Amanda Gunawan | Prestige 40 Under 40 2022

Born in Indonesia and raised in Singapore, Amanda Gunawan graduated from the Southern California Institute of Architecture and worked for Morphosis Architects (led by Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate Thom Mayne) in Los Angeles.

“This stint did not last long because an entry for a competition that I’d won had gotten traction online and Milan Design Week had asked me to exhibit it. I jumped at the opportunity and saw this as a sign to leave Morphosis and go down my own route,” she says.

As one of OWIU’s founding principals, Amanda is instrumental to its growing success in LA and Singapore. The architectural firm, whose name is an abbreviation of Only Way Is Up, teamed up with ADDP Architects in 2020 for the Archifest Pavilion. It is also behind some cool spots in the two cities, including For The Win burger joint, the notable Biscuit Loft, and Singapore’s largest omakase bar at Rappu. More recently, OWIU was involved in designing the homes of celebrities Kane Lim and Henry Golding.

Barely four years after the inception of OWIU Design, the business has expanded to include a construction arm, a separate construction company named Inflexion Builds, and an upcoming homeware line to be branded OWIU Goods.

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