This world is full of beautiful spaces because of creative minds like Anthony Poon who have brought to life designs that some might say is heaven sent. His Los Angeles-based company, Poon Design Inc., a multi-disciplinary practice, offers services in architecture and interiors, programming and master planning, furniture design and graphics, and other design-related expertise. Launched in 2001, the company’s award-winning design talents serve national and international clients, with over 300 completed projects of various types: residential, commercial, educational, religious, cultural, and mixed-use. (Image Credit: Mikel Healey)
We sat down with Mr. Poon to learn more about the heart behind his hand…Let’s just say there is more than meets the eye.
Beverly Hills Magazine: When did you discover your passion for creative design?
Anthony Poon: Probably at the youngest age I can remember—I always sought to express ideas in my head through any form of creative medium, from piano to Lego, from drawing comic book superheroes to clay sculptures, from writing stories to staging worlds of fantasy for my stuffed animals.
DESIGN YOUR WORLD
Beverly Hills Magazine: What is the most challenging thing about being an architect?
Anthony Poon: The most challenging are the technical aspects: getting city approvals, confronting construction schedules, challenging clients, budgets, and making sure a building doesn’t collapse.
Beverly Hills Magazine: The most rewarding?
Anthony Poon: The most rewarding things are clearly the aspects of the creative process. Generating ideas and concepts is exciting, risky and ambitious—not knowing where the artistic journey will go and just jumping in like a jazz ensemble improvising on a theme by Monk.
Beverly Hills Magazine: What is your business mission?
Anthony Poon: Poon Design Inc. offers a carefully created and crafted design vision. Our clients are forward-thinking and understand the value of artistry. With a variety of project types, our design ideas promote optimal support for our clients, as well as contribute to cultural progress and transformative stewardship.
Beverly Hills Magazine: How do you decide what design is best for a client?
Anthony Poon: Our work is about storytelling. It’s a collaborative process with the client. We listen to their stories, their successes and their battle scars. We want to hear stories about the mission statement of a corporation, the educational methodology of a school, or the plans for a family’s Thanksgiving dinner. We capture all this in our designs.
Beverly Hills Magazine: What makes your company different from others of its kind?
Anthony Poon: Few companies integrate creative endeavors into one comprehensive vision. Of course, we do architecture and interiors, landscape and lighting, and at times, graphics and branding. We also cross-pollinate ideas of art and music. We have scored music for events, as well as selected the playlists for our restaurant designs, as the mood goes from business lunch to happy hour to a romantic dinner date to late night drinks. We have even critiqued business uniforms.
Beverly Hills Magazine: What is the “POON”design signature?
Anthony Poon: The signature is conceptual. We don’t apply styles like Mid-Century Modern or Spanish Revival. Our signature is about imagination and progress, and mixing things up. Our signature is also our process—a casual improvisational brainstorming journey of discovery.
Beverly Hills Magazine: What are 3 things every client should be prepared for when building a custom home?
Anthony Poon: 1) Ask yourself what are your dreams and aspirations? 2) Know your budget and schedule. 3) Get ready to make decisions.
Beverly Hills Magazine: How do you balance your professional and personal life?
Anthony Poon: I do not subscribe to the old saying, Work Hard and Play Hard. That suggests that they are separate, where you have to work strenuously so as to enjoy your life. I believe that you can have a mash up of what you do, where work is enjoyable, play is rewarding, and the distinctions are blurred.
Beverly Hills Magazine: What were your childhood dreams?
Anthony Poon: To perform the Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor with an orchestra, in a concert hall that I designed.
Beverly Hills Magazine: How do you take care of your spiritual self?
Anthony Poon: Within a busy day, I find time for peace, whether it is jotting notes in a journal, sketching in a sketchbook, exercise/meditating, or playing some Bach and Schubert.
Beverly Hills Magazine: How has God played a hand in your life, or let you know that He is always with you?
Anthony Poon: Growing up as the pianist for my church in Chinatown, God reminds us he is here through the beauty and uplifting power of all things musical and artistic.
Beverly Hills Magazine: If you had to give a piece of advice to aspiring architects out there, what would it be?
Anthony Poon: Know that you will have to work hard. Nothing comes easy in this industry. The struggle is a lifetime of battles, but the creative rewards are great.
DREAM THE IMPOSSIBLE
Beverly Hills Magazine: Do you have a life motto, quote, or Bible Scripture you live by?
Anthony Poon: Pick our battles.
Beverly Hills Magazine: If God granted you one wish, what would you wish for?
Anthony Poon: To have a hundred more wishes.
Beverly Hills Magazine: What do you want to be remembered for?
Anthony Poon: Having designed one great building, authored one great book, painted one great painting, and composed one great piece of music.
To keep up with Anthony Poon find him on Instagram @anthonypoondesign
More About Anthony Poon: Educated as a multi-disciplinary designer, Anthony Poon is an award-winning architect and musician. Spanning three decades of professional experience, he is a LEED-accredited architect licensed in California and Virginia, and a member of the American Institute of Architects―as well as a classical pianist, mixed-media artist, and published author. Poon received his Masters in Architecture from Harvard University and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley, magna cum laude. He is a frequent public speaker at national and regional conferences and panels, as well as schools and universities. Poon was a performing artist for the 2012 Architects in Concert, and a selected mixed-media artist for national art shows, www.anthonypoonart.com. Poon’s book, Sticks and Stones / Steel and Glass: One Architect’s Journey, has received critical acclaim, and he writes regularly on architecture and design at www.anthonypoon.com.
