Interview with MIL Design & Construction

Everything around me. I like to imagine spaces, and create something out of nothing. Textures, Lights, Spaces, colors, forms and people's behaviour are some of the things which motivate me.

Definitely it has been my dream ambition since young. It is also influenced by my late father, himself an architect, and my mother and uncle who were both fans of carpentry and crafts. You can say I grew up being surrounded by people who loved designs.

I design spaces, from residential to institutional public spaces to hotels, offices and also furnitures. I wish to design more hotels as I love the idea of designing lifestyles for people to enjoy

Work very, very hard and always be curious and adventurous

A great designer always tries to learn from past projects, and listen (to critics, himself, ene-users of the designs). A great designer is always critical of his designs and constantly improving on ti

I believe a design is good if it touches your heart, provokes your inner feeling. It should create that unique connection the moment you see it.

In interior design a good design has that wow effect that could just touch your heart. It suits you, the way you live or use the space. It gives you a connection and gives you comfort, almost like eating good wholesome food. In this day of the modern stressful world, good designs are part of your life and provides you a holistic way of living

I would like to design my own home if I had the time. An architect's own home is always never finished and one of the biggest challenges to complete.

I would like to work on a readapted use and refurbished heritage or listed buildings, especially pre-war buildings. It would be my dream to convert the usage to be a hotel cum meditation space

My secret recipe is to work very, very hard and keep on trying. Designs can only be perfected by drawing many many variants before selecting the best one. Nobody can achieve good designs at the first attempt of each project

A few of my university tutors who themselves are award-winning designers, my ex employers Edward Suzuki and Chan Soo Kian who were both acclaimed architects and masters like Mies van der rohe and Peter Zumthor

For current designers I am now loving a couple of designs by Neri & Hu

My greatest design is a little apartment which I designed for Mr Henry Goulding, a movie celebrity actor. He was one of the most adventurous clients we had had and the whole design process was inspiring attempting new design forms, a daring interplay of textures and materials. It was a refurbishment of a 40-year-old apartment and while maintaning the old facade, the interior space was totally stripped and redone in a raw exposed way. I loved the idea of keeping the raw concrete structures and merging the old and new. Materials were treated in an exposed, honest way like almost inspired by Brutalism. The final outcome was a unique mix of kitsch contemporary with chic vintage accents

I think people should see and read more, travel more, and teach more. For myself I try to contribute back to university, giving my time whenever i can to internship programs and attending school crit panel sessions. When I teach I learn more and improve more

I think I would venture into music, law or journalism

Design is combining form and function. It is aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, touches the feelings and fulfills the usage

My family

By constantly listening to critics and learning

Not being able to fulfill aesthetic and functional needs of a design, not understanding the emotional aspects of designs, not understanding the people and place making of the site

Designers should present in a visually creative way

Among some of the works we are working on are a couple of show homes, a serviced apartment in Maldive and a refurbished heritage hotel in Malaysia

I wish to create a space really can tug one's heart strings

We are able to fulfill each project's brief in a holistic manner, not just functional and aesthetical but also emotional aspects.

It fulfills people's functions, and needs in holistic way

A refurbished heritage space in Malaysia

Projects like instituitional common areas, hotels and high-end residential. There are alot of opportunity to use various textures and concepts. For residential the projects are designed for people's lifestyles and it is very satisfying when people come back to you to tell you that they live better or sleep better with your designs.

To have more mentoring for the young designers and students

More cross-over designs, say fashion and furniture design maybe

It depends on the scale and client's requirements. Some takes up to 2 years with the brief changing, some are 3 to 6 months.

I start with seeing the site and talking to the client, the people to whom I am designing for.

To listen and feel

Designs set the trends definitely

technology is very crucial. Our designs always combine technology with design as technology has now becoming a part of our everyday life.With the recent covid pandemic technology will be playing a bigger role

CAD, 3D and graphics software.

Colors, materials and ambients are key in design, as I've earlier said, I aim to provoke the inner feelings through touch,feel, sight

I wish people will ask many questions. Then it is proof that the designs have evoked their curiosity.

Questions. Sense of arrival, the aha feeling

Yes i do. Too many masters to mention

Many people. I love talking to people and what I learn from each one of them does influence the way I think and design, from the baker who bakes at the cafe to the high-networth investment savvy client

design, lifestyle and travel books

Practice and hard work

Mies van der rohe

Motivated to work even harder

color: all colors are my favourite
place: chiangmai, thailand
food: chinese dumplings
season: spring and autumn
thing: too many to mention
brand: various

I find it amusing when i was designing the apartment of Henry Goulding, when we were out with him for furniture scouting people on the streets kept stopping him (or us) for photographs. For once even we felt like mini celebrities. Talk about being such a popular movie actor.

