Meet Our Team | Wing See Wu, Design Associate

Wing See has been a member of our team since 2010 and is an integral part of our office. She manages much of the design process, drawings and site instructions. She works very closely with principal, Francesco on our projects ensuring all design details and specifications are met. Wing See helps keep us up on all the "trends" and unique products.  It is such a pleasure to have her as part of our team!  Meet Wing See...

 1. Give me your two minute bio.
I was born in Hong Kong and moved to Toronto when I was 3 years old.  Growing up, it was always a toss-up between pursing art or graphic design, but when I was 16, I saw a photo of Eero Sarineen’s JFK airport in a textbook, and decided I wanted to be an architect.  Since then, I’ve received my Bachelor and Master degrees in Architecture at Carleton and McGill University, met and married my best friend, and am registered as an Intern Architect with the Ontario Association of Architects. 

After working at various architectural offices in Toronto, and feeling uninspired by the work I was producing, I decided to start looking for work at alternative offices that were multi-disciplinary and/or more involved in R&D/fabrication and construction.  That decision led me to Capoferro, which was everything I was looking for and more!

2. Describe your style, like a good friend of yours would describe it.

I’m like Picasso in the sense that I’ve admired and experimented with many styles over the years.  At the moment, my interest is split between an aesthetic that is crisp/minimal/geometric/pure and another that eccentric/experimental/colourful/clever.   Sometimes you can see these two styles intersecting in my work.  

3. What is the best moment of the day?

Lunch time!

4. How would you describe your first 90 days at Capoferro?

From the first day, I was thrown straight into the thick of the Argento project, with minimal overlap with the staff member I was replacing.  I was blown away, by the amount of passion and detail that this office poured into its work. Having no prior experience with construction and coordination with the field, made the task all the more daunting.   It was certainly a sink or swim situation.  The firm was also much smaller at that time, I was the only designer aside from Frank (who spent the majority of time on site), and we communicated primarily via phone.    It seemed strange coming from larger offices.   Since then I’ve learned a lot, and anything that seemed unusual or daunting has now become very normal.

5. What books do you have on your bedside table?

None at the moment but I would like to read The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, who also wrote the amazing novel, Never Let Me Go.

6.  What project has given you the most satisfaction? Why?

It would certainly be the Argento project.  I’ve been working on this project since I started at this office two years ago, and it’s completely radicalized all my previous notions about the process of designing and constructing project, which is typically segregated from one another.  It’s a true design build project, in every sense of the word.   The amount of customization and innovation in the project has demanded that every designer, supplier, fabricator and installer involved in the progress to collaborate and put forward their expertise to produce a beautiful and resolved product.  It has been a wonderful process and as a result, Argento is a wonderful, and a thoroughly resolved project.  I’m proud and honoured to have contributed to it.

7. Who would you like to design something for?

A great fashion designer, like Alexander McQueen or Tom Ford:  someone who wants to take risks, great taste, and lots of resources!

8. Are there any architects from the past or current day who you appreciate?

Tadao Ando, hands down. I recently went on an architectural tour of Asia and was floored by how masterfully his work is designed and executed.

9. What do you like about the design/build industry and what would you change?

The design/build setup provides a clear line of communication between the designer and the trades who are executing the design work, which is an obvious benefit to both parties, and to the client because it often produces a better end result.  I hope the design industry as a whole gradually moves towards this type of set up.

10. Okay last question, PC or MAC?

I admire what Apple’s accomplished, but when it comes to computers, I’m the fat man with glasses.