Design Giant

Seah, 34, is the embodiment of forward thinking, global-visioned, 21^st century Singapore. His spatial-minded design/architecture firm, Ministry of Design, who executed such projects such as the New Majestic Hotel (voted one of Conde Nast Traveller UK’s Best New Hotels in 2006), the Hu’u Bar, Bangkok and the quirky-but-cool local Actually boutique, is becoming renowned for reinterpreting commercial aesthetics in a fresh, objective manner; such that, come 2007, MOD’s list of jobs will include a concept room for a five-star Middle Eastern hotel, a concept luxury retail store for a local chain with over two dozen stores island-wide, a training facility for CapitaLand, a flagship contemporary fine dining Japanese restaurant for a Singaporean restaurateur and a complete interior architecture makeover for a Singaporean penthouse apartment. Yes, he’s a busy boy. Even more so when you consider he doesn’t use the same idea twice.

“I get bored so quickly,” Seah tells us over breakfast in Chinatown. “I don’t like revisiting old concepts wholesale. I’ll revisit fundamentals, but not concepts.” Seah blushes when I draw comparisons with his portfolio of work and direction of thinking to Karim Rashid, or international aesthete Tyler Brule, who created international design glossy Wallpaper* before leaving to start Winkreative, a creative consultancy with client such as Bally, Swiss Air and Stella McCartney. “I’m very thankful for everything God has blessed me with,” he defers.

Bintong Park house

“Passion and an ability for design are gifts which I treasure. It’s an honor to run MOD as a testament to God’s goodness.”

One of the gifts ‘God’s goodness’ bestowed to the overtly humble Seah is the ability to think creatively outside of the box, without losing sight of the most basic functionalities of design. In layman terms: not getting lost in the wood and losing sight of the trees.

“Some of my best designs have arisen from an understanding of issues at a functional level,” Seah explains. “Responding to function is not banal. Responding to function alone is banal.” His unorthodox, Z-shaped design of a bungalow at Holland Village for a private client is a prime example. Seah is forthright (and imminently quotable) on this aspect of his work. “I see space in a number of ways: a sequence of events and experiences which unveil themselves over time; an embodiment of the spirit and aspirations of man and his culture; the beauty of materials and how they come together.”

Majestic Hotel

It would be remiss of us not to ask what motivates a man like this? “There is so much to be inspired by,” Seah muses. “There’s the exquisite narratives of filmmakers Peter Greenaway and Terry Gilliam; the intellect and design acumen of architects Rem Koolhaas and Peter Zumthor; the love for God and the inspiration of my father, William Seah; the love for learning and tremendous curiosity of my mentors, Susan Moody, Renee Chang and Richard Williams; the soul in the music of Bach and John Coltrane; the honest lyrics of Leonard Cohen and Tori Amos, the list goes on…”

Actually boutique

And so could we. There’s nothing more August Man loves than a free thinker. In the meantime, however, keep an eye out for Seah and his Ministry of Design crew. For if Singapore becomes a creative hub for left field thinking, you can credit people like Seah as contributing mentor.