"The need to survive two economic downturns in our first 10 years propelled us to re-engineer our service offering and to penetrate new client sectors. As a consequence, we have emerged stronger, more agile, better equipped for scalability and with a broader skill set."

"When competing for jobs in the early years, it became clear that many designers appeared to set aside their curiosity about the client's business and focus primarily on assembling a brief and marching on. By contrast, James Oliver [who co-founded One Space with Pearce] and I pride ourselves on listening carefully and then probing a bit to find design inspiration in our clients' unique requirements."

"This is a very exciting moment in the development of retail bank design, because shifting customer expectations are challenging banks and pushing them to adapt. Old-fashioned notions of the customer primarily as an account to be managed by the bank are being replaced by a more customer-centric approach that acknowledges and embraces individuals' patterns and habits. [When we rebranded the Bank of China's local branches two years ago], we found ways to shift the experience away from the more conventional expressions of control, bureaucracy and rigour, towards an atmosphere of approachable cordiality and transparency. Technology is a significant factor, too, resulting in new, unconventional forms of interactions with the bank's front-line staff. So we are now revisiting the conventional banking hall and customer touch-points to develop new ways of meeting changing demands. Meanwhile, competition in the market is stiffening, as retail banks jockey for heightened visibility in the crowded streetscape. Many banks are adopting the high-end retail tactic of acquiring multi-storey façade surfaces that often extend far beyond their actual tenancies, to present a large-scale and highly visible brand image."

"We'd like to think [it was because] our Parisian concept is unique among salons in Asia."