Few school names in Singapore carry quite the same cultural shorthand as Anglo-Chinese School (ACS). Its alumni network is broad and influential, and the school has long been associated with confidence, ambition and a strong sense of fraternity.
Christopher Chua, 46, remembers encountering that world from the margins. Coming from a less well-off family, he often felt he had to prove himself in an environment where others seemed more assured.
“I was born in a not well-to-do family, and I was thrust into ACS,” said Chua, founder of boutique hospitality design studio KulorGroup. “It was a constant need to prove myself, because everybody else seemed to be two or three steps ahead.”
In an environment where many students seemed to carry an easy confidence, Chua felt the opposite. “At the start, I was… keeping to myself and always feeling lesser.”
While the school’s legacy is, for many, one of brotherhood and lifelong networks, Chua remembers moments that reinforced his sense of being on the outside looking in. “Oh yeah, I was bullied,” he admitted plainly.
Back then, Singapore was also less forgiving of those who strayed from the conventional path. “Thirty or 40 years ago, Singapore was a very different state. It was all about making money. Nobody wanted to be creative. The creative aspect of life was never explored. It was always looked down on. You would always be poor… it was not respectable.”
For a teenager who already felt he did not quite fit in, choosing such an unconventional path could have been paralysing. Instead, it became his turning point.
“One day I decided, you know what, I’m just going to rebel,” he said. “Just do whatever I want to do and figure out my trajectory in life.” In a quiet but decisive act of defiance, he chose to pursue the arts.
Even now, that early need to prove himself has not entirely faded. “The constant need to prove myself, or the feeling that I’m not enough… that imposter syndrome… it just runs with you forever,” he reflected.
Asked what he would say to his younger self, Chua replied: “Take a breath. Step back a bit… just do what you do and believe in yourself.”
A view of Here Maldives, a luxury resort project by KulorGroup. (Photo: Here Maldives)
Today, Chua is at the helm of KulorGroup, advising some of the biggest names in luxury hospitality. The firm’s portfolio includes Four Seasons, Hilton, InterContinental, Six Senses and destination-led brands such as LUX* Resorts & Hotels.
As luxury hospitality becomes increasingly crowded, brands are looking for sharper differentiation, and KulorGroup has positioned itself as a strategic partner.
The foundation for that authority was established early. In his early 20s, Chua joined Eco.id Design Consultancy, where he worked on international projects across Southeast Asia and the Gulf states.
He later spent five formative years at Blink Design Group, rising to managing director and overseeing both creative direction and commercial performance. There, he developed the design-led approach that continues to define his work.
Chua is no longer playing catch-up. In his chosen field, he is now setting the pace.
Despite his professional success, Chua began to feel its limits.
“I enjoyed the support of a large company,” he explained. “But I felt myself becoming more and more disconnected – from my team, my projects, the detailing… the things I loved.” What replaced that connection, he said, was “just a systematic way of running things”, centred on profit and loss, and man-hours.
Chua also saw a gap in the industry: Firms tended to be strong either in interiors or architecture, but not always across the full spectrum of design. He believed he could bridge that divide. “My team that was going to work with me was also strong in both areas.”
A private pool terrace at Six Senses Galapagos, a luxury resort project involving design work by KulorGroup. (Photo: Six Senses Galapagos)
More importantly, he wanted to go beyond the conventional roles of designer and architect. “I didn’t want to approach clients as just another designer or architect,” he said. “I wanted to be a strategic design partner.” That meant helping owners and operators examine their standards and operational guides – aspects that ultimately affected the bottom line.
With that, he set up KulorGroup in 2016.
A decade ago, hospitality design looked very different.
“Ten years ago, a lot of it was ego-driven design,” Chua explained. “It was, ‘I don’t care how much it costs. I want the biggest, the most beautiful, the most outstanding.’”
Today, that mindset has shifted. Hotels are no longer just vanity projects, but strategic assets that contribute to a developer’s broader portfolio and long-term value.
That shift aligns closely with KulorGroup’s ethos.
“We’re not ego-driven designers,” he said. “Even when there’s a statement piece, it doesn’t come from ego.”
Take, for instance, a 47m pool at the heart of the upcoming Six Senses Galapagos. “It wasn’t because I said I wanted a 47-metre pool,” he explained. “The site needed to connect sunrise and sunset, overwater and the beach – that was the gesture.”
