Designer Interview
9 Froen
Honglei Liu graduated from the School of Architecture of Tsinghua University in Beijing with a Masters Degree in Architecture and is a member of the Association of Registered Interior Designers Ontario, the…
Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
Honglei Liu graduated from the School of Architecture of Tsinghua University in Beijing with a Masters Degree in Architecture and is a member of the Association of Registered Interior Designers Ontario, the International Interior Design Association and a permanent member of the China Interior Decoration Association. She also holds an intern membership of the Ontario Association of Architects.
As a co-founder of BLVD International, Honglei is considered to be one of the most influential Interior Designers in China. Her ingenious creativity mixed with new design ideas on 5-Star Hotels, High-End Office Buildings and Clubhouses has set current design trends in China and brought her numerous domestic and international design awards. BLVD's Interiors team, under her leadership, is considered to be one of the most vital and progressive prospects in the creative industry, acclaimed by the authoritative media and frequently used as a model by various and sometimes competing design companies.Develop and manifest advanced design theories which, together with her comprehensive understanding of the special needs of the domestic clients, paved the way for the creation of incomparably exceptional projects.
She represents the highest level of Interior Design and promotes the revolutionary design philosophy of "a harmonious mind and environment" and pursues "culture" as the fundamental core theme in the creation of poetic space.
Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
BLVD was initially established by Honglei Liu and Yun Du in Canada. Over the past 15 years since establishment, BLVD always sticks to its pursuit of perfectionism and harmony, and endeavors to achieve excellent design works that can perfectly mix scene, emotion and artistic conception. Thanks to its excellent design and advanced perception, BLVD has undisputedly grown up to be the leader in the field of interior, architecture and landscape design. Today’s BLVD is not only an outstanding design firm in the interior design of hotel and office environment, but also widely acknowledged as the excellent waterfront design expert in China.
What is "design" for you?
To designers, space aesthetic appreciation and space design are equally important and also interconnected inseparably. In THE ancient East, space aesthetic appreciation is considered as art creation. Every art creation is the outcome from a process where aesthetic perception, imagination, emotion and comprehension act upon each other. This process is also the path to explore the essence of Chinese culture and art, as well as the path to ‘aesthetic conception’.
What kinds of works do you like designing most?
We passionately express the aesthetic taste of Chinese traditional culture, like emptiness but full of imaginations; monotonous but colorful; and humble towards nature. I believe, using the poetic mind to create an aesthetic appreciation will open up the future of design.
Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
Oriental philosophy emphasizes the harmony-being between nature and human. Oriental aesthetics considers human-being as the heart of nature. If the mind of human connects with the world outside, the harmony and peace of the mind will be reflected to the outside world, and vise versa. Therefore in our practice, we pay a lot of attention on studying the relationship between architecture and nature.
From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
The world keeps developing. Till today, we found out that the east and the west are merging. We have all agreed that human should be humble and modest towards our living world.
When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
Last year in Shenzhen, China. We will hold an exhibition next month in Shenzhen again.
Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
China. Our practice in China is not based on an enclosed culture. We expect that the oriental philosophy merges with western logical system. As a matter of fact, the aesthetic standards developed from oriental philosophy of mind, on the surface are quite similar to the theories and ideas of European modernism and contemporary art，though you can tell from what I analyzed, that the thinking behind them are quite different.
Who are some of your clients?
International Hotel Management Groups, including Intercontinental Hotels Group, Hilton Worldwide, Howard Johnson, Hyatt Hotels, Rosewood Hotel Group HK, Accor Hotels
