Contract - July/August 2015 - 144

Designer D.B. Kim, now directing
hospitality interiors for Wanda Group
in Beijing, reflects on his work
The Wanda Vista Kunming
(above) opened last fall,
and is among the hotel interiors
that D.B. Kim and his team have
overseen. It is the first Wanda
Vista in China's Yunnan Province.

Hospitality designer D.B. Kim has been living in Beijing since early
2014, serving as vice president of hospitality design for Dalian
Wanda Group. Born in South Korea, Kim had been designing
in the U.S. for nearly 25 years, mostly recently for Daroff Design
in Philadelphia and Pierre-Yves Rochon in Chicago after nearly
eight years at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. Today, Kim
leads a team of designers in the Wanda Hotel Design Institute
within Dalian Wanda Group, overseeing the design of multiple
luxury hotels in China as well as in other countries. Dalian Wanda
Group, which is the world's largest commercial property owner
and operator, owns 71 luxury hotels, mostly in China, and also
develops and operates retail and entertainment properties. In July,
Editor in Chief John Czarnecki visited Kim in Beijing and Shanghai,
and interviewed him about his experience with Wanda Group.

For you, personally, after working in China for more than a year,
is there an aspect of life or work there that is different from what
you had expected when you first moved to Beijing?
Kim: Before moving here, my expectations were nonexistent. I was
willing to learn and practice new methods and design processes,
and I was open to being flexible. I grew up in South Korea, and I am
aware of the strong Asian work ethic. I have been focused on being
a design leader and sharing my knowledge and design talent that
I have gained from my own experience.
Dalian Wanda Group now has hotel projects planned in the U.S.,
including a hotel interior in collaboration with Gensler within
a new Chicago tower designed by Jeanne Gang. What are the
Wanda Group plans for growth outside of China?
Kim: Currently, Wanda Group has a few locations identified, and my
team is working on the design of London, Madrid, Brisbane, and Chicago.
Other locations, such as Beverly Hills, Sydney, New York, and San
Francisco, are planned but in early stages so we have not started
on interiors. In Beverly Hills, Wanda Group plans a 134-room luxury
boutique hotel and spa with 193 residences in a complex to be
designed by Richard Meier. That will likely open in 2019 or 2020.

For our readers in North America, tell us what is unique about
designing luxury hospitality interiors for Chinese clients
and their guests. What are their expectations, and how do they
differ from luxury hospitality expectations in the U.S.?
Kim: Many Chinese travelers have higher expectations in luxury
hotel interiors compared to non-Chinese luxury hotel guests, and
I have experienced that since I started working on Chinese projects
in the early 2000s. Chinese guests are more aware of quality materials
and stories that designers narrate. They are coming from different
perspectives and understand luxurious interior materials and quality
design details from their deeper understanding of higher quality
craftsmanship that is rooted in their long history in related crafts. The
new generations of Chinese travelers' tastes have grown into various
diverse types of hospitality interiors, from minimalism to maximalism.

144

contractdesign.com

JULY | AUGUST 2015

PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY WANDA GROUP

As you have overseen a team of Chinese designers for more than
a year, what have you learned from your colleagues in the way that
they work, conduct business, and how they design?
Kim: Within the Wanda Hotel Design Institute, I am fortunate to be
able to work with young, talented designers from China as well as other
Asian countries. They are all highly motivated and disciplined, deliver
precisely in their vocation and design intentions, and are willing to
go extra steps to explore multiple options in design solutions. Their
willingness excites me and inspires me to lead. While the designers
practice hierarchically, they work well as a team through their clear
expectations. For example, questions are simply presented and
processes are quick and disciplined.

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