Introduction and Interview Gabrielle de la Cruz
Images Tim and Marianne Wong (POLYGON)
“I came across this line from author Alain de Botton years ago: ‘There’s no such thing as work-life balance. Everything worth fighting for unbalances your life.’ I’ve learned to be comfortable with that and know that working with your wife integrates both,” opens POLYGON: Human-Centered Space Design co-principal Tim Wong, who established and continues to run their practice with his wife, Marianne. The architecture and design firm boasts a growing portfolio of F&B projects, including the new Taqueria Franco in Makati City. In 2021, they also completed the restoration of The Henry Dumaguete, a heritage hospitality and leisure destination.
Tim and Marianne take us on their journey from two friends in architecture school to real-life and business partners this Valentine’s Day 2024, sharing how they design and do life together. Our Building Forever conversation follows:
Tim and Marianne Wong of POLYGON: Human-Centered Space Design
Kanto: Nice to catch up with you, Tim and Marianne! Happy Valentine’s Day! Can you let us in on how you started POLYGON?
Tim: Happy Valentine’s Day, Kanto! Thank you for allowing us to share our story. We take this as an opportunity to reflect on how our work and life relationship has grown.
We were walking along a Singapore park when the thought of starting our own company occurred. We talked about how we could do things differently, what projects we wanted, and what we could bring back once we decided to go home. I can recall serendipitously bumping into my friend’s dad in a food court who asked us to do a room in their house. He officially became our first client in a few days. There wasn’t an exact time when we said, “Let’s start;” it was a series of days that allowed us to keep going.
Marianne: We started organically, taking on one project and slowly building from there. Our projects started with simple rooms, even toilet designs which helped us build trust with our clients, until we were given the chance to take on large offices and restaurants.
You developed your professional careers slowly but surely! Would you say the same for your relationship? How have you grown as life partners since?
Tim: Our personal and professional relationship started when we met in architecture school. I’d join groups or activities she was in, tell her I’d need some of her input, ask to copy her notes, and more! By habit, I still do some of those today. We never really thought of it, but those group works started the foundation of our working dynamics. When we began our professional journey, we were fortunate that the companies we joined allowed us to be coworkers. Of course, we had to prove that each of us could stand alone and that this wasn’t a one-doing-the-work-of-the-other situation. Looking back, these experiences helped us build different dimensions of our relationship where we can hang out as friends, go out as a couple, and then work as colleagues.
Marianne: Through the years we’ve grown a stronger connection, we like to joke that we are now on Bluetooth 2.0. We’ve learned to support each other and be conscious of each other’s headspace at work. For example, when Tim has trouble jump-starting an idea because his workload is full, I would be the one to initiate the process, and we switch roles when we need to.
What a win for you both! What lessons have you learned through your shared experience so far, particularly those that relate to your practice?
Tim: Being married means learning to live with another person, and this allows us to develop certain tools that get us through discourses and disagreements, something that comes in handy when we talk professionally.
Marianne: As an individual, I feel like this role allowed me to grow by becoming more proactive and decisive because there are people who rely on me.
Tim: As for me, running the business made me develop a thicker skin because we both represent the company. And as it grows, I feel like I’ve also grown with the role and learned to embrace the responsibility that comes with the job.
People say that it’s hard to mix love and work because one aspect can often affect the other. How do you balance this?
Tim: There isn’t a perfect 50/50 split, sometimes one crosses over the other, but we do make conscious efforts to set certain boundaries. One thing that helps us is our environment, our home doesn’t look like our office. I am not a fan of working from home, especially after the lockdowns, which put a strain on the boundary. A simple change in location such as entering the house’s door allows us to shift from work buddies to husband and wife.
Marianne: I agree with Tim! I also like taking cues from the environment. We talk about work-related topics in the office and personal topics at home. Another thing we tried was through clothing, something we learned during the lockdowns, where our work clothes are different from casual ones. As architects, having visual guides and signs helps put us in a different relationship mode.
You seem to be on the same page in many things! How would you describe your dynamics as partners, both in work and life?
Tim: Marianne is more present-focused and I tend to be more future-oriented. I could see points A and Z, and Marianne would steer us to point B first, then, C, etc. I would tend to come up with ideas here and there, and she would then put the direction on where the focus should be to get to the next stage. This dynamic works for us in a way that it shows us an overall view of things. And strangely, for work matters, I’m the imaginative type, but for personal matters like say vacations, and weekend activities, we switch our roles.
Marianne: Our different outlooks are helpful when making decisions too. When we both agree, then it tells me that it might be something worth pursuing. If we’re both not in favor of something, then the red flag comes up. It gets interesting when we have a different take on something because we either need to convince the other or a compromise has to happen.
I like how we can be brutally honest with each other. Being in the same line of work is helpful because it allows good ideas to stand out.
Left: A multi-generation house in San Juan, Metro Manila by Polygon PH. Right: Tim and Marianne Wong during a project’s construction.
POLYGON has come a long way since that Singapore park stroll. How do you envision the practice in the next few years? What other dreams do you share?
Marianne: My only wish is that our team grows as we do! We make an effort to train them to develop a dynamic that works for them. I look forward to having more people on the team with whom we can share our way of working.
Tim: As our team is growing with us, it makes us confident to take on more challenging projects. It’s been my hope for Polygon to continue in consistently delivering a quality of work that our clients can constantly count on.
As cheesy as this sounds, I like to say that doing this business is my excuse to work with someone I like to spend time with. I just look forward to doing that for as long as we can. •
