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Interview with Richard Wang |
Home > Designer Interviews > Richard Wang |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Richard Wang (RW) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Richard Wang by clicking here.
FS: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
RW: I have a PhD in urban planning from the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London, a masters in architecture and urbanism from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, and a Bachelor of Architecture (1st class honors) from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. I’ve wanted to become an architect since high school. It’s a profession that combines my interests in art and design, as well as the logic of science and structure.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
RW: My company is called WZWX architecture group. We have offices in Taipei, Taiwan, as well as in Shanghai, and Huai’an in China. We provide professional services in master planning, architectural design, interior design, and project management.
FS: What is "design" for you?
RW: Speaking from the perspective of spatial design, I think it must involve form, function and comfort. The space itself must have a unique ambience that has character and soul.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
RW: We love designing anything that is challenging. They could be museums, art galleries, schools, hotels, and commercial spaces… so many things. We just love to design.
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
RW: wood/ internet/TV
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
RW: When I’ve delivered clients design solutions which they haven’t thought of before. Also when a good project has been well realized, and it not only looks good but feels good to be in it.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
RW: We focus on functionality, distinctiveness, and innovation that advance the field in some way.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
RW: A buzz, adrenalin rush, stressed, frustrated, elated… a mixture of emotions.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
RW: Proud, content, happy, and relieved
FS: What makes a design successful?
RW: When it achieves three major criteria: form, function, comfort
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
RW: I’ll always ask myself does it achieve form, function, and comfort.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
RW: The nature of our work presents us many opportunities to evaluate things in its status quo. We have responsibilities to use these opportunities to find ways to improve it.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
RW: With the web and flourishing of websites like ArchDaily, Dezeen, Pinterest etc, designs are being inseminated around quicker and farther than ever before. Designers can grab references off the web easily, which helps the design process. But it also makes copying easier, and harder to make original designs because we can be easily influenced by what’s available out there. I think three lines of design approach will prevail. One using technology like AI and 3D printing, the second keeping in line with traditional craftsmanship and materials, and lastly, the approach based on the use of innovative and recycled materials.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
RW: Our last exhibitions were award winning entries like the Red Dot Award and iF award being exhibited in their group exhibitions. We haven’t done a solo exhibition of our company’s work yet. We may organize one in a year or two.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
RW: Nature, other designs that I’ve seen before, and things that I’ve seen from my travels…
FS: How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?
RW: We are sympathetic to client’s needs, not bounded to any aesthetic language or materials, sensitive to budget and time frame, and it must be comfortable.
FS: Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
RW: I’m currently based in Taipei, Taiwan.
FS: How do you work with companies?
RW: We always try to be very honest about our approach, and try to establish an open communication with them, so that we can really get to understand their needs.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
RW: We always set clear criteria in the beginning of our design. Things like performance needs, budget constraint, time constraint, availability of material etc. Then our team will brain storm and come up with a number of possible proposals. Then we will discuss with clients, and shape our initial proposals by elimination and adaptation, until we get a solution that can satisfy all or most of the initial criteria.
FS: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
RW: Our dining chair: Danish No.42 mahogany dining chairs by Kai KristiansenA French porcelain casserole dish we bought in ParisPens from Japanese stationary store ItoyaGrohe Freehander adjustable wall fixed shower headTOTO smart toilet
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
RW: I travel frequently for work, for teaching commitments, and for sightseeing. When I’m at the office, I would split my time between designing, delegate work to staff, mark works from staff, organize team discussions, attend client meetings, socialize, and work on management tasks.
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
RW: I have three advices. 1.Put the client’s needs as the design priority. They are paying for the project, and they will be the eventual users. 2.Work hard and study hard. Try to always keep in touch with what’s happening in your design field. 3.Be nice to people.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
RW: Form, function and comfort.
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
RW: I think the important skills include communication, observation, the ability to analyse problems, and the ability to unlearn the current ways so that one can see things with a fresh set of eyes.
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
RW: Pen, paper, books, the internet, computer, mobile phone, and softwares like Revit and Photoshop.
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
RW: I always keep a list of works to be done. I priorities the items on the list and cross them out as I complete them. I try to work as efficiently as possible.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
RW: It depends on the nature and scale of the project. For an interior design work, it may take from 6 months to more than a year. For a piece of architecture, I may take from a year to many years.
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
RW: I think currently is “what are you working on now?”
FS: What was your most important job experience?
RW: The most important work experience was when I was working as the project manager of The Building on the Water: Shihlien Chemical designed by Alvaro Siza and his partner Carlos Castanheira. This building is the first and largest application of white fair-faced concrete construction in China to date. During the project, I was working very closely with Carlos, and reading all the construction documents from Siza and Carlos’ team. The experience thought me how to put a piece of architecture together.
FS: Who are some of your clients?
RW: We work with some of the largest companies in Taiwan. T-HAM is the largest and oldest company in meat processing. Taiwan Glass is the world’s third largest glass producer by volume. Shihlien Chemical group possess the world’s largest single soda ash plant in China.
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
RW: All of them, but the more challenging the better.
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
RW: Our immediate plans are trying to establish work in the Asia Pacific region in places like Thailand and Vietnam.
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
RW: Yes we work as a team. Sometimes I give the team ideas. Sometimes the team proposes ideas and we have a design discussion session to device the next step of approach.
FS: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
RW: We are currently designing a visitor factory and guest houses for a pu’er tea company in a very remote area of China near Xishuangbanna. The local township looks like it’s been frozen in time for centuries, and the buildings there are constructed of very traditional materials like earth, stone, wood and bamboo. Our site is very hard to access, and we are thinking very hard on how to utilize these traditional materials to construct our buildings. It’s very challenging and just the way we like it.
FS: How can people contact you?
RW: You can contact us through our company email: info@wzwx-group.com
FS: Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to interview you.
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