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Good Morning VietNam Vo Trong Nghia Architects Takes the East

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Under the Big Top Frei Otto’s Pritzker Prize

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Boxed In A New Library in Halifax

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Vol 234 May 2015

­ inge focuses on architecture and design. The magazine is distributed to h industry professionals, academics and VIPs, and eagerly snapped up by the public every month from leading bookshops.

We take a dynamic and innovative approach to the disciplines of architecture and design, juxtaposing bold graphics and striking visuals with lively and informative editorial. hinge brings you the design world – the global picture, in full technicolour features.

cover Yunnan Museum by Rocco Design Architects Photography by Wenming Chu identity 4 Ester van Steekelenburg search 8

Editorial and Production

From woven loveseats to bejewelled lights, we bring you the latest products to covet

book review 14 Hong Kong Interior Design Association Member Directory 2015 folio 16 17 18 20 22

Publisher Danny Chung danny@hinge.hk

Giant Lampshades by Lightemotion OZ Condominiums by 5468796 Architecture The Pawn’s art programme by Anothermountainman E/C House by SAMI Arquitectos Riche Bistro & Yu by PLOTCREATIVE

project news 24 Projects underway near, far or ripped from the headlines focus architecture 28 Yunnan Museum by Rocco Design Architects

Editor James Saywell editor@hinge.hk

Assistant Editor Nisha Relwani nisha@hinge.hk

Senior Writer Rebecca Lo rebecca@hinge.hk

Sub-Editor

focus interior design 36 Nozomi Sushi Bar by Masquespacio

Prem Samtani

Advertising Manager

profession 40 Pritzker Prize 2015

Pinky Chick sales@hinge.hk

Design and Artwork

exploration 46 Tom Dixon’s rise to fame project 50 54 56 60 62 66 70

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file Two projects by One Plus Partnership Pizza Express by 4N Design Architects EGL1916 by Alvaro Moragrega Arquitecto Hokkaido Dairy Farm Restaurant (Sheung Wan Branch) by Joey Ho Design Vitacon Itaim Building by Studio mk27 Mondrian London at Sea Containers by Design Research Studio Farm Surroundings by Arnau Estudi d’Arquitectura

global perspective 74 Vo Trong Nghia Architects in the spotlight fulcrum 80 Halifax Central Library by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects out there 84 A snapshot of the month’s happenings

Words From the Editor As Spring settles in (before another hot, wet Hong Kong summer) it seems as good a time as any to pack a bag and – virtually – go see some architecture. This month we travel far and wide in search of bricks and mortar quality. From Vietnam and the wonderful work of Vo Trong Nghia Architects to Halifax, Nova Scotia to study a new library; from Brazil to Kunming; from Guadalajara to Catalonia. The fact is, there’s good talent at work every day, in every corner of the planet. It’s enough to make one, dare we think it, optimistic.

CONTRIBUTORS 4N Design Architects 5468796 Architecture Alvaro Moragrega Arquitecto Anothermountainman Arnau Estudi d’Arquitectura Design Research Studio Ester van Steekelenburg Joey Ho Design Lightemotion Masquespacio One Plus Partnership PLOTCREATIVE Rocco Design Architects SAMI Arquitectos hinge 234_2

Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects Studio mk27 Vo Trong Nghia Architects

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[identity]

The Hong Kong-based Dutch planner has been fascinated

by Asia ever since she spent a year in Xiamen during her university days. She has since worked on both sides of the border; after a stint as a researcher for Jones Lang LaSalle in Hong Kong, she switched gears and began consulting with the government of cities such as Yangon, Hue and Macau on how to better manage their built heritage. A passionate advocate for meaningful preservation and adaptive/reuse strategies, van Steekelenburg founded Urban Discovery’s City Challenges as an interactive way to get locals more in tune with their hometown’s urban fabric through a friendly competition that is a little like a relay race. She speaks to hinge about her favourite cities, what the URA can be doing better, and how LEGO set her on the path to her career choice.

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hinge: Why did you pursue a career in urban planning?

Ester van Steekelenburg: Growing up, I was always playing with Lego and creating my own cities. Even now, I love spending an afternoon playing Lego with my kids – twin seven-year-old boys. It’s a fantastic toy; it allows you to imagine and build. I was never a girl who played with dolls.

So I guess my interest in planning started then, from an early age.

When I attended secondary school in Holland, there was a lot of emphasis on creative thinking, performing and writing.

We were encouraged to think critically; to formulate and argue points. I was never top of the class in math. I would have pursued an architecture degree but I also really liked the social aspects, such as making a contribution to societies and countries. Planning was the perfect combination of the two things I’m most interested in – building and community – so I enrolled in an Urban Planning degree at The University of Amsterdam.

How did you end up in Hong Kong?

I completed the final year of my undergraduate studies in China, as part of an exchange programme. I lived in Xiamen and spent a year learning Chinese. I was really intrigued by the urban changes taking place in Xiamen and other Chinese cities, and I eventually wrote my graduation thesis on this topic. No one from the University of Amsterdam was able to grade my thesis, as they were unfamiliar with urban planning in China! I had been to The University of Hong Kong a few

Ester van Steekelenburg times for research during my undergraduate studies, so I asked one of the professors, Anthony Walker, if he could please assess my thesis. He did – and then offered me a PhD scholarship!

I started at HKU in 1997. At that time, there were very few foreigners on campus. Now, there is a Starbucks on nearly every corner and many people speak English and Mandarin.

It was an interesting time to be working on the topic of land and real estate in China. The market had just been privatised and it was booming. I was part of a research team studying the aspects of this phenomenon, such as housing affordability and how it was affecting the population.

China was – and still is – so different to anywhere else I had experienced before. I could clearly see that it was a very cultured environment. It had a long history and beautiful architecture, yet it had the opposite values to what I had been taught in the West, from how to behave at school and how to liaise with people. The fact that it was so different was what really attracted me; I was impressed and intrigued. China made me question that what I’d learned so far was not necessarily the only way.

Then you worked in the Hong Kong property market?

Yes, I worked for Jones Lang LaSalle in its research department.

It was a good fit. I was there for two years. I was coming out of an academic environment and suddenly had to deliver my message in a commercial environment. It is very different writing a thesis compared to something that has to appeal to a consumer

audience. Eventually, I found the environment too commercial for me. The work pressure was tough, along with working Saturdays and having only 12 days of annual leave. I moved back to Holland and worked for the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies in Rotterdam, an educational institute for people all over the world, on housing and urban development issues.

How did Urban Discovery come about?

I have always worked on the consultancy, academic or research side of urban issues.

After a certain point, I became frustrated by what I was producing: papers and reports; attending workshops and meetings. About one out of ten projects got me really excited and actually made an impact; the other ones were just keeping the economy going. This time coincided with my having children.

I began to question why I was producing a report that will just sit on a shelf and gather dust. I grew increasingly frustrated with beautiful cities that were transforming at enormous speeds. In a quest for more modern, more Western and higher developments, cities in Asia were all starting to look alike. I wanted to move away from other urban issues to concentrate on heritage. And I needed to work in the same city in which I was living. I had a good professional network but not in Hong Kong. I was in interesting meetings and discussions in Kathmandu, Hanoi and Jakarta but spending too little time there. I felt the need to do something hands-on and practical; real and people-facing. So I started my own consultancy, Urban Discovery.

Urban Discovery and our City Challenges and the iDiscover City Walks app all achieve similar objectives: to make people more aware of their urban environment and, in doing so, make heritage more tangible. The City Challenge product was always a side business; I continued doing advisory work. But I really enjoyed the City Challenges; they were so much fun. They were like a neighbourhood edition of the reality TV show The Amazing Race, and brought out the competitive spirit in participating team members. We had brilliant afternoons roaming the streets of Hong Kong, taking people to hidden gems in different neighbourhoods, and we all learnt a lot. Participants who had lived here in Hong Kong for 20 years would happily tell me: ‘you’ve brought me to a place I’ve never seen before’.

Our clients began asking for unique things for smaller groups, so we developed other products, such as a food walk, which uncovers the intangible side of heritage. We produced books and treasure hunts for children. We kept rediscovering different parts of Hong Kong. We ran City Challenges for four years.

Then my consultancy work really took off and I didn’t have the time to properly devote to City Challenges anymore. We recently sold the food walk and other parts of the business, but every year we continue to help organise a City Challenge for charity.

Tell us about your Yangon urban regeneration project.

Yangon is an incredibly fascinating place. The city is now at a turning point. For such a long time, it was caught in a time

warp so consequently a lot of the heritage architecture has been left untouched. It has a fascinating, cosmopolitan heritage, with waves of Armenian, Jewish and Indian people who settled there and contributed to a vibrant, cosmopolitan economy. Its stately merchant mansions have interesting design features, with elements derived from all over the world.

over and it’s working. We run a cultural mapping module at IFT Institute of Tourism Studies on their degree course leading to a Bachelor of Science in Heritage Management. It’s for people who are interested in pursuing heritage as a career. We are using the cultural mapping research results from St Lazarus and other districts and creating an iDiscover City Walks app for Macau.

Last year, I was involved with a training programme for the Yangon Heritage Trust (YHT) to formulate a vision for the historic core and how it can fit into the city’s development plans.

What exists in Yangon is unique and there is value in uniqueness.

If YHT manages to preserve some of the heritage buildings, there will be an economic benefit. Fortunately, the people who realise this are in the local government’s municipality, not just employed

by YHT Together, we looked at case studies and mistakes made elsewhere, such as Jakarta, Hong Kong and Bangkok.

