Exploring materiality and why it matters at Cosentino with designers Bu Shukun, Patricia Ho Douven and Paul Yeo

“Some of our projects are large-scale, but it always starts small. We try to look at materials in its own essence, we challenge what can be and what should be, and we tease out an emotional connection between the material and the occupant, the visitor, and the user of a space,” Bu said.

The choice of materials and the feelings it evokes, Bu added, is crucial in influencing the direction of a project, even if the subject matter is the same. He brings up the example of two EV showrooms that his studio worked on in the past. One brand chose to use metallic accents and “a very snazzy finish to bring out the slickness of an EV car”, while the other chose to use warm wooden finishes to evoke a family-first, lifestyle-oriented branding.

He then went on to touch on how clients often ask for timeless designs when they go to him. But the idea of timelessness differs from person to person. “All my clients say, ‘I want something timeless; I want something that I won’t get bored of.’ To that, I ask ‘What are your measures of allowing materials to be kept in your home, in your life, across the years? Are you able to take a scratch, a tarnish, or a stain?’”

Bu concludes, “The first scratch when you get a new phone, a new car, or a new bag is very painful. But sometimes every scar bears a memory.”

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Ho Douven’s presentation centred on her studio’s approach to materials and how to give a space its soul. “We don’t like to create spaces that just look pretty, which is so easy to do nowadays with AI,” she asserts. The mark of a space with soul, she says, is what’s inside it and the materials that make it. Ho Douven emphasised the importance of building a material library and becoming familiar with it while keeping sustainability in mind.

In her presentation, she drew upon a few of her own projects, including White Jacket’s headquarters in Singapore, her own autobiographical apartment in East Coast, and South Palm Resort in Bohol.

For White Jacket’s office, her team elected to use existing samples in their material library and turn it into terrazzo flooring, which now serves as an excellent conversation starter and a way for the studio to educate clients on sustainability.

In many ways, Ho Douven’s own apartment’s design choices are emblematic of her studio’s ethos. Rather than choosing only sleek, brand new creations, she was drawn to materials with stories. She tells of the zellige tiles, created by artisans, that she and her husband painstakingly brought back from Morocco; because they had to hand-carry the materials back to Singapore, they were only able to source just enough tiles to create an accent entrance by the front door. The handmade tiles, which have a pleasantly uneven feel, is a tactile way to “give you that moment to feel something different, so that you know you’re home.”

South Palm Resort in Bohol, Philippines, also has a story to tell. Due to the location of the resort itself, it was hard to transport building materials to the place. This led to many back and forth trips, which led Ho Douven and her team to better get to know the owner of the resort. Through these conversations, her studio and client were inspired to take the solid timber from typhoon-damaged houses and fishing boats—which would have been otherwise discarded—and use them to create part of the resort. “What is most important in the project is, again, the story that we can tell about the island, its history, and its natural beauty through the locally sourced materials that we use.”

Read more: Inside interior designer Patricia Ho Douven’s autobiographical East Coast apartment

Paul Yeo rounded up the trio with a presentation on how his studio, PI Architects, has a penchant for experimenting with materials. While designing their office, for example, Yeo was inspired by Andy Warhol’s second studio, nicknamed the “Silver Factory, and wanted a massive silver pi-shaped table. The team wanted to explore the idea of using aluminium foil, much like what Warhol did in his Silver factory, and a fantastic intern pulled off the project after much enthusiastic research and experimentation. Building and creating in the design and architectural world, to Yeo, isn’t just about having a huge budget. “Sometimes, even things that you find in the supermarket can actually create something beautiful.”

Experimentation and material manipulation often means that the studio has to work with contractors and craftsmen, which comes with challenges such as not being able to control every aspect of the fabrication. “We just have to trust the process, let go, and let the craftsmen do their job,” Yeo observed.

Materials don’t always behave the way you expect it to, which means that part of his job is to find out how much deviation his clients can tolerate. In one project, he was tasked to create a feature wall inspired by the Arizonan canyons. After sourcing materials from a Korean mud supplier and painstakingly drawing out an intricate pattern for craftsmen to follow, he realised that what looked good on paper may not always translate 1:1 in reality. And so, he let the craftsmen take the wheel and bring his vision to life—after all, the people who worked most closely with the mud knew best how it would dry down and set in reality.

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The conversation then dived into the challenges of gently nudging clients to consider being more adventurous with trying new materials. One thing the three panelists faced in common was that many clients like to play it safe, and it often takes them a few tries to coax clients to buy into a new idea. Some clients even approach studios asking for a recreation of another project—when that happens, it is an opportunity to steer the client away from sameness and towards something bespoke. But, even if the idea doesn’t sell, it still serves as a learning experience, and sometimes, rejections can help designers create something even better in the future.

Since the panel was held at Cosentino City Singapore, the conversation naturally drifted towards the topic of material innovation—Cosentino’s bread and butter.

Asih Jenie, moderator of the panel, asked, “As material innovation becomes more advanced and more engineered, do you see this as a loss of authenticity or just a natural evolution?”

“Sometimes it’s a lifesaver. Some clients can’t get past the level of maintenance that natural materials need, and the lack of stain and bacteria-resistance. And if I cannot get past that with the client, we cannot innovate. With these material technological advancements, it allows us to do more,” Bu stated. 

“Ultimately, homeowners are going to be the ones maintaining the material, so we need to see it from their point of view. Product catalogues list clear characteristics: heat resistance, scratch resistance, impact resistance. That works for the clients, and we can move on to the next design decision,” added Yeo.

“I see it more like a planet saver, because the availability of natural stone is always declining. Humans keep digging, we keep taking more than we should. But with the new technology, you can get that aesthetic with less strain on the planet. And we can also bring back some almost-forgotten crafts—things that are currently hard to make or are labour intensive prior to recent material innovation,” said Ho Douven.

“Looking ahead, we will continue to evolve our materials and design solutions for both residential and commercial spaces, while reinforcing Cosentino City as a hub for the design community to connect and share ideas,” shared Lyon when asked about Cosentino’s plans for the future.

Scroll through to see more of what went down at the event.

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