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.
