Norman Agleron: Creating world-class hotel designs

MANILA, Philippines – He’s worked on more than 60 projects in his 22-year career and moved from one place to another. He called Singapore, Brisbane, and Melbourne home for several years while building his portfolio and discovering more about himself and his career. Today, he is back home and he couldn’t be any happier.

As director of HBA Manila (Hirsch/Bedner Philippines Inc.), Norman Agleron wears many hats. He is in charge of leading a strong team of design professionals, mentoring the other departments, and implementing business development and marketing plans. “Ultimately, my goal is to establish HBA’s regional presence with a high quality design office that offers world-class hospitality design consultancy services to the clientele in the Philippines and surrounding countries,” he begins.

Agleron, an Architecture graduate from the University of Santo Tomas, worked his way up the ranks: from a site architect for DMCI Philippines to design architect and senior designer in Singapore and senior project designer in Australia.

“Before moving to Brisbane, Singapore was my home for 10 years. I was working for the most part as a senior designer at HBA where I got hooked into hospitality design. That was when I met Michael Bedner and he is such a great mentor. He and Howard Hirsch were the pillars of hospitality design,” he recounts.

According to Agleron, hospitality design encompasses a broad and diverse spectrum of projects that include urban hotels, resorts, restaurants, and other spaces promoting leisure. “Every project has a different design brief and requirements. Variety definitely adds to the fun of the job,” he says.

Among Agleron’s recent hospitality design milestone with HBA Manila is the completion of the Shangri-La at the Fort, Manila. “Hotel design is about travels, journeys, and the experience of departing from one place and arriving at a new destination. The best thing about being with HBA? It’s being given the opportunity to provide that experience of transitions to traveling guests. That privilege to create, the chance to collaborate with other talented designers and partaking in that flux of ideas to create unique experiences.”

Agleron knows he plays a big role in motivating and mentoring his team. He tries his best to inspire them to be passionate as this has sustained him in the many years that he has been in this industry.

“I believe if everybody has weaknesses, then everybody also has strengths. A good leader recognizes that diversity, sees the potential of each team member, and harnesses that creative energy. Leading a team of designers that complement each other’s talents results in an amazing synergy that generates great design.”

For him, design is five percent talent and 95 percent hard work, and it is only through working hard to learn and experience can they find their own voice and grow into a multi-faceted designer.

“Good design means good business. As for creating value in their work, the design should always be concept-driven. The concept is important to give the space a story – told in forms, textures, patterns, and colours. Only with inspired design can a destination space – be it a hotel, resort, restaurant, or a spa – can it be considered world-class,” says Agleron.