When the client comes to you personally to say thank you and how the designs we did had made his or her day.

Yes it was obvious that I would become a good designer. Nor sure about the great part, i still have along way to go

technology, no people to people relationship, coldness. hence today we should design with as much emotions as we could. People are already now talking less, typing more, talking to screens and not another human being

I think I've pretty much covered everything above

MIL Design is founded out of our passion to create lifestyle spaces for residential and commercial. We believe interior spaces should provide unique experiences to a person, be it in line with the brand behind it or personal home. Spaces are designed like choreographed music where a person experiences different moods as he/she walks from one space to another.

Experience, good design should be able to provoke the inner feelings, and creating a sense of connection

Boutique hotels, interiors converted from a place which has a story to tell

We were appointed to transform a 32,000sqf of creative learning academy from a 40-year-old abandoned building. There were surprises everyday as site was progressing, due to the restrictive conditions and unbeknownst elements of the site, and such elements gave us even more creative moments to the project.

Logo color

material: too many to mention I love all kinds of material. Its how we payer and combine materials which give us eventually creative spaccestechnology: also...all. Technology changes our lifestyle, the way we work, live, think and this in turn changes the design. So technology changes design which I think is inspiring

When it is most unexpected, ideas always come. Like waiting for your meals, sitting in the taxi.Hence I always have my sketch books and sketch apps with me, all the time

experience, touch, ambience. Creating a hotel room which reminds you of a cozy home makes you want to come back, a cold room will not. That's the difference I think

Inspired, Learning even for each project. Every project is different

When it has the ability to provoke

No priority

Definitely a designer has a big responsibility....our designs sould be able to respond to the bigger context.

I think there are many cross-boundaries now, crossing of trades, technology.I still believe the future of design should be designed more towards the human experience, the person. Boring, mundane stuffs are interesting in view of how technology is eventually taking over

Some of our works were exhibited in A-Award exxhibition Shenzhe. We'll like to increase more awareness of our works

From everyday lives, from the site, from the brand...so you can say it's almost everywhere.I think inspirations are everywhere..we need to listen more and look more intently with our hearts

My design style is very inspired by textures, layering of materiality, and aspiring to create a unique experience in our interior spaces.

I live in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia now. I was in Melbourne for about 8 years, and spent my earlier childhood in a small colonial town called Ipoh in Malaysia. Yes the environment affects my designs, Malaysia is a tropical country and my outdoor/semi-outdoor spaces are crucial in my designs, as well as coolness, ventilation, play of lights. Resort living design is a key element in malaysia so my designs do have many references to resort lifestyle and beach living

I have many projects where our company collaborate with architecture companies and engineer companies abroad. We are the key concept designers and the local company of the country is the project company overseeing all project management. This collaboration provides clients the most comprehensive approach.

Companies can look at portfolios and speak directly to the key design director. Grasping the clients' needs and wishlist is very important and it rrally depends on the design director to be able to do this.

We start by sketches, looking up references and putting together mood boards based on clients' briefs.

lounge chair, table lamp, rug, chopping board, ceramic plates, fountain pens. Sorry that's six...

Wake up, coffee, check mails, site, office to go through designs, coffee, check on new products, designs from online and social media, work, speak with clients or meetings

Always keep trying and listen to many different ideas no matter where or from who they come from

Positive is definitely the satisfaction to create something. Negative is the endless and irregular hours and less family time

proportions

imagination, creativity

many, pencils, sketch apps, cad apps

lots of planning

for interior design it takes from 2 months up to years.

Where do you get your creativity?

As a fresh graduate and first time at the construction site

property developers who range from Cambodia, Maldive, Malaysia, individual home owners

I enjoy all types, but furniture design is one of them. Intricate detailing is more interesting

I hope MIL Design is able to expand to more boutique projects abroad especially in resort living designs

Yes, we are designing an urban apartment hotel interiors in Maldive, a lobby and common facilities area for a mixed development in Kuala Lumpur, some individual houses and apartments

My email and phone contacts are in our website and social media platforms.info.mildesign@gmail.com,

I also want to mention that budget and design always work hand in hand, and it is crucial to maximize creativity as an interior designer within the client's budget.