Patrick Ng, PARA Designworks Limited Co-Founder and Director: “We always solve the problems proactively and deliver your projects on time at the best we can”

In ancient Greece, people were obsessed with beauty so much that they came up with a word to describe the same- ‘esthetics.’ Over the years, the said word went through different variations, and now it is widely known as aesthetics. Aesthetics is anything that is related to appearance and beauty. In our daily lives, we try to maintain these aesthetics because it has a major impact on our mood and the way we tend to feel about the things around us. A proficient interior designer and architect will help you in uplifting your spirits by effectively optimizing your home and space within it.

Globally there are various firms delivering excellent architecture and interior design consulting services, but PARA Designworks Limited stands out from the rest. The founders of PARA Designworks embarked on their journey to enhance the architectural consultancy service to their valuable luxury retail clients. Back in 2014, when the founders had so many years of luxury retail project experience in the construction industry, they shared the same thoughts that they could genuinely boost their skills and leverage their professional knowledge even more by starting up their own firm. They were in their mid-30s, and the good future of the construction industry was vividly bright in front of them at that moment. It was a golden era for a start-up business. They did not want to give up the chance to be successful. Do the right thing at the right time and make the right decision. This was the motif of PARA’s founders throughout the years, and they eventually brought this golden rule into the firm’s management style.

In conversation with Patrick Ng, Co-Founder and Director of PARA Designworks Limited

Q. Can you explain about your services in brief?

We work very closely with numerous different luxury brands ranging from high fashions, fine jewelry & luxury watches, etc., and always come in and out of the super-luxury malls to build beautiful boutiques for them. We are usually tagged with the title “Project Manager” or “Architectural Consultant” in the industry. However, we would prefer the public to regard us as “Project Architect.” We are fully trained architects, and with this professional background embedded into PARA Designworks, we tend to resolve problems logically, efficiently, and creatively. We deliver the new store project from inception to completion, bringing the brand’s image to reality. Luxury brands have their “House-style” design concept developed from the design team in headquarters. PARA Designworks would implement all these design intents to accommodate the local compliance with regulation, landlord’s specific requirements, site conditions, procurement on local sourcing, and all other constraints arising from local contractors or millworkers. We make the local design proposal to landlords and produce all the tender documents to carry out the bidding process for the selection of main contractors. We keep tracking the construction process and administrate the contracts for Clients toward completing their store projects.

Q. How have emerging technologies contributed to the success of your business?

The global pandemic in 2020 had so many impacts on the world economy with so many lockdowns and travel restrictions imposed by different countries. With a new Taiwan branch office opened in early 2020, Clients commissioned us to open their new luxury stores in Taipei. With travel restrictions, we were refrained from visiting the site overseas for inspection, meeting the landlord or contractor to execute our professional duties as project architects. However, we were grateful for the innovative technologies that come readily available to use. 5G smartphones, popular live-camera video apps, video conferencing without complicated hardware setup do merge the geographical difference when we can stay in Hong Kong office, to chair the site meeting with contractors in Taipei, where the client’s store planning team is calling in from Paris, Rome, or Shanghai, all held the meeting through the computer screens or smartphones. It is amazing to see how these technologies have developed so far, and we could not be so successful without upgrading our computers or smartphones to enjoy the innovative technologies that are truly an enhancement to our business.

Q. There are other companies delivering excellent services in the segment. How do you diversify yourself?

Firstly, I do not regard them as my competitors. They are the companions who also make this architectural consultancy industry more enhancing and stronger. Our clients have their power choosing the best service to deliver their new project. PARA Designworks is well regarded by its clients as a consultancy firm with flexibility, excellent experience working with luxury brands, and exceptional work ethics. We understand different luxury brands would have different requirements in terms of design expectation, budgeting issues, construction schedule, etc. Usually in a project briefing or inception stage, we would identify all potential project risks to the client. We analyze the project risks and provide a strategy to tackle all the risks. Pre-planning is the key stone to eliminating the project errors. Unexpected event is often a norm in project stage, we solve the problem proactively to minimizing the impact. Smart problem solver within the project team is the successful winner.

Q. What does the future hold for your company and its customers? Are exciting things on the way?

PARA Designworks is now eight years old, and it has grown from a small office with four workstations at a co-working space to now three branch offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Taipei with more than fifty talented employees. Although we experienced a slight slowdown in 2020, from 2021 onwards, the luxury retail industry has been steadily recovering from the global pandemic. Dramatic change has been evident in the new store design strategy for the luxury brands; the store is no longer a display of products for shopping, it tends to be the extensive lifestyle experience with the brand’s philosophy, and this change is incredibly positive in the customer’s feedback. Bespoke service is the next level that the luxury brands would have offered to their esteemed customers. We have the design requests from Clients to do their VIP lounges, bar & bistros, and even a fine jewelry workshop for VIP experience, etc.

Meet the leader behind the success of PARA Designworks Limited

Patrick Ng is the Co-Founder & Director of PARA Designworks Limited. He is an architect with over 20 years of experience in the architecture & interior design industry. In 2014, he setup PARA Designworks along with his business partners Raymond Lau and Liu Liu Cai. He is very passionate about solving the puzzles for his projects. He gained significant experience in luxury malls & retail, hotel & hospitality projects since 2005, the major luxury retail clients he has worked with so far are Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Bulgari, Audemars Piguet, Van Cleef & Arpels, Fendi, Balenciaga, Celine, Dunhill, Berluti, etc.

“Good building knowledge and innovative design solutions are always the key elements for successful projects”