In Chua’s view, design is a balance between expression and restraint. “How do we achieve a sense of luxury without overspending? Where do we spend the money? Where do we make the statement?”
A turning point for the firm came with renovation projects in the Maldives before COVID-19, including Seaside Finolhu and LUX* South Ari Atoll. The market is notoriously difficult to break into, even for larger design firms, let alone a boutique outfit from Singapore. “We were given the opportunity through trust and word of mouth,” Chua said. “And once you’re in, everything opens.”
Today, with multiple projects underway globally – including five in the Maldives – Chua is unapologetic about the niche he has carved out. “I got typecast as a luxury hospitality designer, yes. But I lean into it 100 per cent,” he said. “I want to be a resort specialist. I’m good at it. Resorts allow me to express everything I want to express, from master planning to interior design.”
Christopher Chua once felt out of place at ACS. Choosing a creative path became his turning point. (Photo: CNA/Dillon Tan)
At KulorGroup, design does not begin with mood boards or materials. It begins with intent.
“The first question we ask [owners and operators] is: What are you trying to do?” he said. “Are you selling residences? Flipping the asset in five years? Looking for investors? Once we understand that purpose, then we design with you.”
From there, the process deepens. “We start with climate, land, context, culture, anthropology,” he explained. “Why would anyone want to stay here? What is the value system of why this resort should exist? Do we want to give back to the local culture?”
It is a markedly different approach in an industry often driven by aesthetics. “A lot of companies start with beautiful pictures and nice furniture,” he said. That, he believes, is not narrative but decoration.
For Chua, iterative design cannot be achieved through Pinterest boards or AI tools. It is also why he resists designing for spectacle. “Do I design for Instagram? No,” he said, noting that many guests booking a stay online base their decision on the “hero” images used in marketing.
Beyond luxury resorts, Chua and the KulorGroup team have also worked on commercial spaces in Singapore, including The Great Room, South Bridge. (Photo: KulorGroup)
“I think those images tend to be a little bit more prescriptive than descriptive. And I don't like prescriptive design, because I think it dates very quickly,” he said. “Design should be intentional. It takes time.”
Design must also feel inevitable – a term Chua prefers to the overused “timeless”. “When you look at a project, it should feel like it belongs there. The project must feel aligned to site, aligned to context, to everything, inside and out.”
That philosophy played out during a meeting with the owners of Six Senses Galapagos. There, he sketched a “bridge lobby” on the spot – a long, linear structure suspended above a ravine, with views of the beach. In a place where the weather changes quickly, the lobby allows mist and cloud to move through the space, making guests feel part of the environment.
Looking back on the past decade – including the disruption of the pandemic – what began as a return to the work he loved has grown into something much larger.
“When I started this, it was really about getting back to what I loved,” Chua said. “And now… it’s been a ride – with COVID and everything – but it’s been very rewarding. For us to achieve what we have achieved, most people would have written us out.”
Yet scale has never been Chua’s endgame. He is content with a 20-person boutique setup, with no intention of growing into a 200- or 300-strong firm.
“I want to remain as boutique as possible,” he said, citing industry names such as Kerry Hill, Jean-Michel Gathy and Bill Bensley, who built legacies through depth rather than scale. “They are the forefathers of hospitality design, but they never scaled up to 100, 300 or 500 people.”
Past a certain size, Chua believes, firms risk becoming less client-focused and more preoccupied with fees, staffing and man-hours.
Challenges remain. As with many industries, design is speeding up, driven by AI, compressed timelines and a demand for more work, faster. “It’s creating a decline in the quality of work,” he said.
The Great Room, South Bridge. (Photo: KulorGroup)
At the same time, he believes fewer design graduates are entering the market. “If you look at everything that’s transpired in the past few years, it’s all about AI and technology. Being creative should be more celebrated,” he said.
As for his own travels, Chua does not choose a stay based on whether it is a luxury resort. Nor does he rely on online images. Instead, he looks for authenticity and a deeper connection to the destination.
Does he overthink room layouts or design schemes, given that this is what he lives and breathes? Of course.
“I’ll do it for the first 10 or 15 minutes – ‘the bed is in a terrible location’, or ‘the light should be angled this way’, or ‘the switches are on the wrong side’. But then I switch off, and it doesn’t bother me anymore.”