What are some of the lessons you’ve learnt in southeast Asia and how do they compare with what is taken for granted in the Netherlands?

The legislative framework for heritage and urban regeneration are worlds apart between Asia and Europe. Here in Asia, it is very much left to the market. There are few financial incentives for preserving old buildings. In Europe, the emphasis is on subsidies and there is stronger government influence. Living in a heritage building comes with obligations and restrictions, and the government tempers them with sweeteners.

The new project underway this year is financed by CDIA, part of the Asian Development Bank. This funding will allow a team of people to live in Yangon for six months and work on the revitalisation of three areas in the historic downtown district.

Our contribution and objective is to develop an investment programme that brings plans to realisation. It is an incredibly interesting project.

You also worked on a project in Hue, Vietnam.

That was a difficult situation. Hue is a UNESCO World Heritagelisted city. The management of Hue’s sites is in the hands of the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre. When UNESCO gives a place World Heritage status, it comes with all kinds of requirements. There has to be administration in place, and the responsibility is given to the entity that takes care of those requirements. But in Hue, the entity acts more like a caretaker; it has no authority regarding zoning, building heights or permits, and there is little control over tourism operators. However, these types of controls are exactly what it needs. Hue needs continuing help with formulating plans and implementing systems to manage modern development in a historic city context. High buildings are going up all the time. UNESCO is putting its foot down and saying: ‘Guys, you have to get your act together or you will lose your World Heritage status’.

And you’ve done some cultural mapping in Macau?

There is a reason why old buildings in Macau are still standing: the city hasn’t developed as quickly as others in Asia. Macanese people are inherently proud of their roots and the Portuguese presence is still alive. They care about their churches and intangible heritage. The Macau government realises the value in uniqueness and devotes a lot of manpower to it.

There are a lot of things happening now in Macau. In St Lazarus, the government has implemented some zoning and height controls, as well as invested in a few strategically located projects.

Otherwise, it has left the district up to the market and creative entrepreneurs. It has encouraged creative entrepreneurs to take

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There is stronger legislation in terms of heritage buildings.

Holland has more than 100,000 listed buildings. There is no way that anyone living in those buildings can make any significant alterations without specific approval. In the historic centre of Amsterdam, you can’t even put up anything more than four storeys.

Singapore has been successful in area-based conservation. The government is not giving financial incentives, but it has created an environment that is enticing. Its zoning restrictions and pilot projects set examples and there is a lot of promotion to raise awareness. The guidelines put in place seem to working.

There are all kinds of policies at both ends of the spectrum. What I learnt as a child is the complete opposite in China. Since living here in Hong Kong, I have become more of an advocate of leaving things to the market. In Holland, it is extremely regulated in every aspect. Here, you just get on with it.

What are your favourite cities, and why?

Yangon is currently very high on my list. It is magical there; the people are friendly. It is so different from anywhere else.

I feel most at home in European cities. Berlin is very vibrant, in terms of urban regeneration. Antwerp is a fantastic place where they’ve done some cool stuff in the former dockyards, while Barcelona is a classic example of how they’ve revamped the dilapidated neighbourhoods in its historic city.

What can the Hong Kong government or its Urban Renewal Authority be doing better?

It should do more with its revitalisation scheme. I have to commend Carrie Lam for initiating it, and they have delivered some beautiful projects. In January at a conference at the Jockey Club, I interviewed the operators of the Blue House in Wan Chai, Tai O Heritage Hotel, and other projects. They are all incredibly passionate people working on beautiful examples of adaptive

reuse. None of them would be feasible without the government’s initiative. The Blue House was the only project that had existing residences; all the others were vacant, so it was not as difficult. It is very challenging to revitalise a project in a community with people residing in it. We are doing the same thing in Yangon.

The Blue House is a fantastic example of how you can work hand in hand with people occupying the premises to keep its narrative and character. It sets an example for the rest of the neighbourhood. In Wanchai, there are all kinds of shops and restaurants in the old Hong Kong style, and they have an impact on the environment. I would like to see less Lee Tung Street-type of developments; they look like Disneyland. They tried to keep the narrative alive by making it romantic, but it’s a farce. The character is gone; the community has disappeared.

What I find intriguing is Sham Shui Po and Shek Kip Mei, neighbourhoods with two revitalised projects that are close to each other. There are a lot of students in the area, studying at SCAD and JCCAC and in the middle is Mei Ho House, a hostel that attracts a lot of young, edgy travellers. It brings a new vibe to neighbourhood. People are inspired by the surroundings; they roam the streets selling fabrics and set up exciting new shops, such as leather-making, cycling, hostels and cafes. If you talk to people, there are two reasons why they are there: it’s cheap and all their friends are there. The market is doing that. The government shouldn’t demolish these old Sham Shui Po and Shek Kip Mei buildings; they should keep the existing urban fabric and character and can create something exciting.

I’m a fan of adaptive reuse. A building has a life and needs to reinvent itself, especially if it needs to stay alive. I’m more of the view that, especially in Asia, you can’t keep it like it was 200 years ago. Good Point Flower Market in Mong Kok is a project that I like. It brings five bookshops into the neighbourhood and links with the flower market and the area’s residents. The architect has shown great respect for the building’s original features. With this project, it shows that the government has learnt from its early stages; there is progress.

Do you still do some teaching?

I am a guest lecturer at Kadoorie Institute’s Environmental Management Programme at HKU and IFT in Macau.

What do you do in your spare time?

Well, I work and travel a lot, so I have little spare time. When I do, I like to roam the city as well as escape the city. We live in Clearwater Bay and I love hiking. I practice yoga; it calms my mind and helps me focus.Yoga is something that I can do everywhere and in all the places I travel. I can always find a yoga class that I enjoy.

I really like Hong Kong. We have the best of both worlds here. It has a vibrant city centre but you can escape urban life really easily, and the variety of people that you meet here keeps it interesting.

[search]

Furniture Feast The first quarter of the year saw the the 35th edition of what is billed as ‘Asia’s furniture sourcing centre’ held at the China Import and Export Fair Complex in Guangzhou. Spread over some 680,000sq m, the China International Furniture Fair was held in two phases. The first, from 18 to 22 March, covered home furniture, home decor, housewares, textiles, outdoor and leisure furniture. Office furniture, furniture machinery and raw materials were showcased between 28 March and 1 April. The International Brand Hall in particular featured modern home furniture from a number of popular overseas brands such as Ashley, Natuzzi, Chateau d’Ax and VIDA, among others. The Innovative Design Pavilion, on the other hand, focused more on production processes and new materials. In yet another venue, leading designers participated in seminars about furniture design trends, innovative thinking and cultural interaction. “CIFF has become one of the best and most valuable exhibitions in the world furniture industry,” said Ma Chunzhi, vice-president of the China Foreign Trade Centre (Group) in his opening speech. “It provides a platform for exchange based on its good environment and experience, and approaches hot issues of the industry from different angles.” The next edition of the fair will be held in Shanghai in September. www.ciff.fairwindow.com

Thinking Regionally Fifteen projects received prizes at the Hong Kong Institute of Architects’ Cross-Strait Architectural Design Symposium and Awards (CADSA) 2015 held in March. A total of over 200 entries competed across nine categories. Aedas took the gold for the Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University Administration Building in the Offices category and silver for the Revitilisation Project at Mallory Street and Burrows Street, Wanchai, in the Community, Culture, Religion and Recreational Projects category. Meanwhile, architecture office Atelier TeamMinus won top prize for the Andongwei Fishing Rope and Net Market Renovation in the Unbuilt Projects, Architectural Design Scheme, category. A symposium featuring seasoned architects from the Cross-Strait region was held prior to the awards ceremony. Keynote speakers at the event included local architects Rocco Yim, Christopher Law and Bryant Lu. www.cadsa.com.hk

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Hot Tub British sanitaryware brand Victoria and Albert’s Amiata bath collection recently won a Red Dot Award for Product Design. The collection, consisting of a freestanding bath and basin, blends modern and neoclassical design elements. The 1,645mm-long tub is made from QUARRYCAST®, a naturally white material rich in volcanic limestone. Designed for today’s smaller bathrooms, the collection is the brainchild of Marco Paolelli of Meneghello Paolelli Associati. www.vandabaths.com www.en.red-dot.org

[green search]

From Darkness to Light Upcycle is a collection of lamps conceived by Dutch designer Benjamin Spoth.

