You’ve all seen the pictures of the EMMA House, well now meet the lady who designed it.

Considering the amount of recognition in the local architecture circle of “that concrete box house” in Bukit Damansara and being published in several international magazines like Elle Decoration Hong Kong, Architectural Digest Italy, Residence Jubilee Issue Amsterdam and Bolig Exclusive Denmark, means the diminutive and unassuming Lisa Foo is a giant of achievements. Just grazing her third decade, she has built her first house (as opposed to a firm’s) whence most architects may never see such a completion even after years in the business and already been published by her own accolades rather than of a firm’s, professionally this is no small feat.

 

She shops mostly overseas, in the children’s department, (did I not say diminutive), okay , maybe during her school days on a student budget but still, I am making a point that one should not be fooled because there is nothing tiny about her outlook and approach in life. I don’t want to use the word ambitious because I found what compels this person is not material wealth nor fame , but I would rather use the word “grandiose” because here is a person who believes in herself and her abilities and makes her vision come through without pomposity or imposition. She persuades, cajoles and perseveres especially when others tells her it is impossible until she gets the results she wants. She doesn’t believe in being anti-establishment as most creative individuals are wont to be because she believes people need support to get things done. She also believes in speaking up, doing sufficient research and showing people the reason to do something.

 

 

She wants to “save” the world, she is fluid about the future, because she is open to possibilities. She creates and pushes the envelope and unwittingly make her mark, she gives her all, “that concrete box house” was remarked upon by a senior architect “… designed as if it was the last work she would do…”), and Lisa admits, that is how she usually approaches things she is passionate about. In the case of EMMA House, she felt she had nothing to lose and she went all out. Amongst her many challenges, she persuaded a steel contractor to ** construct a steel staircase from a whole piece of steel, even though many might have reservation on the buildability. By constantly stretching her own imagination and changing the mind set of others, she usually takes others to a different level of achievement. The steel guy decided to take up the challenge and a staircase was created.

 

**Lisa …. The steel staircase was designed as a single sculptural piece in the living area and is made out of 2 tons of flat steel plate which was rolled to create a rounded bottom like a chute. Well, it is not the normal staircase you see in the house and hence, I had to hunt for the right sub-contractor who’s willing to construct it. I managed to find a steel contractor who’s also passionate about his work and willing to take on this challenge even though they have never seen or done anything like it in Malaysia.

Anything is possible, if there’s a will and you believe in it for the right reason….”

 

If I had to use a word to describe her I would say a diamond, clear and transparent and from every angle shines brightly and deeply. There are many facets to this lady, just like a diamond. She is a recycled plastic bottle light sculptor, a strong advocate of the artistic scene (like Art For Grabs) , she’s into photography with her trusty SLR camera, a starter of things and a philosopher of sorts…

 

 

She is inspired by travel and to her everything is possible. She doesn’t like to ask “….what if…” and will keep moving forward, instinctively and at every level she creates “things” that excites her. She is constantly exploring different aspects of herself. She believes there are no wrong decisions even though she has had her fair share of failures and she has learnt to trust her instincts and pursue anything that feels right to her.

 

She, like several other creative people I know share a similar opinion that Malaysians are generally too structured in their way of thinking and not usually adventurous enough in terms of self expression and appreciating creativity. We also tend to put people, things and life in neat little labelled boxes. Henceforth also lies the problem of young people today, whom she says, a lot of them seem lost and have no clue as to what they want, passionate about life people though there are some, are but rare and few between.

 

So is talent groomed or born? Well, she is the first born child, when she was young her mother being a very creative person always made toys for her and her siblings to play with like a house and chair for her kitten which she remembers fondly. Her first recognition was an art project in secondary school with clothes peg ( yeah, you remember the one) and everyone else made a chair ( yeah, me too) but she made a double deck bed with mattresses and pillow. Then came bigger projects like creating manuscripts (standard art class fare) and instead of black and white she had coloured edges. She said she was very lucky as her teacher saw her work as creative as opposed to anti-regiment ( I know, otherwise I would be a great painter myself, well maybe next life, better give me better art teachers)

 

 

Her journey into architecture came a roundabout way, after STPM, like most students she thought she would be a doctor to fulfil parental expectations, but six months in a clinic as a nurse put a stop to that idea. Next came the idea of being an accountant, but again an exploratory stint in a bakery threw that idea out the window. Then she explored working in an engineering firm and though she loved the engineering part “…to make things stand up…” and discovered that she liked the architecture part of designing as she worked with an architect on a house project .So, she thought she would give architecture a go, did some research found that the architecture course is fairly comprehensive which covers structures, the science and art of designing building and structures, the history, the theory and philosophy of it intrigued her as she always wanted to get educated in all aspects of life and also to find herself.

 

She studied architecture locally for 3 years and did a year out for practical training with a local company before she decided to venture overseas to further her studies and she chose the University of New South Wales. And at UNSW, met a 70 year professor who showed the class his own first project and she was immediately struck by how organic the building was.

Lisa…” The house that I visited in Sydney, Australia, was organic with hexagonal plan and timber roof. As I recall, it was hidden from the road and one has to descend to get to the entrance door like going into a “cave” and through the foyer passages with walls made out of bush stones. Unexpectedly one experiences the space opened up to the landscape which is the Bushland. It was really an inspiring piece of architecture at that time for me and it still is till today

And I wish there are such buildings here in Malaysia that could inspire people to do the same….”

They say life happens when you least expect it…but in Lisa’s case, it is “seek thyself and ye shall find …” Lisa Foo, below, seen through the lens of the people whom she loves…

 

Lisa’s mantra in life:

“Life is short….

so enjoy and embrace…,

every journey you take… ,

every person you meet…,

every moment you have….,

while your heart is still beating passionately….”

 

Lisa’s fashion statement:”…. I shop more when I go overseas when the price is reasonably affordable for the kind of unique design that I fancy, especially in Bangkok if you know what I mean. The reason I find it difficult to shop here partially my size but mainly is the kind of stuff that I’m looking for isn’t much of a choice over here, i.e. I prefer awkward or architectural pieces and not necessarily fashionable to most people over here, in Malaysia…”.

 

 

Possible related posts...

• Bought Up in a Blink of an Eye
• Eye Candy: WAM Bands
• Just who is Alexa Chung?
• Indulgence -Giclee Art and Photography Exhibition
• 100 Years -L’oreal