Interview
Cheng Hua Li
1 Congratulations on winning the French Design Awards! Can you introduce yourself and share about what inspired you to pursue design as a career?
Hi! I'm Cheng Hua Li. SIMPLE SPATIAL Design was founded on deep observations of life’s essence. Rooted in nature, it translates light, materiality, and spatial proportion into experiential living aesthetics.
2 What does being recognised in the French Design Awards mean to you?
This recognition signifies international acknowledgement of SIMPLE SPATIAL's nature-driven philosophy and affirms its spatial language of living aesthetics.
3 How has this achievement impacted your career, team, or agency, and what opportunities has it brought so far?
The award has elevated our global visibility, attracting high-end residential and cultural commissions while opening opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaborations.
4 What role does experimentation play in your creative process? Can you share an example?
Experimentation lies at the core of the practice—testing materials, light, and proportion to reinterpret nature within spatial experiences.
5 What's the most unusual source of inspiration you've ever drawn from for a project?
Inspiration often stems from forests, water reflections, and seasonal shifts, translated into layered facades and rhythmic lighting compositions.
6 What’s one thing you wish more people understood about the design process?
Design is not merely a stylistic expression but an integrated system balancing lifestyle, environment, and craftsmanship precision.
7 How do you navigate the balance between meeting client expectations and staying true to your ideas?
A nature-and-lifestyle framework guides dialogue, balancing client expectations with the studio’s design philosophy.
8 What were the challenges you faced while working on your award-winning design, and how did you overcome them?
The greatest challenge lies in executing minimalism, achieved through repeated prototyping and refined construction techniques.
9 How do you recharge your creativity when you hit a creative block?
Creative renewal emerges through immersion in natural landscapes and historic architecture.
10 What personal values or experiences do you infuse into your designs?
Reflections on slow living are embedded through spatial voids, material warmth, and rhythmic light.
11 What is an advice that you would you give to aspiring designers aiming for success?
I encourage aspiring designers to build a strong foundation in the fundamentals, develop a deep sensitivity to nature and their surroundings, and gradually shape a design language that truly reflects their own perspective and values.
12 If you could collaborate with any designer, past or present, who would it be and why?
Tadao Ando would be an ideal collaborator, whose philosophy of light and nature deeply resonates.
13 What's one question you wish people would ask you about your work, and what's your answer?
My most desired question would be: "How does SIMPLE SPATIAL define living aesthetics?" And my answer would be: A return to natural order and inner calm.
