Edwin Chuang is the deputy managing director of Chuang’s Consortium International and Chuang’s China Investments, two leading property development businesses.
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How do you make a difference?
Well Chuang’s Consortium is currently involved in this amazing project here in Hung Hom, hopefully bringing a whole new lifestyle to the area. We’ve started revamping an old office building and turning it into a hotel with a difference – something totally new to the hospitality industry in Hong Kong. It’s been my first opportunity, since I joined the firm, to get involved in giving back to the community. It’s allowed me to bring what I learned as an architect and city planner in New York into play and to help to reshape the local scene.
I am also involved in several charitable endeavours and actually started one – Dreams Come True. Through this, we work closely with the Chinese government and use art to raise money for under-privileged children across mainland China. Last year, we held a fantastic gala at the Venetian Macau. This year, we are initiating a whole series of new projects and programmes.
In what way is your new hotel notably different from others?
Well, we’ve created a new brand, which we call SAV – style, attitude and vision. It’s not just a brand, but also a concept which links in with both our attitude to hospitality and approach to service. It is a very colour-based concept, which we are also introducing in the other resorts and spas that we are creating around the region. We believe that style is a very individual and personal thing and the all brands must have their own identity in order to make them truly unique – and, as such, SAV has its own very specific style. We want people to understand that colour is one of our main elements and very much part of our inherent DNA.
How would you describe your own style?
I think I am quite conservative in many ways, but with perhaps a degree of elegance. I like to dress in a safe fashion, but I enjoy being quite creative too. I do a lot of mixing and matching in what I wear – I like to play around. My favourite colour is blue, but I like purple as well. Purple is the Friday colour in our hotel – we have a different colour scheme for every day of the week.
How did you become involved with this colour changing concept?
I was researching the use of colour therapy and how it affects people’s emotions, as well as its healing effects, when I was putting together a spa plan. I wanted to help people relax and de-stress after a tension-inducing day in the office. I discovered it also had great healing properties. I came across a UK-based company that had been using colour, at varying intensities, to work on the different senses as part of a relaxation process. I then worked with a consultant who’d helped a number of large organisations, such as the Wynn Casino and the Macau Galaxy, with both lighting and aroma manifestations. They had used colour to enhance the grandeur of their establishments.
I then took a course in Thailand which focused on building and managing spas, as well as using colour healing. This was a very big jump from architecture, but I found that, once you start down that path, you can’t turn back. I was well and truly hooked.
So what else do you use to differentiate your establishments?
Well, we are new comers to the hospitality sector. As a property developer Chuang’s Consortium is mainly involved in residential and commercial properties. The hospitality arena is completely new and we’ve got a lot to learn if we want to succeed. The SAV hotel is in a very residential environment and we have a large competitor nearby – Cheung Kong’s Harbour Grand, which is just down the road. So we’ve set our standard at the very trendy Four-Star level. The rooms are fairly standard, but our special lighting effect offer a very different experience. We hope that it is so different that people will start talking about it, and in that way it will then encourage others to come and try it.
For us, the sound proofing was also very important, largely because we are based by a busy road with heavy traffic. We were somewhat limited by the existing structure and what we could actually do with it. Despite that, I was eventually able to incorporate about 80 percent of the ideas that I had.
Would you say you are an analytical or an artistic person?
I believe I am more right-brained, more artistic. In Hong Kong, though you have to have a bit of both. You have to be imaginative, but also have to have that business sense that can distinguish fantasy from reality. I suppose I get the artistic side of my personality from my mother and my business acumen from my father.
Since we began work on the SAV hotel, it has been a very steep learning curve for me. I’ve always loved building things, even from childhood. Hotels are very people heavy – we have 200 people here in Hung Hom – so there is an awful lot of training to do and lots of inspections to carry out. So it’s not all about creativity – there’s actually quite a lot of administrative work to do on a daily basis.
For you, what is the best part of the process?
The creative side. It’s an amazing journey to just start from an empty box and create something like this – turning a concept into reality, turning an old office building into a fine hotel. Granted things are slowing down a bit now – and not just in hospitality, but also in the retail sector. Our food and beverage sector is, however, doing fairly well despite the downturn.
As an urban planner, what do you feel could be done to make Hong Kong better?
We need to make better use of our amazing waterfront. That is one of the unique features Hong Kong possesses. We don’t have the equivalent of Hyde Park or Central Park so we need to push our amazing coastline. The government is trying to accomplish this, but it needs more time and more funding to succeed.
Can you tell us a bit about the sound garden you’ve created on the roof?
I have a close Italian friend who is an audio expert. He created a sound studio for Andrea Borcelli (the Italian classical tenor) in his house which had greatly impressed the blind singer. I then invited him to become a partner in this venture. This is the first time this sort of equipment and this type of installation has been attempted in Asia. It was definitely a fun project.
Would you say you are a collaborative sort of person?
Yes, very much so. I think ideas need to grow and so new hypotheses and thoughts, as well as feedback, are vitally important. I like technology, but I am not a very technical person myself. My kid brother is the IT guy in our family. I tend to like things that are simple to operate and so I try to work with my contractors on simplifying the things that we install and use wherever possible.
Would you call yourself a bit of a revolutionary?
Yes, in a way. I like to dream and create, but I also like to look back on what I’ve done. I like to be different. On the other hand, though, I very much like to do things that involve the community. I like to give back and I love to make kids’ dreams come true – hence my charitable works.
Which historic person would you like to have met?
Alexander the Great, he was so successful, especially when it came to making war. I am fascinated with Ancient Greek history. I like to study wars over the centuries – things like the Opium Wars, World War II, The Boston Tea Party. I am also fascinated by Ancient Greek architecture – they created fabulous monuments and statues, some of which have survived to the present day.
Besides Hong Kong, where else would you really like to live?
Well I consider New York my second home. Of course, I had my ups and downs when I lived there and it’s not a particularly easy place to live, but it is a place that’s filled with opportunities if you dare to seize them. That means you’ve got to get out and about in the city, experience the place, and recognise what it has to offer. I didn’t have that much support when I lived there. I had to grow up and become independent quite fast. That did me a great deal of good.
Was it difficult to be an Asian living in America?
No. I was very lucky. I never had any negative experiences. I was very active in a number of sports, such as American football and baseball and I also played lacrosse. I suppose being involved in sports helps break down barriers.
Are you a good listener or a good talker?
A bit of both I suppose. I like to express my opinions, but I am open to other peoples’ views. I like to learn from other people’s experiences.
What language do you wish you could speak?
Hokkien. It is my father’s mother tongue. He is from Fujian. I wish I had learned it as a child. It would certainly be very useful right now, as we are opening a spa in Xiamen.
Thank You