MAN OF VISION
Architect CHAN SOO KHIAN, the Prestige TITAN AWARD 2020 winner, adds another feather to his cap with his latest PHILANTHROPIC project to revolutionise GREEN ACCOMMODATION. Mavis Teo gets under the skin of the entrepreneur.
Up close and personal with Prestige Titan Award 2020 winner Chan Soo Khian曾仕乾颠覆绿色住宿定义
SCDA建筑设计事务所今年成立25周年，不单只跨过重要里程碑，从过往的成就、创新与环球发展来看，更是攀上了新高度。如果成功的定义来自国内外建筑界与开发商的肯定，这家本土公司确实非常成功。
幕后功臣，当然就是创办人兼首席建筑师曾仕乾（人称Soo Chan）。他是2006年首届新加坡总统设计奖年度设计师。在他领导下，SCDA（SOO Chan Design Associates的缩写）为国家设计中心大楼操刀的重建设计，也荣获2016年总统设计奖。近年来，SCDA完成了一些本地最优美的超级豪华项目，如Themarq和leedon Residence。
最近，SCDA获得翻新新加坡美术馆的项目，曾仕乾再次成为众人目光焦点。在国际上，SCDA也屡获殊荣，包括来自美国建筑师学院和英国皇家建筑师学院的荣衔。
放眼全球目前，SCDA在新加坡的项目只占所有业务10%，其他90%散布于六大洲79个国家。在纽约，曾仕乾是公认新加坡最炙手可热的人才。SCDA在当地的三个项目引起《纽约时报》与《华尔街日报》的注意，与曾仕乾进行专访，报道超级豪华的Soori High Line公寓。
THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY of SCDA Architects is more than just a significant milestone; it comes as the culmination of its past two decades of achievements, innovation and global expansion. If the measure of success is in how it is widely recognised and admired by many even outside of the world of architecture and property development both locally and globally, then indeed, this home-grown firm has hit the home run.
The man behind it is none other than the founder and principal architect Chan Soo Khian, who is better known as Soo Chan. He won the inaugural President’s Design Award’s Designer of the Year honour in 2006. Under his leadership, SCDA (Soo Chan Design Associates) snagged the Design of the Year accolade for the National Design Centre in 2016. The firm is also known for spearheading some of our nation’s most beautiful ultra-luxury developments, such as The Marq and Leedon Residence.
More recently, Soo Khian was thrust into the limelight again when SCDA was awarded the revamp of Singapore Art Museum. Needless to say, international accolades have been aplenty – some of these bestowed by the American Institute of Architects and the Royal Institute of British Architects.
HELLO, WORLD
Today, SCDA’S projects in Singapore only account for 10 per cent of its portfolio. Ninety per cent of it is in another 79 countries across six continents. In New York, Soo Khian is hailed as Singapore’s hottest export. Out of SCDA’S three projects in the metropolis, press the likes of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal headlined the launch of uber-luxe Soori High Line through in-depth interviews with Soo Khian.
Through Soori High Line’s design, SCDA stretched the imagination of homebuyers in the Big Apple by conjuring the image of a lavish mansion in an urban apartment block – with a stunning design that incorporates a terrace, high ceilings, natural light and a private pool (at 16 of the 31 units).
Another reason for the media buzz is that SCDA is also the developer for Soori High Line. This earned Soo Khian the label of a developer in New York, although he is quick to dismiss that. “First and foremost, I am an architect and designer,” states the trim and dapper 58-yearold at SCDA’S four-storey office in a Chinatown conservation shophouse. We beg to differ. Chan Soo Khian is clearly a lot more than these labels.
SCDA has, under Soo Khian’s direction, grown to become known as one of the few multidisciplinary firms in Singapore to provide clients a holistic experience for architecture, interiors, landscaping, and furniture and product design. In addition to serving as a professor at the National University of Singapore Department of Architecture where he sits on the curriculum advisory board, the Penang-born Soo Khian also runs a mentorship programme for undergraduates from Washington University in St Louis where he earned his bachelor’s degree (his master’s is from Yale University). And did we mention he’s also a hotelier?
