By Willy Wilson | Mar 1, 2010

Minimalist Spaceman – Benson Saw

Benson Saw who makes a name in the architecture and interior design world favours the minimalist design.

Benson Saw is a familiar name in the architecture and interior design world. Together with a Singaporean architect Voon Wong, he founded voonwong& bensonsaw (VWBS) - a multi-disciplinary design practice that began operating in September 2001 in London. The service offered by VWBS varies from architecture and interior design to furniture and product design.

VWBS is best known for its contemporary designs. From the famous Loop light, which was nominated for the prestigious Compasso D'Oro in 2005, to the stunning architecture of Space Furniture outlet in Bangsar, every creation features minimalism.

Of the duo's design works, Tom Dixon of Phaidon’s &frok wrote in March 2007, “Their style could almost be called minimalist but is far more expressive and sensual than that would suggest. There is a sense of balance about it, and an interest in natural form, although the end result is distinctly modern.”

The Loop light by VWBS, was nominated for Compasso D'Oro in 2005.

Despite his international success, Saw shows no sign of slowing down. The Penang-born designer currently runs a VWBS Kuala Lumpur office as well as overseeing a branch in Shanghai, an alliance in Singapore and a representative in Tokyo.

The contemporary spirit of VWBS can be found in Saw’s KL residence. His 1,100sq ft apartment could probably best described as the epitome of a serene minimalist space. A zen-like design, so to speak.

StarProperty sits down with the 35-year-old designer to talk about living in KL, staying on the top of his game and why less is more when it comes to your home.

Tell us about VWBS and the work it does.
VWBS is a multi-disciplinary practice offering services in architecture, interior, furniture and product design founded in London, back in 2001. Our work, be it a piece of furniture or a building, has always been characterised by a combination of light, space, material and details. Working closely with clients to ensure a bespoke and sensitive solution is crucial in our work.

From left to right:
(a) VWBS in Space Exhibition, Singapore
(b) SPACE showroom concept design
(c) La Fabrique nightclub, Shanghai

VWBS is reputed as one of the industry’s best when it comes to minimalist, contemporary design. What made you and your partner decide to specialise in this genre?
There isn’t a direct yes or no answer to this question, really. I suppose minimalism suits my personal taste best. Contemporary-designed pieces catch my attention instantly. Fortunately, my partner Voon Wong has the same preference when it comes to design aesthetic, which is probably why we decided to work together in the first place.

Saw's family apartment at Bangsar's Tivoli Villas.

Would you say that your KL apartment embodies the contemporary design spirit you are known for?
It definitely does. Simple furniture, open-concept kitchen, glass-encased doors and shiny teakwood flooring; you cannot go wrong with these. Some of the furniture here are my creations. In terms of colours, there is a good mix of white, grey and brown. A calming blue wall in the living room adds a quaint charm to the house. When it comes to home, I believe that less is more… although a large piece of painting would have been nice to complete my stark living room [laughs].

The interior in your unit is definitely minimalist, an obvious contrast to the exterior of the building.
Well, I did some renovation works. I live in Bangsar’s Tivoli Villas, which is a rather old establishment. However, my wife and I like this area. We own two units here, but only live in one of the units. Despite being located next to the highways, Tivoli Villas has quite a good buffer – thanks to the big trees in the surrounding area.

The size of the unit is only around 1,100 sq. ft. and the original layout was quite cluttered. The first thing I did was to knock down the walls! Having two little boys, we wanted to have a space that is neither too big nor too small.

Saw knocked down a wall to create the open-concept kitchen.

How much renovation work went into this unit?
The renovation work mainly revolved around the kitchen and master’s bedroom. The kitchen, which was previously walled up, is now an open-concept kitchen and a part of the living room. Knocking down the kitchen’s wall gives an airy feel to the whole unit.

Top: Saw uses black and white furniture to complement the minimalist concept design of his home.
Bottom: Partition built behind the couple's bed to create a walk-in wardrobe.

The master bedroom had a dull layout and you can’t really have much in the room. I have to find a way to fit in my wife’s wardrobe, as well as mine, into our 300sq ft. bedroom. The solution I came up with is to build a partition behind our bed, to create a walk-in closet where we could store our wardrobe. It works perfectly!

Let’s go back to your work. Having established a successful design practice in London, you are now based in Kuala Lumpur. Why did you move back to Malaysia?
Frankly speaking the low cost of living in Malaysia would enable me to experiment with my creativity. In Europe, it costs too much to get certain ideas onto the prototype level. The booming property market in Malaysia in 2003 until 2008, which meant more prospective clients, was also a part of my consideration to move back.

Does Malaysia offer a conducive environment for the kind of work that you do?
See, people have been asking why not Singapore or Hong Kong. But think about it, the price of high-end property in Kuala Lumpur is much lower than those of Singapore or Hong Kong. That is not to say that the developers in Malaysia are not making any profit. What I’m trying to say is that with lower cost of land, and perhaps material, the developers in Malaysia would have more of a budget to spend on the kind of work that I do.

Having said that, let’s not forget that product design is very much in its infancy in this region. However, the good news is that there are a lot of European companies now looking for new ideas from the Far East. The time will come when there will be more designers from this region being recognised on the international level.

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