Influential Interior Designers

This article discusses the work and achievements of Le Corbusier and Khuan Chew, two influential interior designers. Le Corbusier, a Swiss architect, is known for his use of steel and reinforced concrete in his designs, while Khuan Chew is famous for her artistic design in the opulence of the Burj Al Arab in the Middle East. The article highlights their philosophies, awards, and contributions to the field of interior design.

Running head: INFLUENCIAL INTERIOR DESIGNERS
Influential Interior Designers
Name
Institutional Affiliation

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Historical interior designer
Le Corbusier was a Swiss born architect, interior designer, painter, urban planner and
writer who belonged to the first class generation of the so called school of international
architecture (Benton, 2009). Born in Switzerland as Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris on October
6, 1887. He later moved to Paris in 1917 and was branded the pseudonym Le Corbusier
( Biography.com Editors, 2014). He is one of the most talented and celebrated architects in the
history of architecture.in his pieces of work, he mainly explored the use of steel and reinforced
concrete. Most of his designs are characterized by simple structures and forms. In his book, Le
Corbusier came up with the five points of architecture that he closely followed in his designs and
is still used as a masterpiece in today’s architecture. Moreover, he introduced a scale of
proportion that is referred to as the ‘Modulor’, beginning his career in the footstep of his father
as a watchmaker, Le Corbusier as an artist cum architect, learned various angles of art and design
by travelling far and wide to get aspirations and share ideas about the built environment
(Corbusier, 2013). This saw his architectural masterpieces adorn in almost all corners of the
world including India, Europe, and America cities. His love for urban planning pushed him to
improve the living conditions of the crowded people living in urban areas. And since nothing
good lasts forever, Le Corbusier passed away in France in 1965 (Ferrand at al., 2015).
Le Corbusier was born in the town of La Chaux-de-Fonds by Swiss parents named
Edouard Jeanneret and Madame Jeannerct-Perrct as a second son ( Biography.com Editors,
2014). At the age of 13 years, he joined an art school to learn the skills of watch making such as
enameling and engraving. L’Eplattenier who was Le Corbusier tutor saw the passion of drawing
and art in him and insisted that he should study architecture ( Biography.com Editors, 2014). He
then opted to become a painter over watchmaking.

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Le Corbusier is well known of his design of the Villa Savoye house that was built in
Poissy, France in 1929 – 1931 (Corbusier, 2013). This work best elucidate the famed concept of
the five points of architecture, which inspired him to come up with a philosophy that describe a
house as a machine for living. He also designed the famous open hand monument in Chandigarh,
India which signify peace (Ferrand at al., 2015). Villa Jeanneret built in Paris is also one of his
designs where Le Corbusier Foundation and archives are formerly located.
Awards and achievements
 In 1937, the French government awarded him the Chevalier de la L-gion d’Honneur
 In 1955, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology awarded him with the doctorate
degree (Ferrand at al., 2015).
 In 1968, Le Corbusier foundation was formed to honor his life and works. It is a
foundation cum archive, housing a large collection of his plans, paintings, drawings and
studies.
Personal life and legacy
This great designer got married to Yvonne Gallis in 1930, a model till her death in 1957.
He also had extramarital relationship with Marguerite Tjader Harris who was an heiress. Le
Corbusier later died in August 27, in 1965 when he went swimming in the Mediterranean Sea
against his doctors will.

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Contemporary Interior Designer
Khuan Chew is one of the famous contemporary Interior designers that is well known of
her artistic design in the opulence of the Burj Al Arab in the Middle East. Starting out as a child,
her career path was bumpy but it set foot after taking up this iconic project that was famous all
over the world as the most luxurious hotel. Chew was born in China in unlikely family of
musicians and artists. Her father was a well-known painter and her mother was a pianist
(Alsammarae, 2014). This means that her childhood education provided her with a great
foundation with opportunities making her life to take different track. While she was growing up,
her mother recognized her perfect pitch and taught her how to play piano.
Chew’s family later moved to England where she would pursue her education and career
in music. In the 70s and 80s, Chew reconsidered other options she had in her life before taking
up music as her career choice (Alsammarae, 2014). Since there was no much explosion of the
music industry at the time, Chew felt like her passion was in art and wanted to something related
to that as a profession. While a young child, Chew’s father often bring home different types of
materials such charcoal and crayons to work with. As a young girl, Chew ventured into design,
this basic artistic creations informed her vision through hand drawing. After her studies, she
continued to gain knowledge and skills through life experience.
Chew worked with contemporary designers such as Pat Keller and Dale from Dale Keller
and Associates not forgetting to mention David Hicks (Fountain, 2014). Chew not only got an
opportunity to see the world but also worked in a number of countries. Through these whole
experience, he gained solid understanding of design from different dimensions. Her designs were
mainly influenced by the products of her environment. The two key philosophies that moulded

