. When there is a time element involved, an art collection tells a story.”