Carefully handcrafted from strips of high-quality birch plywood scraps. Spoth manipulates the wood by steaming parts of it to allow it to bend. The series comprises five lamps named Twist, X, XY, XX and Y. Says the designer, “While [I was] playing around with different pieces, the lamps finally got their shape. Multiplex wood is an interesting material to work with for a lampshade. Every second layer of the plywood shines the light through the material due to the thin slices in combination with the structure of the grain.� The pieces also create a noticeable interplay between shadow and light. Upcycle was introduced last year at the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven. www.benjaminspoth.com

[search]

Morph Ball Kai Linke’s Cosmo is a pendant lamp that plays with contrasts of transparency and opacity through its material. Made from silver foil at a workshop for handicapped people in Germany, its form is inspired by both old-fashioned gas lamps and Chinese lanterns. When turned on, the lampshade becomes a crystalline form emitting an intense glow. Switched off, the lamp is an opaque silver object, reflecting the surroundings on its irregular outer surface. Cosmo weighs only 104g, and fits into any modern living environment. www.kailinke.com

Six Degrees French retailer of high-end furniture Roche Bobois unveiled the Pollen bookcase and Aircell armchair by Sacha Lakic at the Salone del Mobile fair last month. The 120m-tall modular bookcase consists of six wooden shelves with a steel mesh of hexagons in front. “I designed this bookcase as a series of shelves suspended by a fine metal honeycomb: a network of tessellating hexagonal patterns spreading across the facade,” explains Lakic. Aircell, constructed with a metal frame, features smooth, flowing lines and a button-quilted leather exterior. The seat comes in three colours – red, yellow and blue – and is suitable for just about any room in the house. www.roche-bobois.com www.lakic.com

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Commemorative Coupling To mark the 60th anniversary of the Arne Jacobsen-designed Series 7, Republic of Fritz Hansen came up with two special editions of the iconic 3107 chair – a ‘masculine’ edition with a dark blue lacquer shell and powder-coated burnished legs, and a ‘feminine’ edition dressed in pale pink lacquer with 24carat gold-plated legs. “Placed side by side, the chairs highlight and complement each other, drawing on the notion that opposites attract, which is a current design trend,” states Jacob Holm, president of Republic of Fritz Hansen. Both chairs have a mounted gold plate on the back of the seat to mark them as special edition pieces. The pieces are available in Hong Kong through colourliving. www.colourliving.com www.fritzhansen.com

Woven Art Nodus is offering a quirky new collection of rugs by Lorenzo Palmeri. Called Erbamatta, an Italian word meaning ‘wild herbs’, the hand-knotted wool carpets feature abstractions of flower and plant shapes in an expanse of 6mm pile. The renowned Italian designer also uses a rich colour palette so that the rugs can complement any decor. Two noteworthy patterns in the series are Tarassaco and Centocchio. www.nodusrug.it www.lorenzopalmeristudio.it

[search]

Architectural Suffrage The My 10 Most Liked Hong Kong Architecture (Works) of the Century campaign was launched early this year to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Hong Kong Architecture Centre (HKAC). Between 1 January and 6 February, members of the public were invited to vote for their favourite Hong Kong buildings among 100 shortlisted entries. The campaign culminated in an awards presentation–cum-exhibition from 20 to 25 March. Among the winners were the Hong Kong International Airport, Central Star Ferry and Kowloon Walled City. “I am glad that the HKAC instigated this campaign to enhance public understanding of local architecture,” said HKSAR Chief Secretary for Administration Carrie Lam at the awards ceremony. “It provides an invaluable opportunity to appreciate the architectural legacy of our city and to take a walk down memory lane to a past shared by [all] of us.” The exhibition also showcased valuable materials such as architectural sketches, scale models and historical photos related to the winning buildings. www.10mostlikedarchitecture.hk

Bling It On Dutch designer Jasper van Grootel has designed the Jewels lighting series for JSPR. Made from anodised aluminium and retro lightbulbs, each individual pendant varies in length and can be hung in numerous compositions owing to a specially designed plug-and-play connection system. Says its creator: “Jewels creates a beautiful landscape of sparkling lights. The fixture is chic yet playful, and decorates the whole room.” Jewels comes in champagne, silver, anthracite, black and gold options. www.jspr.eu

What’s Not To Love?

The latest addition to the Dala collection by Dedon is a sprawling circular loveseat designed by Stephen Burks. As with the rest of the collection, the frame of this daybed is built using expanded aluminium and woven with Dedon’s revolutionary ecological fibre, made from a mix of recycled foodand-drink packaging. It features a built-in table and rotates on rollerblade wheels, and can be turned towards the sun or some other view with just a gentle push. The seat comes in three vibrant hues. www.dedon.de

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[book review]

INTERIORS + HKIDA MEMBER DIRECTORY 2015 (Over 400 pages, jointly published by HKIDA and hinge) This year, as in past editions, the Hong Kong Interior Design Association (HKIDA) Member Directory 2015 showcases a slew of company portfolios and their latest design projects. Established over a decade ago, HKIDA is a non-profit organisation committed to serving the needs of industry professionals, students and the general public. Its major undertaking: fostering professionalism in the field by developing a professional guideline for the design industry, actively engaging in research and education, and organising various community activities.

The hefty hardcover volume jointly published by HKIDA and hinge publications, maps HKIDA’s evolution and offers an insight into the organisation’s mission statement, work and achievements in Hong Kong, China and overseas. It comprises news and articles about recent events and activities such as the annual Asia Pacific Interior Design Awards (APIDA), the First Hong Kong-Shenzhen Design Biennale, and HKIDA Members Network sessions. There’s also a segment for supplier information and profiles of members. Included in the profile portion are member contact details, CVs and examples of recent commissions, making this allinclusive guide an invaluable resource for those looking for a design-industry specialist.

Additionally, HKIDA has compiled a special segment dedicated to residential and commercial projects, which is a selective feature of 56 interiors completed by members of the organisation. The book packs these pages with vibrant photo spreads, sketches, floor plans and drawings of the spaces, which boast of warmth, refinement and glamour.

Contact for book sales: HKIDA Tel: 852-28662039 admin@hkida.org hinge magazine Tel. : +852 - 2520 2468 hinge@hinge.hk hinge 234_14 Book Stores : Page One and Basheer

[folio]

W h at An LED-illuminated light display along one of Quebec City’s main thoroughfares Where

On Avenue Cartier

Who

Canadian lighting design specialist Lightemotion, whose creations have transformed building exteriors and interiors alike across North America, Europe and Asia

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How By installing 34 large backlit lampshades featuring reproductions of paintings by two Quebec artists, Alfred Pellan and Fernand Leduc, from the permanent collection of the Musee National des Beaux-Arts du Quebec.

Why To capture the identity of Avenue Cartier. Notes Francois Roupinian, founder and president of Lightemotion: “Our major challenge was to respect the soul of Avenue Cartier, while being bold enough to create a world-class project that would make Quebec City a true international winter capital.” The lampshades lend a cosy feel to the streetscape while celebrating the city’s artistic heritage.

[folio]

W h at Oz Condominiums, a high-end block of 25 units Where

Winnipeg, Canada, in the ever-trendy Osborne Village neighbourhood Who

5468796 Architecture, the hot firm with the name no one can remember

How A push-and-pull strategy enlivens the boxes that form the two linked blocks, allowing the project more interest than conservative neighbouring buildings, but still respecting contextual height and mass. Cladding Oz in a black corrugated metal skin, which can become porous when it crosses windows, and punching that up with contrasting planes of white behind, gives Oz extra sizzle, and emphasises the three-dimensionality of the facades. Clever interior planning produces a variety of unit sizes and layouts, blasting away conventional condo boredom and boosting density.

Why Because the medium scale of the building has been proved by history to be the ideal urban model. And since most new condominium blocks or towers are either so dull they doze, or poseurs in trendy outer clothes, it’s great to see innovation that runs past the elevations, into the plans, sections and out the other side.

[folio]

W h at A collection of art by Hong Kong’s top contemporary artists Where

At the The Pawn, the newly renovated gastropub-in-a-heritage building in the heart of Wanchai.

The semi-permanent collection, featuring a variety of mediums, is on display throughout the bar and upper-level restaurant Who

Alan Lo, co-founder of the Press Room Group, which includes The Pawn, along with guest curator Anothermountainman aka Stanley Wong and 20 other prominent artists, photographers and painters. Adrian Wong, Angela Su and Chow Chun Fai are among the artists featured.

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How Wong, who was part of the restaurant’s launch in 2007, returned to develop the venue’s new art programme and was responsible for curating, sourcing and commissioning pieces for the unique site.

Why Because Lo and Wong, both avid champions of Hong Kong artists, were eager to integrate local content into the overall programme. “We wanted to offer a platform for the public to appreciate homegrown art in an open and relaxed setting,” explains Lo. “The Pawn’s redesign gave us the perfect opportunity to explore new mediums and showcase both established as well as up-and-coming artists.” The number of works showcased will continue to grow over time.

[folio]

W h at E/C House Where

Sao Miguel Arcanjo, Pico Island, Azores, Portugal Who

SAMI Arquitectos

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How Start with a ruin. Insert a miniature holiday house that retains the site’s rugged attractiveness, and bring it right indoors. The thesis is about time - past, present and future, as the new phase also ages into the context. Part landscape project, part restoration, part architecture.

The conflict between found and introduced is resolved, and a family can take shelter.

Why Because who doesn’t love a tiny house? And who doesn’t love stone ruins? So when you marry both to produce something original, even if familiar, you double your pleasure.

[folio]

W h at Riche Bistro & Yu, a new eatery focusing on both Western and spicy Sichuan classics Where

At the basement of a shopping mall in Hong Kong’s North Point district Who

Oscar Chan of PLOTCREATIVE Interior Design Limited

How The 300sq m restaurant is designed to look like an origami wood box.

Timber is the main material used, alongside stone, leather and stainless steel elements. Inside, one of the walls is covered in plants. There are two small private dining areas that can seat up to six people each. The organic patterns on the red-andwhite dining chairs and the stylistic patterns on the flooring offset the restaurant’s warm environment.

Why Because the client wanted the restaurant’s interiors to exemplify the fusion cuisine served. Hence, Chan created contrasts between the geometric patterns on the walls and the green backdrop.

“Through these juxtapositions, the diner is at once confronted with a design that is natural yet artificial, organic yet regular,” he explains.

Photography by Oscar Chan

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[project news]

RESEARCH CENTRE – LONDON

North London architectural practice Stanton Williams is designing a new research facility in the English capital. The Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children recently received planning permission from the council of Camden Town, the municipality where the new building will be located.