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Christopher Chua, 46, remembers encountering that world from the margins. Coming from a less well-off family, he often felt he had to prove himself in an environment where others seemed more assured.
“I was born in a not well-to-do family, and I was thrust into ACS,” said Chua, founder of boutique hospitality design studio KulorGroup. “It was a constant need to prove myself, because everybody else seemed to be two or three steps ahead.”
In an environment where many students seemed to carry an easy confidence, Chua felt the opposite. “At the start, I was… keeping to myself and always feeling lesser.”
While the school’s legacy is, for many, one of brotherhood and lifelong networks, Chua remembers moments that reinforced his sense of being on the outside looking in. “Oh yeah, I was bullied,” he admitted plainly.
Back then, Singapore was also less forgiving of those who strayed from the conventional path. “Thirty or 40 years ago, Singapore was a very different state. It was all about making money. Nobody wanted to be creative. The creative aspect of life was never explored. It was always looked down on. You would always be poor… it was not respectable.”
For a teenager who already felt he did not quite fit in, choosing such an unconventional path could have been paralysing. Instead, it became his turning point.
“One day I decided, you know what, I’m just going to rebel,” he said. “Just do whatever I want to do and figure out my trajectory in life.” In a quiet but decisive act of defiance, he chose to pursue the arts.
Even now, that early need to prove himself has not entirely faded. “The constant need to prove myself, or the feeling that I’m not enough… that imposter syndrome… it just runs with you forever,” he reflected.
Asked what he would say to his younger self, Chua replied: “Take a breath. Step back a bit… just do what you do and believe in yourself.”
THE MAN HELPING LUXURY RESORTS GET IT RIGHT
A view of Here Maldives, a luxury resort project by KulorGroup. (Photo: Here Maldives)
Today, Chua is at the helm of KulorGroup, advising some of the biggest names in luxury hospitality. The firm’s portfolio includes Four Seasons, Hilton, InterContinental, Six Senses and destination-led brands such as LUX* Resorts & Hotels.
As luxury hospitality becomes increasingly crowded, brands are looking for sharper differentiation, and KulorGroup has positioned itself as a strategic partner.
The foundation for that authority was established early. In his early 20s, Chua joined Eco.id Design Consultancy, where he worked on international projects across Southeast Asia and the Gulf states.
He later spent five formative years at Blink Design Group, rising to managing director and overseeing both creative direction and commercial performance. There, he developed the design-led approach that continues to define his work.
Chua is no longer playing catch-up. In his chosen field, he is now setting the pace.
BREAKING AWAY
Despite his professional success, Chua began to feel its limits.
“I enjoyed the support of a large company,” he explained. “But I felt myself becoming more and more disconnected – from my team, my projects, the detailing… the things I loved.” What replaced that connection, he said, was “just a systematic way of running things”, centred on profit and loss, and man-hours.
Chua also saw a gap in the industry: Firms tended to be strong either in interiors or architecture, but not always across the full spectrum of design. He believed he could bridge that divide. “My team that was going to work with me was also strong in both areas.”
A private pool terrace at Six Senses Galapagos, a luxury resort project involving design work by KulorGroup. (Photo: Six Senses Galapagos)
More importantly, he wanted to go beyond the conventional roles of designer and architect. “I didn’t want to approach clients as just another designer or architect,” he said. “I wanted to be a strategic design partner.” That meant helping owners and operators examine their standards and operational guides – aspects that ultimately affected the bottom line.
With that, he set up KulorGroup in 2016.
FROM EGO TO ECOSYSTEM
A decade ago, hospitality design looked very different.
“Ten years ago, a lot of it was ego-driven design,” Chua explained. “It was, ‘I don’t care how much it costs. I want the biggest, the most beautiful, the most outstanding.’”
Today, that mindset has shifted. Hotels are no longer just vanity projects, but strategic assets that contribute to a developer’s broader portfolio and long-term value.
That shift aligns closely with KulorGroup’s ethos.
“We’re not ego-driven designers,” he said. “Even when there’s a statement piece, it doesn’t come from ego.”
Take, for instance, a 47m pool at the heart of the upcoming Six Senses Galapagos. “It wasn’t because I said I wanted a 47-metre pool,” he explained. “The site needed to connect sunrise and sunset, overwater and the beach – that was the gesture.”