通过Soori High LINE的设计，SCDA激发纽约购屋者的想像力：在都市公寓大楼打造奢华别墅。项目结合阳台、挑高天花板、自然采光、私人游泳池（31个单位中的16个），让人惊艳。
引起媒体瞩目的另一原因：SCDA也是SOORI High Line的发展商。针对“纽约发展商”的称号，58岁的曾仕乾在SCDA位于牛车水四层楼旧店屋的办事处受访时回应：“我的首要身份，是建筑师兼设计师。”
曾仕乾绝对身份多元。在他领导下，SCDA成为新加坡少有，提供一站式全方位服务的机构，服务领域包括建筑设计、室内装潢，还有园景、家具、产品设计。生于槟城的曾仕乾，也是新加坡国立大学建筑系教授，还为他的母校圣路易斯华盛顿大学（他在此拿到学士学位，硕士学位来自耶鲁大学）执行一项大学生指导计划。他还是一名酒店业者。
曾仕乾与妻子共同拥有和经营峇厘岛Soori Bali度假村。度假村距离机场一小时车程，偏离游客云集的水明漾与乌布区。曾仕乾是发展商、园景设计师（甚至还设计酒店用品的图案），似乎也负责市场行销。凡事亲力亲为，最近更参加了奢华旅游业国际研讨会Virtuoso Travel Week，与旅行业者举行线上会议，通宵达旦。
他这家有48间房的度假酒店，是Leading Hotels of the World成员，由Alila管理多年，直到2017年，曾仕乾决定是时候收回来自己管理，并赋予独特形象再重新推出。他对此度假村充满感情，分享自己与妻子当年如何看上海神庙附近的海边，开发建设，推广文化上的可持续性，改善周边Kelating村落居民（酒店员工85%为当地居民）的生活。在新冠疫情期间旅游业停顿，他继续扶持村民。
Together with his wife Ling Fu, Soo Khian owns and runs the Soori Bali resort, which is an hour’s drive from the airport away from the usual tourist spots of Seminyak and Ubud. Soo Khian is the developer, designer for the landscape (and even graphics for the hotel’s collateral), and it seems, marketing lead as well. So involved is he that he threw himself into the recent Virtuoso Travel Week, a high-level international symposium for the luxury travel trade industry, staying up until the wee hours of the morning for virtual meetings with member travel agencies and buyers.
Also a Leading Hotels of the World member, the 48-key resort was under the Alila management and branding for several years before Soo Khian felt it was time, in 2017, to reclaim his passion project and give it its unique identity with a stunning relaunch. His love for it is palpable as he shares how Ling and him chose the beachfront site near the Tanah Lot temple, built on it and their work to promote cultural sustainability, improve the lives of the people from the surrounding village of Kelating (who make up 85 per cent of the workforce), and provide for them during the pandemic when tourism is at a standstill.
REWRITING THE FUTURE
Meanwhile, the entrepreneur has embarked on plans to build more hotels. One is Soori Niseko in Hokkaido, while a new hotel is being developed on some of the unused space on the 10.4ha estate of Soori Bali. Soo Khian’s not-for-profit project called The Tenda (Bahasa Indonesia for tent) will form the basis for this hotel’s accommodation. The Tenda turns shipping containers into lodgings that run completely off the grid while being powered by solar roofs. “Therefore, it has zero carbon footprint.”
Soo Khian is currently working on the prototype in Singapore and hopes to have the first pilot run in Bali next year. “It will be a counterpoint to Soori Bali in terms of pricing and not having the frills but is still elegant design-wise,” he says of the “rooms”.
“I have a goal to put together low-key, sustainable accommodation, and I feel the time is act on it now,” says Soo Khian when asked why he’d be interested in designing The Tenda when he has always been associated with luxury. “The Tenda at 2.4m by 2.4m by 6m is so elemental; it is the opposite of what I have been doing all my career,” adds Soo Khian, who confesses he is drawn to the idea of taking all the things he has been doing and simplifies them into a small volume of space without compromising the minimum requirements of comfort, such as air conditioning, so he can stay in it as well.
There are altruistic objectives too: to inspire travellers into thinking of new ways of caring for the planet and supporting the local community. If successful, The Tenda will travel beyond Singapore and Bali. Right now, SCDA is speaking with charitable organisations about using it at their outreach locations. “The Tenda is easily replicable as the interiors can be fitted out according to different needs.” So committed is Soo Khian to these causes that he formed an offshoot company under SCDA called the SCDA Lab that devotes time to thinking of sustainable building and design ideas.