The project is a collaboration between Great Ormond Street Hospital, University College London and the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. The £90m development has been made possible by a £60m gift from Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, wife of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founder of the United Arab Emirates. Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity will raise a further £20m, with the remaining £10m being covered by a grant from the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s Research Partnership Investment Fund. The centre will house laboratories and workspaces for its 350-strong workforce of scientists, doctors and technicians. The building’s glazed facade will be festooned with vertical terracotta fins. “The building has been carefully designed to be sensitive to its context within a conservation area, revitalise the streetscape and give public expression to the important scientific endeavours within,” says Stanton Williams director Gavin Henderson. “Internally, the design of the new centre promotes interaction between patients and research staff.” Construction begins this October; the facility opens in 2018.

LEISURE PODIUM – SUZHOU

British firm Benoy is to design the Suzhou Centre, a part of (breathe) the Suzhou Industrial Park Jinji Lake Urban Development in China’s Yangtze River Delta region. The seven-storey facility will be sculpted to resemble a giant bird with outstretched wings, and will comprise – across 340,000sq m of gross floor area – retail stores, an upmarket supermarket, designer studios and entertainment facilities, including a multiscreen cinema and an Olympic-sized ice rink. There will also be spaces for cultural activities. The scheme’s piece de resistance is its 36,000sq m monocoque roof. “Benoy’s design for the roof was inspired by the mythical Chinese phoenix,” says director Winnie Tsang. “We envisaged the structure as a bird resting above an oasis, with the striking curved architecture mimicking its wings.” The project’s expected completion year is currently 2017.

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[project news]

EXHIBITION HALL – WUHU

Images courtesy of RTA-Office

Spanish firm RTA-Office will design the architecture, interior and landscaped areas of a new exhibition-and-culture facility in the East China city. The project – which will comprise a series of volumes designed to resemble a cluster of boulders – took inspiration from the region’s Yashan Mountain. “We organised the project into three buildings with a public space in the middle,” reads an RTA-Office statement. “The volumes are shaped like the rocks with cuts and cracks that act as entrances and windows to bring the natural light inside.” Each of the angular edifices will be devoted to a specific programmatic function: exhibition, office or archive. Pedestrian thoroughfares and a central plaza will knit the volumes together.

ARTS BUILDING – IOWA

A topping out ceremony was recently held on the campus of the University of Iowa. Underway is a new building that will serve the institution’s arts programmes. Replacing a building severely damaged by flooding in 2008, the new four-storey volume – designed by American practice Steven Holl Architects – will house facilities for a number of art disciplines, including ceramics, sculpture, photography, 3D multimedia, metalworking and printmaking. The 126,000sq ft edifice will also find room for staff offices, graduate student studios and galleries. The angular exterior will feature white concrete. The interior will be made up of bright, well-connected zones. “A rectilinear volume is carved out for seven light courts, interconnecting floors and programmes,” says Steven Holl Architects. “Here, light and natural ventilation are brought into the body of the building.” This latest addition to the campus is scheduled to open in May 2016.

[project news]

TOWER DEVELOPMENT – WARSAW

Chicago practices Goettsch Partners and Epstein have been retained by developers Golub & Co to design a two-tower mixed-use complex in the Polish capital. The Mennica Legacy Tower development will be located in Warsaw’s Central Business District and will deliver 80,000sq m of Grade-A office space. One tower will rise up 35 storeys; the other 10. Below ground will be a four-level car park. At grade will be retail outlets. The towers – which will feature textured “sawtooth” facades – will also contain conference facilities and a fitness centre. A piazza with outdoor seating and landscape features will sit between the towers. “The office tower and the lower block are designed to be integrally linked with the large urban plaza, and the result will be an ensemble that will create a unique ‘sense of place’ which we hope will enhance the public realm of Warsaw,” says James Goettsch.

Construction begins this year and should be completed by late 2018.

REMODELLING PROJECT – BRUSSELS

Rotterdam-based practice Atelier Kempe Thill and local firm Canevas have won the tender to renovate two residential tower blocks in the Belgian capital. Situated in the city’s Jette district, the existing buildings are examples of 1950s modernism, featuring prefab concrete and steel windows.

The remodel – which will retain the original buildings’ identity – will involve wrapping the volumes in insulation and giving the facades a fresh layer of prefabricated concrete. New windows and glass panels will also be added. Occupants will enjoy good views and a social environment as the housing project sits atop a hill, with a park and sports facilities nearby.

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[focus – architecture]

w

Big Stones Yunnan Museum

Kunming, Yunnan, China Rocco Design Architects Photography by Wenming Chu

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“We want to create a unique spatial journey for the visitor, such that entering the museum is akin to discovering a hidden world. One squeezes through a tight crevice in the rock-face to be transported to a different space-time on the other side.” Rocco Yim This new museum by Rocco Yim, a major edifice located in Kunming, in China’s southwestern region of Yunnan Province, is another step on an architectural path already littered with significant cultural buildings. The Yunnan Museum will serve as a repository for treasures from the area, and as a public symbol of both Yunnan’s unique place in the nation and of its claim to cultural importance. Yim’s wide-ranging oeuvre already boasts plenty of museum buildings in Asia, but the one most analogous to this one has to be the Guangdong Museum, completed a couple of years ago. In that structure, the architect explored the formal implications of a process of abstraction that began with a pleasantly simple metaphor or ‘generating object’ – the Chinese treasure box. When exploded into a vast public institutional container, the box took on layers (literally) of complexity, allowing Yim to elaborate ideas of scale

and proportion, materiality, transparency and translucency, pattern-making, and the articulation of two- and three-dimensionality through the surfaces of facade. You could say he took a modest idea and ran a marathon with it. The building is innately Chinese – a theme of ongoing interest to Yim – and yet astutely avoids any pastiche of ‘Chineseness’. In the language of its angular forms and panellised surfaces, it is instantly recognisable as coming from Rocco Design Architects, yet it is also a composition and mass that stands up to current proclivities toward dramatic object forms experienced in vast open settings. Indeed, it shares real estate with Zaha Hadid, whose opera blob is far less successful as a civic urban participant – worse, it is already showing its age.

The new building is clearly the sibling of that one, and along the way, Yim has honed his act further. Although Kunming is more off the beaten track than Guangzhou, it ought to attract plenty of cultural trekkers. They will see a composed mass that is indefinably ‘natural’ in aspect, directly inspired as it was by natural outcrops unique to Yunnan; the so-called ‘Stone Forests’ of giant, remarkable geological formations that

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are millennia old. Again, Yim has latched onto what might seem a deliberately limited metaphor on which to base his building, but of course that’s just the starting point. You can build giant ideas on tiny foundations and, after all, the stone outcroppings are a vital participant in Yunnan’s heritage and identity. It’s what the architect makes of them that counts.

And what he’s made of them is a dramatic architectural monument. Occupying a site uncrowded by immediate neighbours, the orange-hued mass rises out of the ground like a geological phenomenon in itself, except one with deliciously sharp edges, pleasingly straight crevasses, alignments of shadow, and a softening texture of cladding panels and joints.

It is sculptural yet sedate, warm yet imposing.

The facades are uniformly toned in a deep earthy ochre, gently facetted in places, and sliced into mostly vertical segments that help break down the cubic mass at the large scale, and of course reference the stone formations themselves. The voids and reveals manipulate the proportions, and become exciting, dark shadows gashed into the ‘rock’s’ mass. There is a horizontal datum – at

different heights on different elevations – that helps the proportional reading, and saves the rock metaphor from becoming too literal. The datum is marked by a skinny horizontal shelf almost like a compressed lintel. It allows Yim to reorganise the different blocks, shifting them left and right to break the vertical lines a bit more, and bring the facades another layer of complexity.

The apparent lack of fenestration (some of the ‘opaque’ surfaces are actually perforated screens) is one of the architect’s major tools. By evading the need for composing the facades using patterns of glazed openings, he gets to play at the giant scale, using the full breadth and height of the mass to express his idea. The deep slots afford conveniently subtle zones for glass, without the need to elaborate on them too much. One could, certainly, convey stone forests in transparent materials, but with hardly the same punch or clarity. RDA likes abstraction, but within strict limits.

Inside, the building makes the most of its vast scale in a central atrium space that again recalls

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Guangzhou. It may be here, removed from the constant grandeur of urban modern China, that the enormity of the building hits home. There seems infinite gallery space, monumentally sized public circulation and gathering space. If the sense of having entered a metaphorical stone forest is somewhat lost, the feeling of being in an epically scaled clearing does actually sort of mimic nature’s ability to awe through sheer size. We remember what country we’re in.

China is being blanketed with ambitious constructions, often cultural in programme, designed by very talented international architects (including homegrown ones). At least in critical circles, there is beginning to be a moderate backlash against projects that seem aimed at self-aggrandisement over actual, enduring quality. One can’t help wondering what many of these things will look like – or how they will be considered – thirty or fifty years hence.

There is so often a ‘thinness’ to the materials and assembly and details up close, as if everyone’s focussed solely on the gesture, on the picture. Rocco Yim is hardly a neophyte – he’s been succeeding at intricate buildings in the

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incomparably tight constraints of Hong Kong for decades now. He is no enemy of subtlety.

Yet one looks at the Yunnan Museum and wonders, if this were one quarter the size, and set within a dense urban context, what would Yim do with the same metaphor, materials, budget…? Does this building actually require such scale? One thinks of smaller museums, delightful and precious, in great cities all over the world (Manhattan, Amsterdam, Paris, London, Florence…) and wishes China would soon also turn to those.

And ask its best architects, including Rocco Yim, to think small. Architecture needs the arthouse films as well as the blockbusters.

In the meantime, buildings like this one show how, if you’re going to do ‘big’, you can still be cohesive, abstractly referential, tightly consistent, thoroughly in command. And have an awful lot of fun.

