BUSINESS & PROPERTY
14 september 19 – october 2, 2014 Photos Courtesy of ONG&ONG
Featured projects
timeline
Epoch Times
1992
1975
ONG&ONG Architects Pte Ltd incorporated
ONG&ONG Architects incorporated
1971
Started design and planning
Quincy Hotel
Quincy Hotel at 22 Mount Elizabeth was ONG&ONG’s first 360° design project. Headed by Mr Ong Tze Boon in 2008, ONG&ONG managed all its design elements from the building’s architecture, interior design, landscape design, environmental branding design, project management, graphic design to designing the Quincy logo, napkins and utensils. Completed in 2009, Quincy is a remarkable work of contemporary architecture and urban landscape. Framed with anodised aluminium and shimmering tempered glass, the hotel façade is glamourous and sophisticated. The shimmering modular windows create an impression that the rooms are stacked on top of one another, while the bold and colourful furniture against the white walls and grey cement gives off a whimsical vibe. The garden landscape consists of a timber deck and an ‘L’ shaped pool, while plants such as bamboo form a tranquil environment amidst the playful design elements.
1986
1972
Partnership established to form ONG&ONG Architects & Town Planners
Office shifted from Goldhill Plaza to SLF Building
The Designers of Tomorrow Exploring the future of design as a tool for problem solving
Awards • ïHA+D Award for Hotel Architecture • ïSIA Architectural Design Award • ïAsia Pacific Property Award in association with Bloomberg Television • ïFIABCI Prix d’Excellence (Runner-up)
Audi Centre Singapore
Another project led by Mr Ong Tze Boon, the Audi Centre at 281 Alexandra Road is Audi’s new 8-storey flagship store in Singapore. The largest Audi showroom in Southeast Asia has a honeycomb-shaped facade formed by aluminium with hexagonal cutouts, creating a futuristic exterior. Opened in December 2012, the Audi Centre’s full-height glass windows for its lower floors make the building look as if it is floating off the ground.
Awards • ïMIPIM Asia Award, Gold • ïAsia Pacific Property Award, Best Retail Architecture Singapore
Designers continued from Page 1
I
n the Epoch Times’ two-hour conversation with Mr Ong in his cozy and mellow office, where he shared in length his philosophies on business and design, he shifted seamlessly between Mandarin and English, expressing his ideas with engaging stories. Dressed smartly in a vertical striped shirt and a navy blue blazer, Mr Ong is articulate, self-assured, opinionated and utterly confident. But for all his flair, Mr Ong is a moderate man. During the interview, he did not dwell on his success or personal deeds, preferring to discuss ideas. He was also careful not to embellish or exaggerate his achievements. He is, after all, intimately cognisant of the fact that nothing in a business is permanent but change. Business Philosophies Mr Ong inherited the firm from his mother, the late Mrs Ong Siew May, and his father, the late Mr Ong Teng Cheong – Singapore’s first elected president. Both of them were diagnosed with cancer and passed away respectively in 1999 and 2002.
When his mother passed away, he was only 31. A greenhorn in the business, taking over a firm of 62 employees with monthly expenses of around $350,000 was a stressful experience – but it was these experiences that shaped his business vision. “Everyone has a plan to create a business, but nobody plans to exit the business. For me, the big question is, how do I pass down my business when it is time for me to go? “The first generation passed away from cancer; I didn’t know what to do and the stress was all mine because there was no plan of succession for the company. There was only a boss and a business, that’s it. My job is to change it to a company,” Mr Ong explains. The far-sighted leader continues: “My mission is to make the business corporate, and the first step is to make it grow. The company might even get listed. Ownership changes, but the company carries on.” For Mr Ong, a truly great company is one that has the ability to be a selfsustaining entity, which can survive and prosper despite the passing of its people. “The company must change its mindset. Not every project is about me. I have to promote the others
The Quincy Hotel, ONG&ONG’s first 360° design project. It picked up multiple awards for architecture and design.
[and fill] the market with many capable leaders. If something happens to me, the company can still go on.” The chairman also seems wary of family-run business dynasties. “I am trying to prepare the company, so that it can prosper even without the Ongs. Only then can we pass the baton. The successor does not need to have the surname Ong.” Philosophy of Design A similar degree of realism and vision underlies Mr Ong’s philosophy of design. Beyond his honours and master’s degrees in architecture from prestigious US universities, he also embarked on an Advanced Management Development Programme in Real Estate at the Harvard Graduate School of Design for senior executives and accomplished entrepreneurs. For Mr Ong, design is not about the subjectivity and relativism of art, but all about the utility of problem-solving and meeting customers’ needs. In line with this end, ONG&ONG initiated the 360° solution strategy in 2003, a pioneering design concept that designs the totality of user experience beyond the visual appreciation of any particular object. Mr Ong, with his flair for story-telling,