Blink’s head office remains in Bangkok, where the design firm was founded, however Chua will manage operations from the firm’s Singapore studio, including client service and business developments hubs in New Delhi and Shanghai.

“This is a great honour and a step up in responsibility,” commented Chua. “I’m up for the challenge. I believe in BLINK; we have a great, talented team and the work we are doing at the moment in the luxury hospitality sphere stacks up well against what else is out there.”

Blink was founded in Bangkok eight years ago by Clint Nagata, who remains in charge as Senior Creative Director. Nagata said: “Congratulations to Chris; he’s bubbled to the top at Blink in a few short years, and I have full confidence in his ability to take on the role. He has been instrumental in our rapid growth in China and his own design inspirations are great. Not only that, he is also a good leader and a strong team player.”

Chua’s new position was announced in the same week that the firm received a highly commended honour at the 2014 Asia-Pacific Hotel Awards in the Best Hotel Interior, Thailand category for its work on the recently opened Regent Phuket Cape Panwa. Following work on resorts in Bali, Taipei and China, Blink is also currently immersed in creating a new Hilton in Goa, and breaking ground with The Grove, a mixed-use hotel and retail complex in architectures new frontier, Nairobi, Kenya.

For the past three years, Chua has been based in the firm’s Bangkok headquarters. “In reality, it doesn’t matter much where I’m based, because I spend most of my time travelling,” he commented. The move will also give Chua more face time with Blink’s recent hires and big-ticking talents, interiors guru Zia Hansen and former key designer of several Aman resorts Pietro Campanella.

“When Clint set up this company, there was a very conscious effort to not have a certain person heading the entire office or setting a certain style of design,” explained Chua. “When we start a project, we do a roundtable for sketches and ideas. Usually we just feed off each other. Clients know that if they get us, they’re going to get something different.” Blink has begun putting together trips for clients to see reference resorts before putting design pen to paper. “It’s part of out client education process. They want the best, so we send them off to some places.”

Chua expressed a desire to build on Blink’s capability to do everything from branding to master planning to building design to interiors. “It’s a full-service thing, and we have enough experience in the team to guide the client to get the best product.”

He said he was thrilled to be coming home to Singapore. “I came from a very ordinary family. To make ends meet, I worked part-time in a hotel. My first experience was working back of house, and I fell in love with it.” Chua then secured an intern position at Singapore firm Eco.id Design Consultancy, and it was a natural progression to study architecture at the National University of Singapore. During the subsequent nine years with Eco.id and Space Matrix, the company that bought Blink three years ago, Chua has worked on The Shangri-La Saadiyat Beach, Abu Dhabi; Nikki Beach Resort, Qatar; The Saladaeng Residences, Bangkok; and Taj Vivanta resorts in Assam and Chennai.

Since joining Blink, he has unleashed his creativity on Renaissance & Courtyard by Marriott, Hailing; Rosewood Clearwater Bay Resort & Residences, Sanya; Doubletree by Hilton, Benxi; Hilton Resort Goa; and Marriott Xiang Shui Bay Resort, Sanya.

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