Coming up with ways to make the world a better place for all is not just something that will be nice to think about for Soo Khian. While SCDA is designing Parley for the Oceans’ research centre in the Maldives, Soo Khian is also a board member of the environmental organisation that raises awareness for the protection of the oceans. “I believe there are always new solutions to sustainability so I joined Parley to discuss and to develop ideas.”
“Dream, discuss and develop” seems to be the process behind many of Soo Khian’s endeavours. Except that he turns the dreams into reality and the endeavours into phenomenal successes. He calls his tendency to do everything (as with Soori Bali) a wish to connect the seemingly disparate dots. Or one can simply say Soo Khian is the architect who goes beyond designing the floors and the walls, to include the experiences as well. His calm and measured demeanour probably belies a fierce determination and strict discipline that enables him to stay on track while juggling concurrent projects.
Despite the pandemic, SCDA still has its elbows deep in overseas projects though these days discussions and meetings are done via Zoom. “The projects commissioned this year are from China, which I believe will continue to be the source of new work as it recovers faster from the pandemic than other countries,” he says.
A few weeks after the interview, I catch up with Soo Khian again at his home during the photo shoot. I meet Ling, who is the designer for Llora, the uber-luxe handbag label she founded and for which Soo Khian provides a sounding board (and contributes to the look book). Soo Khian seems more at ease while being interviewed this time. As he defers to Ling on all styling matters (he clearly values her opinions on aesthetics) and smiles easily for the camera at her cajoling, I see a softer, private side to the focused and driven visionary.改写未来与此同时，曾仕乾也正展开建造更多酒店的计划。其一，是在日本北海道建造Soori Niseiko。另一个，是在现有soori Bali的10.4公顷土地上的空置地段，打造新品牌The Tenda (印尼语“帐篷”) 。这是一项非盈利计划，把集装箱改为住宿空间，并且完全利用太阳能屋顶提供能源。“所以，它是零碳足迹的。”
曾仕乾目前正在新加坡设计原型，希望明年能够开始在峇厘岛试行。他说：“价位上，它将与Soori Bali形成反差，朴实无华，但设计依然是高雅的。”
问及为何一改向来的奢华作风，他说：“我一直想打造一些低调、可持续的住宿，现在正是时候。2.4 x 2.4 x 6米大的The Tenda回到本质，与我至今在事业生涯中所做的一切正好相反。”他坦言有这样的想法：把以往所做精简至小空间，而又不牺牲基本舒适性，如设有空调，他自己也能入住其中。
此外，他还有更崇高的理念：鼓励游客思考如何关心地球、支持当地社区。成功推行的话，The TENDA将跨出新加坡和峇厘岛。SCDA目前正与公益机构探讨，在一些社区使用这个概念。“The Tenda很容易复制，室内环境可根据不同需求装置。”曾仕乾非常投入这类环保课题，甚至在SCDA旗下成立一家公司SCDA Lab，专门研发可持续建筑与设计构思。
想出一些让世界变得更美好的方法，还身体力行。SCDA负责设计马尔代夫的Parley for the Oceans研究中心，曾仕乾同时也是这个环保机构的董事部成员。研究中心旨在提高保护海洋的意识。“我相信永远都会有一些新的永续方案，所以我加入Parley，一起讨论和开发新主意。”
“梦想、探讨、发展”，似乎是曾仕乾背后的推动力，他把梦想化为事实，所作所为都取得巨大成就。他把自己做事的方式，称为把零星分散的小点连成一线。你可以简单地说，他是个超出一般的全方位建筑师/设计师，顾及使用者方方面面的体验。风度翩翩的外表下，藏着强大的决心与严格的自律，让他能够同时兼顾不同项目，稳步前进。
疫情期间，SCDA的海外项目仍在进行当中，通过视讯会议进行讨论。“今年拿到的项目都来自中国。中国从疫情中恢复得比其他国家来得快，相信会是接下来新工作的主要来源。”
访问后的几个星期，我来到曾仕乾家中进行拍摄，见到了他妻子Ling Fu，奢华手袋品牌llora创办人。这次曾仕乾看起来比较轻松，所有与造型相关的事务都交给太太处理，在她引导下，面对相机镜头更自在，也让我看到了他温柔、私密的一面。