Bill Bensley

Bill Bensley served as one of your international judges for this event – with more than 300 landscape design practitioners, 100 design leaders, designers and fellows from the industry, media and universities!

The Design Excellence Awards is the leading Awards program in Asia Pacific that celebrates interior design excellence. It is organised by the Interior Design Confederation Singapore (IDCS) the professional body representing Interior Designers in Singapore, supported by the government agencies Design Singapore and Enterprise Singapore.

n hospitality designs few could match the prolific works of Bill Bensley. Since 1989 he has designed more than two hundred properties in more than 30 countries around the world, from remote resorts to spectacular palaces and intimate private residences. ESCAPISM Volume 1 in a series to come is a first glimpse of his imaginative worlds and showcases the talents of his team of more than 150 architects and interior designers in his studio. His signature is unmistaken lush, detailed, lively, playful, even downright seductive. He brought fun and wonder in the wildest of imaginations. From the Royal Istana in Malaysia, a private beach house in Phuket, the renowned Siam Hotel, to his latest the InterContinental Danang in Vietnam, ESCAPISM Volume 1 features more than 500 pages of vivid photographs in large format from 26 projects in 12 countries over the last two decades. Forewords from his colleagues, friends, and intimate descriptions of the ideas behind his creations make this volume a most invaluable reference of its kind. As wild as his works seem, Bill Bensley is Harvard-educated in urban design. Many properties he designed earned numerous prestigious awards. ESCAPISM shows his profound contributions in hospitality designs, and transports the readers to where they may have never imagined to be.

Many of the stunning natural landscapes that bless tropical areas of Asia are now transformed into major tourist destinations, as showcased in this enticing volume that focus on the works of landscaper architects, Bensley Design Studios, and Bunnag Architects, two firms based in Bangkok. As shown in lavish photo spreads, each project was guided by a reverence for pristine sites, tropical climate, and rich cultural heritage. The book also documents techniques employed by both practices in bringing these tropical paradises from dream to reality.
Tan Hock Beng, an architect specializing in design for the tropics, has authored books and journal articles extensively on the subject. The principal of MAPS Design Studio, he is based in Singapore.

In a design world increasingly concerned with minimalism, designer Bill Bensley stands out for his playful, flamboyant style and his passionate belief in ornamentation. Paradise by Design presents twenty-four of the maximalist maestro’s most show-stopping projects, highlighting his signature architectural style as well as his landscape design, interior design, horticulture, and fine arts and crafts. The Bensley trademark is his focus on the unconventional and the sensual, with a special reverence for tropical climes and plants, and the Bensley-designed houses and hotels featured here are spread across Asia—including China, India, Indonesia, Mauritius, Thailand, Cambodia, and Bali.