The imprints of English-American architectural wizard in Vietnam

Have you ever admired the beauty of Indochine architecture blended with typical patterns of highland people at Hotel de la Coupole - MGallery in Sapa Town Lao Cai Province?

Overwhelmed by the fresh natural space at InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort in Danang City or Capella Hotel in Hanoi?

Bill is working at his own gallery called Bensley Outsider Gallery in InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort. Photo courtesy of the resort

The person behind all these masterpieces is the wizard Bill Bensley - the leading architect in the tourism and hotel industries worldwide. He was named “the king of exotic luxury resorts” by Time Magazine, as well as recognized by Fast Company as one of the 100 most creative people in the world.

Bill Bensley has designed more than 200 resorts and hotels in 30 countries. In Vietnam, he also made his mark with a series of large-scale hospitality projects from North to South.

His latest work is the 5-star hotel Capella Hanoi, inspired by the Palais Garnier or Opera Garnier in Paris in the 1920s.

Exchanging sketches for meals before becoming Asia’s leading ‘gardener’

Bill Bensley was born on a small farm in California, United State to an English immigrant family. From a young age, he learnt to grow vegetables, pick fruits, raise poultry and harvest honey.

“My parents were really into botany when I was growing up in the US. They taught me how to maintain and arrange a garden, and I grew to love it, too. I even got paid by my neighbors to pretty much maintain every garden in the neighborhood,” he recalled.

The architect graduated in Landscape Architecture in California, then studied further at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. Not knowing what to do after his graduation, he decided to backpack across Europe.

“Back then I could not afford to stay at Motel 6, so hotels weren’t really on my radar,” Bill admitted.

Bill Bensley - the architect known worldwide as the “king of resorts”. Photo: InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort

Having spent all his savings, he stopped in Southeast Asia, hitchhiked and sketched portraits in exchange for meals. Somehow, he finally managed to reach Lek Bunnag’s doorstep. Thanks to the old classmate, who was teaching in Singapore, Bill found a job at an American firm.

“However just after graduation, I landed a job in Singapore and a week later I was on a plane to Bali to design a pool and the gardens for the Bali Hyatt. I was smitten,” he said.

In 1989, Bill Bensley opened his own BENSLEY studio in Thailand, then acted as the ‘orchestra conductor’ of many prestigious projects in the region. He chose the hospitality sector over housing, because the operators would have to maintain the beautiful designs as well as contact him again for maintenance and renewal.

However, it took about 10 years for fate to bring Bill Bensley to Vietnam.

Unforgettable scars soothed by the S-shaped land’s potential

At that time, the architectural wizard was invited to design a resort on the shores of Nha Trang Bay. However, his first project in Vietnam was suddenly disrupted when the investor got imprisoned. This sad memory became a scar in Bill Bensley’s heart, causing him to flatly refuse the next person that came to him.

The latest creation of Bill Bensley in Vietnam- Capella Hanoi Hotel. Photo courtesy of the hotel

However, since the investor begged him for a whole year and even asked friends to persuade him, Bill couldn’t help but accept out of respect. A few months later, the architect arranged a trip to Vietnam to survey the terrain. After all, the potential of the S-shaped land did not let him down.

Within a year, Bill ‘wandered’ from North to South, immersing himself in daily life to absorb Vietnamese culture and architecture. Outstanding hospitality buildings were thereby born one by one, combining the talented architect’s unique design thinking and the locality’s traditional beauty.

“If a project fails to interest me, then I don’t do it. I believe if someone doesn’t enjoy their work, then they won’t do a good job,” he said in an interview with an international correspondent.

Treating work as going out, threatening to fine investors $1,000 for a tree

“The fact that folks pay me to play. I have never worked a day in my life,” said Bill Bensley.

Like many other creators, this architect also has immutable principles. His life motto is encapsulated in four Thai words “mai mun mai tum”, which mean “if it’s not fun, I won’t do it”.

Bill would refuse a project if he feels forced to do as the client wants, no matter how beautiful the landscape is, or how much the investor pays. He also never imposes his style on the works, but tries to learn about and applies the local culture features.

Hotel de la Coupole - MGallery in Sapa Town was designed by Bill. Photo courtesy of the hotel

Managing to invite Bill Bensley is one thing, pursuing the project with him to the end is another difficult challenge. The designs of this architect are rather expensive, yet he does not allow investors to give up midway.

To meet the conditions of this architectural wizard, large construction companies in Vietnam have to relearn how to make each brick. When an investor threatened not to pay to make the wizard succumb to his will,  Bill Bensley loudly replied that he did not need money, but just wanted a beautiful building.

Growing up in a poor family, Bill really hates wastefulness. He once “sulked” and skipped breakfast because… a mango tree was damaged, or demanded a $1,000 fine on the investor for harming one of the 8,000 coconut trees in Koh Samui, Thailand during construction.

“As a landscape architect to begin with, my first goal is always to respect what Mother Nature has given us two of my mantras: that of Minimal Intervention- reading the lay of the land and building between or around trees rather than cutting them down- as well as High Yield Low Impact,” he said.

Another design by Bill Bensley in Vietnam- the M Gallery Yen Tu Hotel. Photo courtesy of the hotel

Surprisingly, Bill Bensley even feels… proud to have someone copy his design. The architectural wizard thinks that if a building is not good or beautiful, no one will want to imitate it. Each of the works created by him is one of a kind, because “creation is infinite”, according to him.

As the architect explained, the most important thing for him is creating new and strange things - he wants to come to places no one has been to, do things no one has done and tell stories no one has ever known.

“Dance first, think later,” Bill would advise you to just do what your heart tells you - even if you think it’s silly.

“Designing a hotel is akin to producing a Hollywood movie… they both need a strong, compelling storyline.” Therefore, each of his works takes a dominant character throughout.

“Good design means living a good life, as one is usually happy when surrounded by things of beauty that work well and tell a story that puts a smile on your face,” he added.