Hospitality Design - September 2012 - 157

Alan
A. Barr
Managing Director - Asia
[CHADA]
Singapore
4
I grew up on the east
end of Long Island,
New York. I was one
of those kids that
lived in the Hamptons
all year round. Yes,
there are a few of us.
I worked weekends
and summers on
construction sites
because my family
owned a construction
company. I learned
very early on about
how materials
went together, and
was exposed to
building technology.
I didn’t realize it
at the time, but
looking back it was
certainly formative in
sculpting me towards
architecture, which
led to interiors, and
beyond.
My fi rst memory of
design was original
issue, fi rst generation
Air Jordan sneakers.
Nike had smashed it
with a new product
that fi nally mixed
celebrity, brand, and
industrial design. It
was an absolutely
revolutionary concept
and everyone wanted
them. I had them.
Aſt er studying
architecture as
an undergrad at
Catholic University
of America and
at ending the
University of
Colorado for graduate
school, I was a
model maker for
Klipp Architecture
in Denver. This was
back when one still
hand-delivered a
CV to every fi rm
and pestered the
receptionist to meet
with someone. Not
taking no for an
answer, they fi nally
gave me the lowest
ranked position in the
architecture world.
The Peninsula Hotel
in Shanghai is my alltime
favorite urban
hotel.
Aſt er moving back
to New York in 1998,
I was fortunate to
work for myself and
zeff design before
relocating to Asia.
New York, and
the early years of
my career, taught
me all things that
you shouldn’t and
wouldn’t ever do
again. Knowing what
not to do is sometimes
much more valuable
than the reverse.
My style is eclectic
contemporary, always
forward with a
healthy twist of
the past.
Since landing in Asia
early in 2010 (with
Space Matrix and
Blink Design, and
now I have partnered
up with Rick Whalley
and Juliet Ashworth
at CHADA Sydney
to open a Singapore
offi ce to expand into
Asia) I feel like I have
been reborn. I get a
free master’s degree
daily in design,
culture, language,
currency, and time
zone. There is so
much subtlety and
nuance to working
in all these diff erent
countries; one needs
to be nimble to adapt.
I’ve added ten new
countries to my
passport this year so
far, and I have a goal
to hit one hundredplus
countries before
the end of this decade.
I thrive on the next
place I have never
been, and while in
between: business
class seats, expensive
hotel rooms,
burgeoning celebrity
chef gastronomy, and
overpriced whiskey.
My guilty pleasure
is 5 a.m. sushi
straight off the boat
at Tsukiji Market
in Tokyo. Watching
the auctions for the
prized larger-than-life
tuna is something
special that everyone
should do at least
once. Eating the fi sh a
few minutes later is a
divine experience.
Success is having the
restraint to not let
your ego swell too big
at the apex moments
of your career.
I would want my
tombstone to read,
‘Refused to ever
admit defeat!’
hospitalitydesign.com September 2012
157
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