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Valencia and sushi may have more in common than most would assume at first glance. A coastal city along the Mediterranean, Valencia has long asserted that it is the birthplace of paella, a dish consisting of rice and seafood that has become a source of national pride – just like sushi for Japan. Fresh ingredients are critical to successful paella and sushi preparation, and enjoying them in amiable surrounds no doubt enriches the experience. Valencians Jose Miguel Herrera and Nuria Morell are wild about Japanese culture; they also happen to be sushi chefs who appreciate a traditional approach to the delicacy. For their latest restaurant, Nozomi Sushi, they looked to Valencia-based creative consultancy Masquespacio for assistance with the interior design and branding of a 233sq m space.

Herrera and Morell chose the name Nozomi because of its duality: it is the name of a high-speed train service that runs between Tokyo and Hakata, more than 1,000 km away; it also means ‘fulfilled dream’. The owners believed that the name’s dual significance underscored a tension that runs throughout the restaurant’s polar opposite themes of emotional classicism and rational contemporary. Masquespacio’s design team conducted extensive research into Japanese culture after being retained for the project, to create consistent imagery and concepts that link the interiors with details such as signage and menus.

Photography by Cualiti Photo Studio

Masquespacio

Nozomi Sushi Bar Valencia, Spain

FISH IN A BOX

[focus – interior design]

Masquespacio’s founder and creative director Ana Milena Hernandez Palacios led a design team that included Nuria Martinez, Virginial Hinarejos, Jairo Perez and Ana Diaz. Together they established Nozomi’s identity with a facade of grey concrete; set into it are timber slats forming a pitched roof, with the entry to the restaurant inset within a vestibule. A shoji-like entry door with glass panes allows a glimpse into the long space within. “Rational contemporary is expressed through the pure state of concrete and greys, mainly present in the most structural parts such as walls, ceilings and floors,” says Palacios. “Emotional classicism makes its introduction thanks to the carpentry, its handmade quality, and the warmth of natural wood.” The restaurant’s logo also presents this duality with rectilinear Latin characters for Nozomi on the left representing rationalism and curvilinear hiragana characters on the right representing emotionalism.

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Immediately within the space and underneath a pitched roof, a central box finished in timber with varying sizes of lattices along its walls creates parallel corridors to either side of it. The box houses washrooms and storage areas, yet as light and air are allowed to circulate around and above it, the space has an open, spartan feel. “On an aesthetic level, we can see how a Japanese village street has been reinterpreted through different modules,” says Palacios. “The rooftops interpret the most contemporary and rational part with a clearly Japanese inclination. We have been studying photography from the most authentic Japanese streets with the aim to create a metaphor. After the execution of the project, people have stated that it resembles a typical street in Kyoto, perhaps because it is where the most traditional Japanese houses are preserved.

The idea behind the entry is for customers to experience walking through a street in Japan, where (they) get excited about the construction details of the carpentry.”

Masquespacio kept the materials down to the minimum, primarily juxtaposing concrete and timber for a restrained Japanese ambience. Past the box, the open dining area is sandwiched by a sake bar on one end and an open kitchen on the other. Along the entire length of the restaurant is a terrace that affords views to a leafy green wall. On the opposite side is a raised level where private dining rooms are planned; wooden screens keep things private while still allowing sight of the action in the kitchen. Above the dining area is a shower of stylised faux cherry blossoms that has the delicate airiness of hand-folded origami. Timber dining tables are augmented with grey Kvadrat-fabric-upholstered chairs of wooden frames.

Simple yet far from austere, Nozomi Sushi Bar is an intelligent approach to bringing traditional Japanese interiors to complement an equally traditional menu. It may be on the pastiche side of Japanese minimalism. But for sunny Valencia, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

[profession – pritzker prize]

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The announcement of this year’s Pritzker laureate, the German architect Frei Otto, followed news of his death on 9 March, but actually the Pritzker committee had selected him – and informed him – while he was still living (though before it was revealed to the public). So while the prize will be given posthumously this year, for the first time and contrary to its mandate of celebrating a “living architect”, technically speaking it had been awarded non-posthumously. It is mildly comforting to know that in his last weeks, Frei had received the pleasure of such an accolade.

To architects of multiple generations, Frei Otto was identifiable as the name linked to a very particular subset of architectural design: tensile structures. He came to initial fame via them, and remained consistently devoted to exploring their possibilities throughout his lengthy career. This was not because of some realisation that he had ‘stumbled’ on a good brand identifier that would be rewarding to exploit; he was genuinely fascinated by the potential benefits of lightweight, economical methods of shelter. He believed he could improve the world through these ambitious yet also vaguely transient assemblages.

Often, when an architect or engineer is so inextricably linked to so visually specific a genre of form, the critical public grows bored, or assumes he is a one-song singer. But the field of Frei’s investigations is really quite limitless. He took deep inspiration from biology’s link to form, and was a lifelong student of the science

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of structure, connection, support, impermeability and so on. It was never about just making cool tents. The very nature of his interest may also have encouraged people to buttonhole him as an ‘engineer’ architect, someone fixated on the ‘how’ more than the ‘what’. Yet he had important influence on such rock-star current architects as Gehry, Hadid, Foster, Rogers, Calatrava, Shigeru Ban… And you can see that influence materially.

His ‘buildings’ were particularly suited, of course, to large public assemblies.

Sports structures form a category particularly inclined toward the kind of solutions proposed by Frei – after all, the Roman Coliseum was topped with a stretched tensile canopy 2,000 years ago. Exhibition pavilions were likewise just his programmatic cup of tea, sheltering large, open, flexible public spaces where crowds could wander around installations rather than through traditional rooms.

His German pavilion at Expo 67 essentially made his name. Its fresh, unfamiliar, ambitious presence instantly made it a favourite, and Frei Otto a recognised new name. He never looked back. And he never copped out: he pushed his own talents and this research subject every decade afterward, in what amounted to a lifelong research project. What he learned, and proved, is that tension structures and lightweight canopies could have extraordinary range and variety, not to mention applicability. From aviaries to rock concert venues, from Saudi clubhouses to motorway bridges, Frei Otto’s inventions were both similar to each other and

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uniquely individual. They shared a lyrical breathiness and birdlike silhouettes, the loveliness of filtered sunlight and a sense of ascendant space. Occupants tended to look upward and meander. He was making ‘buildings’ that defied one of the most fundamental characteristics of buildings: the stability derived from anchoring to gravity, from digging one’s feet heavily into the earth. His wanted to fly.

This kind of construction could never be the all-encompassing solution to every architectural challenge. Despite proving the approach could answer many more programmatic challenges than we expected, it couldn’t be the single answer. Perhaps in spite of Frei’s passion to solve many of the world’s ills with wires and canvas, his works happened to derive a measure of their weightless appeal through contrasting with the opposite, with stone and concrete, deep foundations and thick walls… with weight.

In the end, Frei Otto’s work isn’t about teaching us how to make shelters that save money, or construction time, or that lower our carbon footprint, or that allow us to move things around more easily. It isn’t even about teaching us that the natural world is the ultimate source for all formal inspiration (because we knew that). What it’s about is letting us see that architecture can sometimes, in the right hands, be most beautiful when it is least like itself.

[exploration]

T h e A c c i d e n ta l D e s i g n e r Tom Dixon swings by Hong Kong to launch his l at e s t p o p - u p c o n c e p t at La n e C r a w f o r d

Photography courtesy of GHC Asia

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Tom Dixon is the first to admit that he plays by his own rules.

“I didn’t have a good secondary school experience,” admits the London-based industrial designer who was in town this March as part of a Lane Crawford pop-up store media blitz.

“I don’t like being told what to do and I like being my own boss... I think that kids today should stay in school, but it was not for me.”

The tall and lanky Dixon, awarded an OBE in 2001 in recognition of his services to the field of design, has done well for himself despite the lack of a formal education. Born in Tunisia and raised in London, he dropped out of Chelsea School of Art in the 1970s to join the city’s music scene.

“I was interested in sculpture and art, but it is difficult to be purely a sculptor,” Dixon says. He played bass in disco band Funkapolitan for a couple of years before eventually working in clubs organising gigs. “I was on tour with The Clash in New York City,” he recalls. “I played some of the first rap clubs there. It had a vibrant music scene. We opened a club in Soho – it was a striptease joint – and we were the last band to play, at 10pm. During a gig, I held a welding demonstration. I started making things because people who came to clubs – fashion designers and photographers – needed stuff. It was evolutionary.

“It was never my intention to be a designer at all. I was involved in the nightclub scene and organised parties, working Thursday and Friday nights. I was making several hundred pounds a week for just weekend work, and had my week and weekend days free. I became very productive at making furniture without having to depend on it for my income.” Soon, his furniture business started taking over and he set up Space in London’s Notting Hill, a retail store where he sold his and other like-minded designers’ products. Among those designers was

Hong Kong-based Michael Young, who crashed periodically in Dixon’s workshop in those early days. In the early 80s, Dixon began to design for brands such as Cappellini, which produced his S chair (originally a doodle of a chicken). The chair is now part of MoMA’s permanent collection. It was followed by Jack, a polypropylene stacking chair that doubles as a lamp; Jack was designed through his own firm Eurolounge.

In 1998, Dixon decided it was time he grew up and got a day job. He applied to Habitat, the Terence Conran-founded lifestyle retail giant, and eventually became its creative director until 2008. “I showed up with my motorcycle helmet and the receptionist thought that I was a courier,” he remembers with a chuckle.

