Did you always know you wanted to be a designer?
I was always the child who took things apart to see how they worked and then put them back together but in a different way, or mixed parts from different toys to make another toy. I didn’t know anything about this idea of design.
Looking back, I believe that it’s actually my way of not accepting things around me directly but always repositioning, reinterpreting, and creating new perspectives. This attitude has influenced everything I do, from the design of objects, spaces, and architecture to the understanding of business models, and approaches to operations, expanding how people think or assume they live and work and play. Being open to looking at the new possibility of everything around us. That is the basis of being a designer—or in other words, it is how one lives life creatively.
What are some of your first memories of design?
My first memories of ‘design’ had to do with exposure to other people’s homes— seeing how differently everyone lives in their homes, how each home revealed a different cultural influence, style, and personality, how people express themselves with their homes. For example when I was young, I visited our new neighbors right next door in a house identical to ours. I remember how taken I was by how different it was. They were from Germany with a background in design. Years later they became one of Canada’s leading furniture manufacturers, Klaus by Nienkamper.
Another important memory was my first trip to Europe—a school trip to Italy—at the age of 16. I returned a changed person. I was immersed and awakened by the richness of the culture, the food, art, fashion, design, and architecture. Toronto, my hometown, though diverse and multicultural just seemed too bland and flat after that.
Did where you grew up influence your career path?
I grew up as an inner city kid from Toronto where there is diversity of culture and also economic extremes. I had friends in high school that drove Jaguars or had drivers, while I also had friends who lived in subsidized housing. I existed between both, respected the reality and goodness in everyone. I think this contributes to my appreciation and understanding of my clients. I search to uncover what motivates them, their goals, and their vision. I respect the parameters that are sometimes set, the economics of what they want to do. Then I try to surpass their expectations with the process and the end product.
Having said this, I can also say that where I grew up didn’t really affect a specific career path. I believe that if someone is creative and has passion, one would be creative no matter where they grew up.
Give us a bit of your background: College, first jobs, early lessons learned?
I am from a family of immigrants where making things was just a way of life. My parents made our clothes, repaired appliances when they broke, renovated our home, made furniture. We lived in the city but we had a vegetable garden and we were cooking amazing food from scratch. Early in my career I may have been characterized as a DYI’er where I made many of the things I designed, or at least things were designed with the idea or sensibility that we could build it. My family lived in a way that one might call environmentally sustainable. The hands-on approach, DIY, or maker culture is a big part of my DNA. It has now evolved to be about achieving a sense of materiality, a level of craft and quality, being smart with how we use materials, and our resources.
At a very young age, I worked. I was the kid on the street corner yelling out the daily paper to passersby, I worked as the stock boy at the local corner store where I learned about merchandizing, then I was a busboy, a bartender, and later a waiter. While studying for my architecture degree at the University of Toronto, my classmates were all working in architecture offices while I was working as a waiter (I made more money). This is where I learned how to sell, serve, read my clients, and be sensitive to actually what they wanted. I learned how a restaurant flows and operates. I gained a lot of experience within the service industry, working in hospitality. I was trained by some of the best restaurateurs in the industry at the time. This experience really informed my own business approach and my first hospitality projects. I run my design office with an inherent sense of hospitality. Taking care of people, surpassing their expectations and their needs.
Why and how did you start your own firm?
When I was very young I thought that architecture was about a person creating what he wanted. I learned very quickly that it was not about just me, and to achieve anything substantial one needed a strong and dedicated team. Working in a firm for someone else was never in my mind—I envisioned my own office right from the start. There was no question that I would become an architect and start my own design firm. I graduated from architecture school and started my first office immediately. Most of the people in my office have more experience in other offices than I do. My 22 years of professional experience are all in firms that I founded.
Can you discuss some of your recent projects?
Our office does a wide range of projects from hospitality, commercial, and retail to residential and furniture. We just finished a second project for Drake Hotel Properties, the Drake Devonshire, just two hours away from Toronto. It is the rural complement to the first Drake Hotel we did in Toronto. We just completed a number of restaurants, one of them being a Spanish tapas restaurant, Barsa Taberna, located in a historical site in downtown Toronto, and another large restaurant located in the Delta Hotel. We also just finished Her Majesty’s Pleasure, a new concept café-bar and retail beauty salon that is receiving a lot of positive reaction in Toronto. We also worked recently with a big European fashion brand, developing a new retail concept. Along the same lines, we worked with a marketing agency for one of the largest technology brands out of China.
We are now busy taking on the role of lead designer and of creative directors leading a team of consultants in the development and design of a large multi-use project in Detroit centered around hospitality.
Is there a challenging project that you are especially proud of?
The Drake Devonshire was a very complex project. We were the lead designers directing the architectural direction as well as the interior design. The site was small, we had to work around a protected waterway, and built additions in a way that would service a wide range of programming. There is an historic iron foundry that was original to the site, which we integrated into the design, creating diverse spaces that shared a coherent look and feel, but most importantly we wanted a design that the local community would embrace as well as create an authentic experience of design and culture for international travelers. In the end we were able to create an operationally viable design, which satisfied all of the various stakeholders involved and is a great place to stay and eat. It is fully booked and has engaged and excited the whole town and the surrounding community. We are proud of the end result but also very proud that we have a continuing relationship with our client and continue to work together on more projects.
What are you looking forward at your office?
We currently are expanding our office and are really excited about putting together a larger team of diverse and talented people and having them gel as a cohesive creative team.
I am also looking forward to doing more projects outside of Toronto. We are pleased with the breakthroughs +tongtong has had in the last two years outside of Canada and hope that continues. We love everything that travel brings, inspiration from food, art, design, culture, and engaging with entrepreneurs or just people with ideas and passion to fulfill them.
What do you find are the most challenging and exciting aspects of your job?
The most exciting aspect of our business is meeting and working with incredible creative clients and entrepreneurs— leaders from diverse industries, operators, fashion designers, artists, homeowners, and chefs. I personally have a soft spot for chefs because I love cooking. I seem to have a connection with them and an understanding of what they are trying to achieve. Our success is only as great as our clients’ and their willingness to go through a process to fulfill their vision. All of this passion and entrepreneurial thinking is inspiring. I guess the challenge ultimately is to create an environment that nurtures a dialogue of creativity and innovation.
What is the most important thing to remember when designing a restaurant— both in terms of branding and interiors?
Brand and interiors are completely tied together. The interior and everything in it is an immersive experience of the brand. The values of the brand must be reflected in the product, the people who serve the clients, and all supported by the environment it is presented in. We strive for all of our projects to define and inject signature elements that identify that brand and experience. Without the signature experience the project falls flat and is not memorable.
Is there an architect or a designer you most admire? Why?
Diller Scofidio + Renfro comes to mind as a favorite. They are an interdisciplinary studio that does very conceptual buildings, art installations, exhibit design, and visual arts. They were the architects for the High Line in New York. We would love to work wit them.
What would be your dream project?
I would love to design a simple retreat but in a very isolated and remote location with amazing mountain views and ocean. I believe this is where one can present to travelers the simple luxuries in life.
If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?
David Bowie. He has had such an amazing career of changes. He is an icon. I admire his elegance and his collaborations.
Where would you eat and what would you be having?
It would be at his home; we would eat sashimi.
If you weren’t a designer, what would you be?
I would love to be able to make music or maybe be a chef.