In Chua’s view, design is a balance between expression and restraint. “How do we achieve a sense of luxury without overspending? Where do we spend the money? Where do we make the statement?”
A turning point for the firm came with renovation projects in the Maldives before COVID-19, including Seaside Finolhu and LUX* South Ari Atoll. The market is notoriously difficult to break into, even for larger design firms, let alone a boutique outfit from Singapore. “We were given the opportunity through trust and word of mouth,” Chua said. “And once you’re in, everything opens.”
Today, with multiple projects underway globally – including five in the Maldives – Chua is unapologetic about the niche he has carved out. “I got typecast as a luxury hospitality designer, yes. But I lean into it 100 per cent,” he said. “I want to be a resort specialist. I’m good at it. Resorts allow me to express everything I want to express, from master planning to interior design.”
NOT DESIGNING FOR INSTAGRAM
Christopher Chua once felt out of place at ACS. Choosing a creative path became his turning point. (Photo: CNA/Dillon Tan)
At KulorGroup, design does not begin with mood boards or materials. It begins with intent.
“The first question we ask [owners and operators] is: What are you trying to do?” he said. “Are you selling residences? Flipping the asset in five years? Looking for investors? Once we understand that purpose, then we design with you.”
From there, the process deepens. “We start with climate, land, context, culture, anthropology,” he explained. “Why would anyone want to stay here? What is the value system of why this resort should exist? Do we want to give back to the local culture?”
It is a markedly different approach in an industry often driven by aesthetics. “A lot of companies start with beautiful pictures and nice furniture,” he said. That, he believes, is not narrative but decoration.
For Chua, iterative design cannot be achieved through Pinterest boards or AI tools. It is also why he resists designing for spectacle. “Do I design for Instagram? No,” he said, noting that many guests booking a stay online base their decision on the “hero” images used in marketing.
Beyond luxury resorts, Chua and the KulorGroup team have also worked on commercial spaces in Singapore, including The Great Room, South Bridge. (Photo: KulorGroup)
“I think those images tend to be a little bit more prescriptive than descriptive. And I don't like prescriptive design, because I think it dates very quickly,” he said. “Design should be intentional. It takes time.”
Design must also feel inevitable – a term Chua prefers to the overused “timeless”. “When you look at a project, it should feel like it belongs there. The project must feel aligned to site, aligned to context, to everything, inside and out.”
That philosophy played out during a meeting with the owners of Six Senses Galapagos. There, he sketched a “bridge lobby” on the spot – a long, linear structure suspended above a ravine, with views of the beach. In a place where the weather changes quickly, the lobby allows mist and cloud to move through the space, making guests feel part of the environment.
KEEPING IT BOUTIQUE
Looking back on the past decade – including the disruption of the pandemic – what began as a return to the work he loved has grown into something much larger.
“When I started this, it was really about getting back to what I loved,” Chua said. “And now… it’s been a ride – with COVID and everything – but it’s been very rewarding. For us to achieve what we have achieved, most people would have written us out.”
Yet scale has never been Chua’s endgame. He is content with a 20-person boutique setup, with no intention of growing into a 200- or 300-strong firm.
“I want to remain as boutique as possible,” he said, citing industry names such as Kerry Hill, Jean-Michel Gathy and Bill Bensley, who built legacies through depth rather than scale. “They are the forefathers of hospitality design, but they never scaled up to 100, 300 or 500 people.”
Past a certain size, Chua believes, firms risk becoming less client-focused and more preoccupied with fees, staffing and man-hours.
Challenges remain. As with many industries, design is speeding up, driven by AI, compressed timelines and a demand for more work, faster. “It’s creating a decline in the quality of work,” he said.
The Great Room, South Bridge. (Photo: KulorGroup)
At the same time, he believes fewer design graduates are entering the market. “If you look at everything that’s transpired in the past few years, it’s all about AI and technology. Being creative should be more celebrated,” he said.
As for his own travels, Chua does not choose a stay based on whether it is a luxury resort. Nor does he rely on online images. Instead, he looks for authenticity and a deeper connection to the destination.
Does he overthink room layouts or design schemes, given that this is what he lives and breathes? Of course.
“I’ll do it for the first 10 or 15 minutes – ‘the bed is in a terrible location’, or ‘the light should be angled this way’, or ‘the switches are on the wrong side’. But then I switch off, and it doesn’t bother me anymore.”
Continue reading...