“I sat in the waiting area for 40 minutes before someone noticed me! Previously, I was making chairs and lamps. Habitat was an opportunity to do stuff beyond

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my current knowledge. I was trying to move so many different parts; I steered Habitat’s creative direction and learned about scale, commerce and branding.

But I didn’t design for 10 years there. It was the other end of the spectrum – about how to get things to market, from high-end to affordable. I eventually progressed to creating my own label. I don’t know anyone else who can be bothered to do it all. Designers today only want to design.” During the latter part of his stint with Habitat, Dixon became 100% Design London’s creative director in 2007 and 2008. “It was a way to stay close to what was going on,” he recalls. “For one month before the show, I stepped out of being me and let fresh air in through 200 different points of view.”

Dixon began operating under Tom Dixon, his eponymous product design company, in 2002, with interior design branch Design Research Studio. Through

the former, he has produced modern classic pieces such as Mirror Ball, Copper Shade and Wingback Chair, while through the latter, he has designed Shoreditch House, Hong Kong’s Tazmania Ballroom, Mondrian London at Sea Containers with the Morgans Hotel Group (see page 66) and Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa and Eclectic restaurants. “I worked with Gilbert Yeung on Tazmania Ballroom - it was fun. He is a super expert at clubs and specific with what he needed. He got me to understand how my products would be used and the interiors are a great way to showcase what we do.”

He has been collaborating with Lane Crawford for more than six years now, and has the utmost respect for the Hong Kong-based retailer. “They are slick at selling and it’s a joy to work with them. We have six spaces in each of the stores; that’s a robust commitment. The marketplace concept allows us to show a broader collection, from fragrance to tableware.

It’s nice to be able to separate them out. It’s what a sophisticated market would look like.”

And Dixon would know something about markets for his stuff.

[project file doubleshot – wuxi, china]

Surf & Turf Coastal Cinema and Coastal Private Club Wuxi, Jiangsu, China One Plus Partnership

Wuxi, a city in Jiangsu province, is experiencing a more measured pace of growth in comparison with big sister Shanghai. Located near the east coast in central China, it is an ancient city split along its southern end by the Yangtze River. Picturesque lakes and streams that awed many a poet over the centuries make up the landscape of Wuxi and its pretty cousin Suzhou to the east. Hence, when One Plus Partnership designed Coastal Cinema and Coastal Private Club in the city’s leading shopping mall, it was no surprise that the firm looked to the water and landscape for inspiration – although the name of the mall may have had something to do with it as well.

Completed in 2012, Wuxi Coastal City Shopping Plaza is the city’s first large-scale urban commercial complex. It boasts 300,000sq m, with the cinema taking up 5,100sq m and the club clocking in at 450sq m. Although both are in the same mall and designed by the same firm, the two spaces utilise different approaches to the same concept. Like popcorn and Coke, the cinema and club are related yet can be experienced independently without one’s feeling as if something were missing. “We were inspired by coastal geography, the study of the dynamic interface between the ocean and the land, particularly wave action,” explains One Plus co-founder Virginia Lung.

One Plus is known for its high-concept interiors, and this, its latest project duo, is no exception. Positioned off an oval atrium with escalators linking it to other levels, the cinema’s lobby area mimics the rise and fall of waves. Powder-coated floor-to-ceiling metal rods surround the lobby’s perimeter, varying from vertical to angle to impart a dynamic sense of movement. In the centre of the lobby are ticket counters that rise out of the floor like boulders on a beach.

Long planks of glossy light and dark floor tiles, when viewed from afar, resemble water lapping upon a shore. The colour scheme is restricted to warm tones of cream and chocolate, to allow the forms and shapes to dominate. Beyond the lobby, eight auditoria of varying sizes get shots of colour; specifically, indigo and sky blue... as if each theatre were a self-contained lake dotting the landscape of Wuxi itself.

“For the club, the walls’ curves represent the ebb and flow of ocean waves,” says Ajax Law, the other half of One Plus. “Both the cinema and the club are tied together with the same colours and theme, but they use different materials to achieve their respective

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ambiences.” Less than one-tenth the cinema’s size, the club’s taupe carpet reads like a topographical map, with gradated metallic vertical fronts to each room that resemble the striations along a cliff face. “Metal walls are cut like ladders,” says Lung, “illustrating the wave forms of a rough sea. Stripes on the carpet widen at various intervals, acting like the ever-changing wave forms affected by wind speed and direction. Sometimes they are small ripples; other times they gather themselves as huge storm waves.” The club’s three private rooms and open lounge areas allow for some R&R for its VIP clientele, who understandably may require the occasional break during a shopping spree.

“We used an abstract way to present nature, emphasising spatial experiences,” notes Law. “As the cinema, club and mall are all owned by the same company, our concepts raise the bar for the development. It is an approach very different from that of the other shops – and the other malls – by this developer.”

[project file – shenzhen]

Parlour Games Pizza Express Shenzhen, China 4N Design Architects

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For half a century now, Pizza Express has been a dependable, family-friendly way to enjoy savoury Italian pies in Great Britain. The pizzeria chain was founded by Peter Boizot, who opened the first Pizza Express in London with a pizza oven from Naples and a chef from Sicily. Gradual expansion has since resulted in more than 400 restaurants across the UK and a strong presence in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Last summer, the chain was sold to Chinese private equity capital firm Hony Capital, a company with sights on developing the mainland market’s affinity for Italian fare. For their first branch in Guangdong province, the new owners looked to Hong Kong-based 4N Design Architects to transform a 400sq m space in Shenzhen’s MIXC Mall into a welcoming environment for a burgeoning audience.

The restaurant is situated on the top floor of a luxury shopping mall, with its main entrance located at the end of a long rectangular space. Full-height glazing separates an adjacent terrace that runs the entire length of the outlet, allowing for plenty of alfresco dining and drinking. To rein in the bowling-alley effect, 4N Design’s Sinner Sin and Danny Ng divided the space into three zones. The first is an open dining area surrounding a show kitchen. As customers enter the restaurant, the sights, sounds and aromas of chefs prepping and baking dough reinforce the brand’s philosophy of delivering fresh, made-to-order dishes. The second zone consists of a row of banquettes opposite a bar, where customers can observe cocktails being prepared. At the far end of the space, the third zone is a dining area where films are continuously projected onto backdrop walls of white brick. Although clear and translucent glazed panels physically separate the zones, natural timber floor planks and custom oval-shaped air ducts running the length of the space tie them all together.

4N’s design concept was inspired by how the dishes were originally served in the Campania region of Italy: the space resembles an old-school pizza parlour, albeit with an edgier vibe. The corner entry sets the stage; its double-height presence is embellished with black metal mesh and curving horizontal bands of light above the Pizza Express logo. The curving open kitchen counter is faced with chocolatecoloured timber panels and contrasting white marble tops, while metal shades on pendant lamps above the counter highlight the action within the station.

Deep banquettes, ideally for four, snuggly fit six persons in a pinch (there are a lot of people in China!), with additional privacy provided by a horizontal panel of translucent glass above the upholstered seats. The tables accompanying them are round, rectangular or communal, to accommodate singles, couples, families or groups of friends. The tabletops, in white marble, are etched with Chinese chessboard inlays, in a nod to the popular game seen being played in public parks throughout the country. A retractable wall lamp that can be adjusted to suit each diner provides an ‘interactive’ illumination experience.

Pops of colour are everywhere. The lengths of the walls tell a story in bright graffiti depicting stylised, vaguely European-looking ladies. Warm timber flooring is echoed in wooden chair bases in the open kitchen and film zones, while contrasting against black metal and dark timber furnishings in the bar zone.

Simplified Windsor dining chairs are painted orange, a shade tamer than that of the overhead ducts. Twin wire shades on lamps are fixed to stands with metal piping. The overall effect is romantic, with an industrial chic that evokes nostalgia.

4N has realised a space that offers diners a sense of fun along with their food. It’s a textbook case of having your pie and eating it, too.

[project file – guadalajara]

Latin Lover EGL1916 Guadalajara, Mexico AM/a – Alvaro Moragrega arquitecto

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Photography by Jaime Navarro, Alvaro Moragrega

If further proof were needed that Mexico is producing some of the most exciting new architecture around, this outwardly modest residential block in Guadalajara could easily serve as Exhibit A. Presenting a restrained russettoned masonry facade to the public street front, it is a blocky, cubic, sixstorey volume laced with vertical windows of varying widths, and capped with a recessed, cantilevered concrete canopy. So far, so handsome. But as you stroll past on the sidewalk, look a little closer, and you’ll notice that the politely massed building has a little swagger to it: shallowly pronounced skinny window frames in steel, plus flat metal shutters punched with star-pattern openings. A concrete plinth in coursed concrete. A clubby entrance gate in steel to match the shutters. Excellently minimal plantings and lighting.

Curiosity aroused, sneak around to the back and behold what’s under the covers: an uber-cool facade composed of translucent industrial-mullioned glass walls; zigzagging concrete-and-steel staircases clamped onto the elevation; raw concrete or timber wall panels; a protruding concrete lift tower; and a raised miniature residents’ garden-courtyard that looks like Tadao Ando on a half-dose of Ecstasy. Raised above actual grade on its own plinth, partially

defined by high concrete garden walls, half gravel, half charcoal paving blocks, with narrow planters and a timber bench, it’s the perfect space for residents’ meetings, as long as everyone turned up in Prada and perfect skin. It wouldn’t matter: they’d all be gazing up adoringly at the ‘back’ of their building, wondering how they got so lucky to actually live here.

