By Sherry Koh | May 26, 2010
Photographs courtesy of Santa Fe Interior Architecture Sdn Bhd
One-to-one with award-winning interior designer, Fendarie Su
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Great utilisation of space: Loft Subang's built-up is only 640sq ft, but the split-level design and 17ft ceiling gives it a spacious feel
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Fendarie Su, founder of Santa Fe Interior Architecture Sdn Bhd, is certainly staying busy. Fresh from the recent success of winning second prize for 'Interior Design – Office 2009' category in The International Design Awards (IDA) for her Holiday Tours project, she is now in the final stages of completing a design project for Taylor's Education Group. That said award category that her Holiday Tours project won is the very same one that Google won first prize for its EMEA Engineering Hub previously. Talk about being amongst good company!
StarProperty.my had a one-to-one with the quietly confident Su, 39, who managed to turn an unexpected unemployment into a business opportunity.
Tell us about your company - Santa Fe.
Actually, it started four and a half years ago. I had no intention of having my own office. I ran a Holland-based company for eight to nine years. I took a break for my pregnancy, but then the office closed down. The good thing is, the clients still looked for me. So from there I started my first project.
How big is your firm?
In fact, the office is in a house. There are 12 persons now. I got the idea from an award-winning architect in Australia, Glenn Murcutt. He also works from home and he has a 3-year client waiting list. He works alone. That's how I got the idea of starting from home. Last year, I had a three-month waiting list. But because most commercial projects in Malaysare quite urgent, they can’t wait for me. So I needed to get people to help.
Where is your office located?
Actually, now I am building my own office. Recently I just bought a piece of land. It will be quite interesting. It will be a different concept. Right now, our office is at Bukit Antarabangsa. The new office will also be in the same area. We like to be amidst the greenery.
When will the new office be ready?
It will be ready in a few months’ time. Now it is still in drawing board stage. We are trying to do a cabin, container concept.
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Modern chic: Loft Subang's detailing is kept slick and simple
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Fendarie is quite a unique name…
[Laughs] Fendarie is my pen name in Chinese.
How long have you been in this business? Was design your passion from young?
I have been in the business for about 15 years. All the while, I knew that I wanted to become a designer. Since young, I was a very dreamy teenager. There were strong objections from my parents but I still insisted to stay this field. In the 15 years, it was tough working as a designer. A lot of patience was needed, to just go through the journey. It’s an interesting journey and career.
What types of services does Santa Fe offer?
Mainly interior architecture and interior consultancy work. Our strength lies in concept design and layout planning. Sometimes we do ‘design and build’ also. For Holiday Tours, we offered our full service. Consultancy, design concept, layout planning and right up to completion.
How much was the Holiday Tours project worth?
RM5.5 million plus.
The ‘Client Brief & Design Rationale’ paper you provided for the Holiday Tours project mentioned Feng Shui…
Yes, it is very Feng Shui orientated. Every corner, even the picture we select, the Feng Shui master will advise. So we had to change a few things. Even colour. We had some colours like red. But we had to take it away. We were advised against using the colour red on certain floors.
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| Contemporary: Snapshots of CHH Pacific Paper Sdn Bhd's office |
Congratulations on winning the award for Holiday Tours. What other awards have you won?
In four and a half years, we have won 12 awards. 11 are Malaysian awards. The last one (Holiday Tours) was our first international award.
Who inspires you?
I think, Glenn Murcutt. I admire him. He takes his time when it comes to design. Every project wins an award.
Do you have a particular design style?
Yes. I like simple and contemporary designs that integrate with nature. But of course, every design needs to meet our clients’ requirements.
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| Cool campus: Taylor's College Sri Hartamas campus |
I noticed another interesting project that you did, Loft Subang. Do share some details about the project.
It won a few awards also. It was a few years ago. Year 2008, if I am not mistaken. The interesting part about the project is that we design for one, but cater for 450 units. We design and furnish the units to sell to the public. The challenge is that the units have to be economical, functional and accepted by all. It is also an open concept, with a built-up size of 640sq ft. The glass lets natural light in, and we use mirrors to reflect the light, so that it looks spacious. We also use glossy material, to give the space a contemporary look.
Any tips for homeowners when it comes to interior design?
For residential (projects), when you design your own house, what’s most important is to express your own character. Modern, old fashion or whatever, it must be something that represents you. Like for me, if you ask me wear a sexy dress, I dare not wear it. Same goes for a house. It represents you. For example, Holiday Tours. You see, Thomas (Holiday Tours & Travel Sdn Bhd managing director and chief executive officer Thomas Chong) is rugged.
So, for that project (Holiday Tours), I did a more rugged feel to match his character and style. The same principle applies for Taylor’s College. Datuk Loy (Taylor's Education Group managing director Datuk Loy Teik Ngan) himself is simple and elegant. So the design represents his style. If you go to my house, it is back to basics, back to nature.
For more information about Santa Fe Interior Architecture Sdn Bhd, visit http://santafeia.webs.com
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