Interview
Yuchun Lai
1 Please give us a brief bio of yourself and your design background.
Hi, my name is Yuchun Lai. I am an interior designer with 20 years of experience. I like to express deep-space stories in a very implicit and strong visual tension.
2 What made you become/why did you choose to become a designer/artist?
I love all the work related to art. I have loved painting and sculpture since childhood. Creating interesting spaces and giving people new space experiences are the most rewarding things for me.
3 Tell us more about your agency/company, job profile, and what you do.
IDL Commercial Space Design Co., Ltd. is a Hong Kong design company specialising in shopping mall design. I am the design director of the company, responsible for concept design, scheme design, construction drawing design, and project implementation. At the same time, I need to provide business operation advice to the owner. So IDL not only understands design but also understands operation, using Internet thinking to do business design.
4 What does “design” mean to you?
Design is a kind of inner expression. It is the material presentation of inner thoughts. I hope my design works bear my thought label.
5 What’s your favorite kind of design and why?
Architectural design and interior design, because they are full of artistic temperament like sculpture, but can also bring a strange feeling of space to the people who use it.
6 To you, what makes a “good” design?
Implicit, there is visual tension, and there is meaning behind it, bringing people a new and beautiful feeling.
7 How did you come up with the idea for your award-winning design?
Our era has entered a new era of the future. I hope the work can express a sense of the future, with fashionable materials and strange combinations to bring people through the feeling of space.
8 What was your main source of inspiration for this design?
From a Chinese novel "The Three-Body Problem", grand and full of uncertainty, science fiction, the change of time dimension, full of philosophical significance.
9 Do you think your country and its cultural heritage has an impact on your design process?
I come from China with a long history and profound philosophical thoughts. Still, I will not use traditional Chinese elements to design, but use Chinese "divine intention" to convey my design thoughts.
10 Congratulations! As the winner of the French Design Awards, what does it mean to you and your company and team to receive this award distinction?
My design work has been recognised, which makes me more confident and more determined that my design ideas are right. It also inspires the company and team to do more and better work.
11 Can you explain a bit about the winning work you entered into the French Design Awards, and why you chose to enter this project?
This project is located in Hangzhou, China, connecting the commercial space of the subway. It has a "crossing" meaning: passing through this door leads from the standardised space of the subway to the rich commercial space. Therefore, I defined this space as "the door of time and space" and used a stainless steel mirror to make the shape both psychedelic and disappearing, and used the distorted network of time and space to make the shape of the sky lantern, so that people in the body can feel the passage of time and space and strong artistic tension. This project is not affected by other external factors, and it is implemented by my design ideas. I think it can best express my design ideas.
12 What were the main challenges you faced during the design process, and how did you overcome them?
Restrictions on mechanical and electrical, fire, and other concealed works. Because it is the first time do such an artistic form, workers have no standardised reference, and every step must be brave to try. I accompany the workers on site to solve problems and find solutions.
13 How do you think winning this award will impact your future as a designer?
Have the motivation and confidence to do more inner design.
14 What are your top three (3) favorite things about the design industry?
1. The design process itself; 2. The moment you see your design transformed into a real space. 3. More people use space that I create empathy with.
15 What sets your design apart from others in the same category?
It is my rebellious character and my original intention to do my design.
16 Where do you see the evolution of design industry going over the next 5-10 years?
More differentiation, more individuality. The standardisation of copying will have no way out.
17 What advice do you have for aspiring designers who want to create award-winning designs?
Be yourself, see, and feel good work.
18 What resources would you recommend to someone who wants to improve their skills in the design industry?
Some excellent designers design ideas and design works. I like good websites and good books.
19 Tell us something you have never told anyone else.
I am an Aquarius girl, with a rebellious heart. This era needs an innovative soul, so the future can be expected.
20 Who has inspired you in your life and why?
For these masters, I often read their books and works, and sometimes I will go to the space they have personally felt. Such as Zaha Hadi, Louis Kang, I.M. Pei, Ma Yansong, etc.
21 What is your key to success? Any parting words of wisdom?
Be yourself and improve your artistic taste.
22 Which THREE (3) friends/peers would you nominate to participate in the next French Design Awards?
If I have a new design work next year, I will invite my colleagues to participate, provided it is good enough.
23 Do you have anything else you would like to add to the interview?
Thank you for the jury's recognition. It makes me more confident and makes me believe that there is a corner of the world who can read my design.