Moragrega says he was inspired by the area’s industrial buildings, and so he was, but he’s taken it to a new place. It’s not just the language; the plan and structure are organised simply and logically to maximise flexibility long after the architect is retired. Partition walls can be eliminated or moved, and the flats, which are essentially naked volumes of space, can be recombined horizontally or vertically as studios, lofts, duplexes or what have you. Oh, and we mean ‘naked space’ in the sexy way. Concrete walls, wood panels, pine flooring, wood trestle tables topped with thick slabs of marble to cook on, bathrooms with copper-and-brass plumbing behind mottled glass partitions. And those classic horizontal window mullions on the rear facades… And the white steel ship-rail staircases... This guy knows his palette. If there are any units left unclaimed, we’re moving to Mexico.

Our Spanish is a little rusty, but we think EGL1916 stands for “Most erotic apartment block of the year”.

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[project file – hong kong]

milking it Hokkaido Dairy Farm Restaurant

(Sheung Wan Branch)

Hong Kong Joey Ho Design

Photography by Dick Liu

Those familiar with Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido often wax rhapsodically

minimalist layout reminiscent of farm huts for livestock,” notes Joey Ho. “Its

about how fresh everything there tastes. Despite concerns about residual

underlying structure is expressed by the ropes commonly found in farms.

radiation from the Fukushima incident affecting the country’s food supply,

The organic pattern on the wall traces the outline of milk bottles and water

perishables from Hokkaido still enjoy a loyal following in Hong Kong. Some of the

droplets.”

island’s best-selling staples are its dairy products, from ice cream to chocolates.

The milk’s rich taste has such legions of fans in Hong Kong that it spawned a

The blonde timber and sky-blue accent paint wraps around the facade in

restaurant chain in the city. The first Hokkaido Dairy Farm Restaurant opened

horizontal strips that resemble siding in a farmhouse. Within the dining area,

in 2009 as a casual diner – or chachanteng – with 3.6 Hokkaido Milk as its

hardwood floor planks are repeated in the open-plan preparation zone facade.

star ingredient, and its latest branch opened in the Sheung Wan district last

Strategic use of large mirrors gives depth and breadth to the compact space.

summer.

A blue metallic frame delineating the dining area’s volume is embellished with a pitched canopy made of rope to give it further definition as a space within a

For the design of the 60sq m restaurant, Hong Kong’s Joey Ho Design went

space. A 1,200mm-high dado line keeps most of the furnishings and activities

back to basics. Designers Joey Ho and Joslyn Lam looked to the origins of

below eye level; above it is a soothing white wall with a contemporary frieze of

Hokkaido milk for inspiration – the bucolic concept of rolling green hills and

blonde timber featuring milk bottle cutouts. The milk bottle motif is repeated in

farms where cows lazily munch on grass. While the fare served here is

the clear pendant lamps above the tables and prep counter, and as a decorative

technically categorised as fast food, the interiors provide an oasis for diners

theme throughout the space. Blue accents in varying shades are picked up

to take in a breath of fresh air, literally and figuratively – a kind of space that is

in reveal details, painted chairs and an upholstered banquette with subtle

often wanting in frenzied Sheung Wan.

uplighting imbedded into a trough running along its top edge.

The roughly L-shaped property is situated on the ground floor and seats 28 at

Hokkaido Dairy Farm Restaurant’s latest incarnation is like a sunny day in the

tables that can be easily rearranged to accommodate large groups or individual

middle of grey Sheung Wan, where more often than not the invigorating scent

diners. A few barstools to the right of the entry allow patrons to enjoy a direct

of freshly cut grass can be imagined alongside a cold glass of milk. It is a

view of gentrifying Wing Lok Street. “We introduced subtle dynamics in the

testament to simple dining pleasures.

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[project file – sao paulo]

Shut Up Vitacon Itaim Building Sao Paulo, Brazil Studio mk27 It is hard to think of an architectural firm from South America that produces more consistently exciting (mostly residential) work than Studio mk27. Over the years, hinge has featured many of the seductive houses by this outfit, and remarked on its ability to extrude drama and emotion from apparently minimal architectural means. These architects do not shy away from a ‘signature’ aesthetic, one that has been honed to a high polish by this point. Straight horizontal lines, exaggerated cantilevers, exposed concrete, blond timber, stone, exterior walls that disappear to blur boundaries with the outside, exceptional landscapes… The studio is relishing its deserved fame, and simply never drops a ball.

This recent outing is a vertical elaboration on some of Studio mk27’s favourite themes. It is a modest, 13-storey tower in Sao Paulo featuring one flat per floor. The conceptual parti is so simple it’s almost obscene: flat slab concrete floorplates expressed deliberately on the facades, infilled with full-height, blond-wood perforated shutters that fold or slide open across the entire width of each elevation. By restricting the exterior facades essentially to these two elements, the architecture has been abstracted. There are no visible handrails, no end piers or window frames, no vertical structure on the outer layer… just horizontal grey lines, and the screens in between them. Plus, of course, the shadows produced by both, and where the shutters are opened. In the bright sunlight of Brazil, these form a major player in the drama.

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Photography by Pedro Vannucchi

The skill is, of course, in effecting the extreme simplicity. To reduce the elevations to such a level of purity takes plenty of detailed manipulation – Vitacon has all the bits and bobs every building has (and needs), but it has hidden them from exterior view. The shutters are set back from the front of the concrete frame, and on some corners wrapped around without edges, further emphasising the tower’s orthogonality. When they are opened, they sit perpendicular to the enclosure walls, casting deeper shadows and forming strong ‘frames’ to the openings behind. It’s all very simple, and very sophisticated, too… which is exactly what mk27 is so devilishly good at.

The apartments are flexible and loft-like, with the structural columns exposed and the cores and service components clustered near one side of the plan. But this building isn’t about open space or moveable partitions; it’s about reducing a building to a very fundamental system of stacked slabs and curtain wall enclosure – the most basic diagram – and then seeing what can be made of that alone.

Apparently, a whole lot.

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[project file – london]

High Liner Mondrian London at Sea Containers London, England Design Research Studio The Morgans Hotel Group has been associated with design-driven boutique hotels ever since the first Morgans burst upon New York’s hospitality scene in 1984. Conceived by Ian Schrager, the man whose Studio 54 defined a generation, and with the preeminent Parisian style guru Andree Putman as the establishment’s interior designer, the name Morgans almost immediately came to signify an on-trend brand of hotels, with many of its properties located in refurbished ‘character buildings’ that local celebrities wanted to see and be seen in. After Schrager sold his stake in the Morgans Hotel Group about ten years ago to concentrate on other projects, the company continued to expand across the US and London with offshoot brands such as Delano, Mondrian, Hudson and A Morgans Original. The success of Sanderson and St Martins Lane in London spawned a third hotel in the British capital. Last September, Sea Containers House was relaunched as Mondrian London at Sea Containers, courtesy of Tom Dixon’s interiors firm, Design Research Studio.

It is somewhat ironic that Dixon’s first realised hotel project has come full circle for the site, so to speak.

Originally conceived to be a luxury hotel in the 1970s and designed by American architect Warren Platner, Sea Containers House, because of its proximity to the city’s CBD, ended up being let to corporations as office space for most of its life – with Sea Containers itself as its long-term primary tenant. More recently, the South Bank cultural boom of the past quarter-decade has made the site ripe for redevelopment, as its neighbours include the Tate Modern and

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Photography by Peer Lindgreen, except where stated

Photography by Emily Andrews

Photography by Emily Andrews

Shakespeare’s Globe. Mondrian London now takes up the south wing of the building

Keeping a pulse on the urban cultural scene, more than 5,500sq ft of

with its 359 keys, while the Thames-facing east and west wings remain as offices

flexible breakout spaces and venues, including a 56-seat screening room

for the likes of creative types such as ad agency Ogilvy & Mather.

with brass balustrades and plush indigo loveseats equipped with side tables, are available for all types of events, from fashion shows to film screenings,.

For design inspiration, Dixon looked to the golden age of transatlantic ocean liners.

The Agua Bathhouse & Spa, meanwhile, is decked out in soothing white

Indeed, the building’s facade perched above the water gives off a cruise ship vibe,

marble with a full-height organic copper sculpture as the focus of the

and this was immediately picked up in the lobby area with a hammered copper

relaxation area. It inspires an ambience of underwater calm, like the gliding

hull-like form that sweeps from the reception desk into the 200-seat signature

nature of a submarine that cocoons its interiors. Facilities such as public

restaurant Sea Containers helmed by chef Seamus Mullen. Other F&B spaces

washrooms interpret the theme through marine engineering features such

include Dandelyan, a bar presided over by mixologist Ryan Chetiyawardana and

as porthole mirrors.

featuring herringbone-patterned timber flooring along with sage-coloured club chairs and sofas. Den, a colourful lounge, is enhanced with models of cargo vessels

Standard guestrooms include beds with tufted grey leather headboards,

and other seaworthy ships under glass. Rooftop bar and lounge Rumpus Room

streamlined wall sconces resembling oversized flashlights and Dixon’s

includes semi-circular red banquettes below a chandelier that resembles a series of

signature wingback chairs. With their clean lines and solid colour blocks,

exploding fireworks. Brass, along with other metals typically associated with Dixon’s

the rooms reinforce the nautical theme with a healthy dose of 1980s

designs, runs through every aspect of the hotel including its balustrades, railings

Morgans glam mixed with the nostalgia of 1920s travel.

and door edges. “There were a lot of custom designs in this project,” says Dixon. “It was a tough brief: along with the guestrooms, we had many areas to cover such as

“Interiors are a great way to showcase what we do,” notes Dixon. We

a spa and a cinema. The challenges were fresh for us.”

couldn’t agree more.

