50 | theceomagazine.com
Master of
DESIGN
HYLA ARCHITECTS FOUNDER AND PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT
HAN LOKE KWANG INSISTS THAT CREATIVITY IS FAR MORE
IMPORTANT THAN SUCCESS.WORDS JODIE DARLINGTON • IMAGES YEW KWANGW
hen The CEO Magazine approached Han Loke Kwang and asked
him whether he’d be willing for us to feature him in the magazine,
he seemed confused and taken aback. “Why would you want to
interview me?” he asked modestly. “I’m an architect, not a CEO.”
But as Principal Architect at HYLA Architects, Han has a hands-on
role in designing every project. And as the founder of HYLA, he
has spent the past 25 years building a successful firm that the industry highly regards for
its design excellence and professional service.
“I don’t measure success – creativity is more important,” Han explains. “For me,
creativity means only looking forward, not back. I’m always looking at the next thing
I want to do. What’s the next design? Even within a project, what’s the next part of the
design that I want to do? Of course, I want to be happy with everything that I’ve worked
on, but once it’s finished and I’m happy with it, then it’s over and I move on.”
Although Han is reluctant to think of himself as a successful businessman, he does
have a clear vision for leading his team of 18 employees, including young interns. “I’ve
never seen myself as the CEO, but for my office, I will call myself the ‘creative energy
officer’,” he says. “I need to give this energy to all my staff so that they can be pushed
and inspired to do their work.