The Spirit of Place

Leading the hospitality design scene in Asia for nearly four decades, LTW Designworks is an international interior design studio specializing in luxury hospitality projects. With a highly selected portfolio that includes the world’s top hotel operators and visionary developers, LTW has designed over 100 hotels, resorts, restaurants, bars, spas, clubs and branded residential projects on five continents, and currently has over 20 projects in development around the world.

Each LTW project reflects a dedication to excellence in design and execution, an aesthetic rooted in evoking a sense of place, and an unwavering passion for innovation. The studio approaches every brief with in-depth research, considering the property’s location, context, cultural and historic influences, and competitive set to create a compelling narrative and direction. The combination of inspired design concepts and technical proficiency forms the foundation of LTW’s design process and flows through each of the design phases until completion of the project.

Based in Singapore with satellite offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Milan, LTW has assembled a diverse and experienced team of architects, interior designers, FF&E specialists, project managers, draftsmen and renderers that provide a full spectrum of interior design services.

At the heart of LTW’s creative vision and growth lies the dynamic synergy between founder and principal partner H.L. Lim and partner Su Seam Teo. Having previously worked with notable names in the design sphere, the duo have accumulated decades of experience in crafting luxury interiors from which they have developed a design approach that seamlessly interweaves the project’s location, culture and history with the architectural design, operator’s brand and the client’s development aspirations.

Born in Singapore and educated in the United Kingdom, H.L. began his design career in London working in the hospitality industry. Upon his return to Asia in 1979, he established the Singapore office for Chhada Siembieda & Associates as managing director and quickly grew the firm’s hospitality portfolio, in the process establishing his reputation as one of Asia’s most talented and respected hospitality designers. In 1991, he founded H.L. Lim & Associates which quickly became the design “studio of choice” for many of global hotel brands such as Four Seasons, Hilton, Starwood, Taj, Oberoi and Shangri-la.

Su Seam is a graduate from the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in the US and worked with renowned architectural and interior design firms in the States before getting recruited by HBA/Hirsch Bedner Associates that brought her back to her home- town Singapore. After joining H.L. Lim & Associates in 1994, Su Seam oversaw a number of the firm’s landmark projects across Asia and quickly proved to be a rising star in the hospitality industry. Su Seam was named partner at LTW in 2001.

A partnership founded on a shared passion for luxury interior design, their creativity and talent are reflected in each project, whether they design commissions individually or as a team. H.L. inspires with his innate ability to imbue a sense-of-place and keen understanding of the user experience. Su Seam takes a clear-minded approach to the design process and focuses pays particular attention to scale, proportion, forms, materials and details.

Each office at LTW encourages in-depth research, cross-pollination of ideas and a true family spirit. Designers at all levels are encouraged to put forward creative new ideas and challenge the traditional norms found within the industry, from innovative new materials to re-inventing the guest experience. What is achieved is a distinctive end product that is designed to impress while subtly conveying “the LTW touch.”