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Photography by Emily Andrews

Photography by Emily Andrews

Photography by Emily Andrews

[project file – catalonia]

Down on the Farm Farm Surroundings La Vall d’en Bas, Catalonia, Spain Arnau Estudi d’Arquitectura

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Photography by Marc Torra Ferrer

Photography by Peter Marino

This pleasing, modest project began life as an exercise in pragmatic necessity and slowly evolved into something a bit more. A collection of common structures and ruins clustered around the main house of a working farm in Catalonia were destined for refurbishment and/or demolition in order to better accommodate the needs of the animals and overseeing humans. The architects, studying the composition of diverse remnants, devised a plan with a more commanding sense of order and architectural interest. Because the buildings were in proximity to each other, and were devoted to similar uses (the classic farm yard), it was possible to reinvent the typology. The gently sloping land also furnished an opportunity to bury a fairly large ‘barn’ into the hill, leaving one principle facade exposed, and then play with a blurred distinction between building and ‘landscape’.

The result is an ensemble piece that makes the most of the relationship between the inset barn and the older main house. The architects played with positive and negative as well, so

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that cutouts or ‘subtractions’ work in harmony with positive additions like walls, bridges and masses. It adds up to a kind of miniature village of forms; some solid, some void, and all centred on the exterior, sheltered farmyard space. The barn’s long horizontal facade is simply faced with timber shutter-doors. The new walls are in exposed concrete, and smaller elements, such as the bridge, are sharply outlined in steel.

This is a rather sexy farm, and on first approach might be mistaken for a converted museum or gallery space. But farm it is, and the chickens and cats get to enjoy the views – internal and external – as much as their keepers.

[global perspective]

Vo Trong Nghia Architects Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Vietnam Photography by Hiroyuki Oki

The broadening renown of this young firm, established in 2006, is

the company’s DNA. The use of simple, indigenous, sustainable building

evidence of the excitement greeting many of its unique, thought-

materials and methods runs commonly through the work, yet these

provoking building projects. From houses to social centres to schools,

materials are put together with fresh thought, manipulated in new

Vo Trong Nghia Architects has introduced originality and delight into

ways, and add up to buildings that are entirely forward-thinking. Vo

often tired programme types, gathering a shelf-full of awards in the

Trong Nghia seeks to rethink Asian architecture, to impel it toward

process. Blasting out of the formerly quiet architectural corner of Asia

a rediscovery of its rational roots, connected to place culturally and

that is Vietnam, the firm instantly held its own against larger, more

environmentally, using less to achieve more, reflecting its traditions in

established centres of contemporary design such as Singapore or

modern language, assisting with urgent social needs. None of these

Beijing. Its ascent has been noteworthy.

ambitions jive with the rampant, corrupted practices of unrestricted development so common throughout the region. Which is precisely

The buildings themselves are at once innovative and familiar.

Promoting responsible attitudes toward environmentalism is part of

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why Vo Trong Nghia Architects is such a vital breath of oxygen.

Factory Office Renovation, 2013

The use of bamboo as a textured ceiling material spanning the open office references the company’s garment manufacturing purpose. Brick masonry and timber are other local materials appropriate for use here. The exterior features a simple but effective use of steel planter wires that allow bougainvillea to cover and cool the building.

House For Trees, 2014

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A recent press magnet, this private residence was designed in direct response to the smog-choked Ho Chi Minh City. Modest in size (225sq m) and built to a tight budget, the parti establishes five concrete pavilions, each with a different programme, and conceptually acting as planters for trees on top. They also collect rainwater, given that this is a flood-prone capital. A house acting as a green gift to the city.

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Kontum Indochine Cafe, 2013

Part of a hotel complex, this bamboo-and-concrete structure is surrounded by an artificial lake. Open-sided all round, the space is naturally ventilated by breezes cooled by the shallow water. The thatch-and-bamboo roof allows indirect daylight. The structure is composed of actual bamboo, arrayed in 15 inverted piers inspired by traditional Vietnamese fishing baskets, and lending the sense of eating inside a bamboo grove.

[fulcrum]

Halifax Central Library Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects Photography by Adam Mark

It seems quaint when cities build shining new central libraries‌ Didn’t books die out in the last decade? Apparently not; or rather, the need for libraries has evolved. Never really just repositories of actual hardbound books (though for centuries primarily that), libraries today are as much research centres, archives, access-points to digital material and events-centres, as they are impressive halls filled with dusty bookshelves. Having won the competition for this one in 2010, the Danish firm Schmidt Hammer Lassen has given Halifax a shining new beacon of learning and stored knowledge, a true civic monument for the 21st century.

The building is self-expressive upon first viewing from any angle. It is a series of flat, stacked glass boxes that are gently rotated on themselves. Each box sports curtain wall glazing in a different hue, to further differentiate them and to drive hinge 234_80

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the massing parti home. It could have gone badly, but the cleanly

crisscrossed with stairs and bridges at different angles, and the views

detailed curtain wall, rich but complementary tones of the glass, and the

up, down and sideways lay out an energetic, exciting hive of activity.

articulated horizontality of the boxes, all help to keep the building mature

If libraries are destined to be hushed and serious, this one selects to

and restrained. Even the shifted orientations are slight; the architects

concentrate the numbers and movement of people at its core so that

have been composing a chamber piece, not an opera. The lone flourish

a general buzz of energy is projected. You can imagine coming here to

is the deeply cantilevered prow of the top box, which is narrower than

do one thing, and being intrigued to add another. Well, there is plenty to

the rest, and results in an eye-catching, transparent space visible from

choose from: gaming stations, music studios, a 300-seat performance hall,

the street, looming up there above the city. Despite its drama, it feels

two cafes, meeting rooms, children’s areas and so on.

appropriate, as if the building ought to gain verve at its pinnacle.

For people who use libraries and always have, there is no need to argue On the interiors, the building opens up. The distinction between the boxes

for their validity in our modern society. For those who don’t, a visit to

as the visitor rises through the library is much less evident, and instead

Halifax might demonstrate what they’ve been missing. Gosh, they might

the section is fluid and visually expansive. The central vertical area is

even borrow a book.

[out there]

British Invasion

Beyond DMZ

The Union Jack presided over Anita Chan Lai-Ling Gallery in The Fringe Club on the night of 30 March. GREAT by Design: British Architecture Asian Vision, a multimedia exhibition organised by the Royal Institute of British Architect, showcased the Asian creative architectural works of some renowned firms including Foster + Partners, TFP Farrells, Zaha Hadid Architects, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, David Chipperfield Architects, Heatherwick Studio, Benoy and Aedas. The opening was officiated

by British Consul General to Hong Kong Caroline Wilson and HKSAR Financial Secretary John Tsang. Along with the two-week long exhibition, a forum chaired by RIBA President Stephen Hodder was held on the afternoon of 30 March and various screenings of the BBC TV series The Brits who Built the Modern World took place on three evenings in early April.

For decades, North Korea has been a country shrouded in mystery. For British photojournalist Nick Danziger, a fascination with the country resulted in an August 2013 visit there with writer Rory MacLean and curator Audrea Rose. With the support of the British Council and the Central Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, DPRK, they visited Pyongyang, Nampo, Wonsan and Sariwon, meeting people going about their daily lives. After editing down 7,000 photos, the results were seen in an exhibition called Above the Line: People and Places in the DPRK at Hong Kong Arts Centre’s third floor Experimental Gallery, held from 9 to 28 April. On the opening night, guests could see for themselves that North Koreans did ordinary things, such as wait at tram stops or bathe in the sea. “I truly appreciate Mr. Danziger for bringing the once-considered ‘isolated’ and ‘exotic’ faces of the North Korean people to the general public in Hong Kong,” says Connie Lam, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Arts Centre. “And I believe that this is an important first-step towards a better mutual understanding between the two places.”

Sketching In Situ

Double Celebrations

For many artists, drawing on site is the best way to capture the dynamic qualities of a particular place. To celebrate the spirit of spontaneity, an exhibition featuring Sketch Hong Kong participants’ creations opened on 9 April at Miele Private Lounge. The twoday exhibition showcased more than 30 drawings and paintings produced during visits to various sites across the city in 2014. From the quite fishing village of Lei Yue Mun to the bustle of Sai Ying Pun, the works by professionals, students and retirees offer emotional responses that photographs rarely exude. The event also launched this year’s Sketch Hong Kong event. Supported by Miele, Sketch Hong Kong Food will savour the city’s food landscape, as participants draw their way through some of the collective memories evoked through its diverse culinary heritage. Sketch Hong Kong Food’s first stop will take place on 9 May in Yuen Long.

Germany-based bathroom furnishings brand Keuco opened their Architect and Design Centre (A&D) in Wanchai on 16 April. At the grand opening, Van Shung Chong Holdings Limited (VSC), a leading supply chain manager of building and design solutions, announced that they have signed an agreement to partner with Keuco as its general distributor in Hong Kong. “Keuco prides itself for innovation and our new A&D Centre in Hong Kong aims to offer the most advanced and high-quality bathroom wares. What characterises Keuco products are aesthetics, functionality and sensibility. We look forward to working with VSC to bring an extraordinary design experience and great service to our customers,” said Jorge Quintana, Keuco’s regional export director. Guests were given a tour of the new showroom and introduced to Keuco’s new cosmetic mirror iLook move.

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Next in hinge Cover story New workplace design everywhere

Photography by Roland Halbe

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Chateau de la Dominique in Saint-Emilion, France by Ateliers Jean Nouvel

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