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who she is today is the person she worked for and the project she worked on really influenced
her designs (Alsammarae, 2014).
Chew’s main goal in a project was to make the client happy by meeting all their needs
regardless of the circumstance or hardship that comes with it, because it is her responsibility to
deliver. This made her to approach any work with holistic understanding (Alsammarae, 2014).
This grounded philosophy boded well with Khuan, who has worked with United Arab Emirates
Prime minister, Vice President and Dubai’s highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al
Maktoum on classical projects such as the Madinat Jumeirah, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, world-
popular burj Al Arab (Pople, 2017).
In the late 1980s, Khuan Chew opened up a designer firm known as KCA International in
London, England. Having won several design proposals competition in Dubai such as the
Jumeraih Beach hotel and the Burj Al Arab means that Chew approach to life is very positive. In
one interview, she stated that ‘nothing is given to us on a silver platter, you have to work for it”
(Wright, 2010). The fantastical interior of the Burj Al Arab sold Chew to the rest of the world,
with tourists travelling to Dubai to witness its opulence. The building not only stand out as a land
mark but also acts as a Dubai timeline as where design and architecture in the Gulf surely took
off at a swift pace that have never been witnessed. KCA international has taken his talents
across the borders with its oeuvre spread in different countries from London to Hong Kong
(Alsammarae, 2014). It handles various type of projects such as hotel interiors, restaurants, metro
stations, yachts and even exhibition stands by delivering various styles.
In 2014, Chew received a Lifetime achievement award and since 2009, Chew relocated to
Dubai alongside her KCA international having been a part of Dubai’s first boom (Alsammarae,
2014). For years, Chew has developed his brand as one that is not so much about aesthetics and

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style preference but rather one that is of timeless quality that is well displayed within the designs
options for a single space. Currently KCA international works on various projects with the
intense drive to continue providing great works.
Similarities
The environment in which we live in play an important role in informing us of our career
choices. Both had a passion of arts while at their tender age and their decision to go for design
was mainly influenced by their surroundings. Le Corbusier father was a watchmaker which is
closely related to arts, this saw him go to art school to learn the skills of watchmaking but along
the way he realized he wanted to be a painter. On the other hand, Khuan Chew was a painter and
she used to paint as a child while the mother was a musician. Her mother saw the talent in her to
become a musician but along the way, Chew shifted her attention to interior design, which made
her to become who she is today. They also had philosophies that guided them through their
designs. This approach is essential in the contemporary designs since it shows that to have a
masterpiece or iconic design that will stand the test of time, one has to have a concept or
philosophy that informs the design.
Differences
One notable contrast between the two interior designers is that; Le Corbusier was a
pioneer of his own interior designs while Khuan Chew was like a protégé, and through the
experience she developed her own style. Le Corbusier mainly centered his design on the five
points of architecture drafted in his book, he concentrated on the aesthetic part of design as well
as sound structures that would last to tell a story. An example is the Notre Dame du Haut Chapel

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in Ronchamp while Khuan Chew in her interior designs, did not put much on aesthetic and style
but rather concentrated on timeless quality that is different for every space.
It is with no doubt that the historical interior designs have informed the modern design in
a greater way. The knowledge gained from the pioneers in the school of architecture have been
improved in the contemporary world through the advancement of technology and introduction
for better materials for interiors such as cladding materials. In his interiors, Le Corbusier
maintained the principle of being truth to the material. This decision was due to his love for
concrete. Adopting and fusing these design principles will improve our designs skills for the
better.

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References
Biography.com Editors. (2014, April 2). Le Corbusier Biography. Retrieved from The
Biography: https://www.biography.com/artist/le-corbusier
Alsammarae, R. (2014, October 15). Burj Al Arab designer Khuan Chew talks about moving on
from iconic project. Retrieved from Commercial Interior Design Middle East:
https://www.commercialinteriordesign.com/people/burj-al-arab-designer-khuan-chew-
talks-about-moving-on-from-iconic-project
Benton, T. (2009). Le Corbusier as a Lecturer (3rd ed.). Basel, Switzerland: Birkhäuser.
Corbusier, L. (2013). Towards a New Architecture (6th ed.). Chelmsford, Massachusetts, United
States: Courier Corporation.
Ferrand at al. (2015). Le Corbusier. Les Quartiers Modernes Frugès / The Quartiers Modernes
Frugès (4th ed.). Basel, Switzerland: Birkhäuser.
Fountain, D. (2014, October 29). KCA International & Khuan Chew: Interior Designer.
Retrieved from Hotel Designs: https://hoteldesigns.net/industry-news/kca-international-
khuan-chew-interior-designer/
Pople, J. (2017, March 10). Interior Design. Retrieved from The LuxPad:
https://www.amara.com/luxpad/burj-al-arab-hotel-interior-design/
Wright, T. (2010, January 18). BURJ AL ARAB, THE SYMBOL OF DUBAI. Retrieved from My
Architectural Moleskine: http://architecturalmoleskine.blogspot.com/2010/01/burj-al-
arab-symbol-of-dubai.html

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