Client Narrative
Design Issues
The Pivot family is born and brought up in New Zealand and has four members: Felix, a 42 year old man married to Clara, who’s 39 years old. While both of them have a strong connection to their cultural background, Felix comes from a stronger British household, meanwhile Clara’s roots are strongly connected to her Maori background. They have two 5 year old twins: Troye and Ximena who attend preschool from Monday to Thursday as well as a schnauzer dog. They have also employed 2 full time helpers that are in charge of taking care of the twins and all the housekeeping except the cooking, since Clara and Felix are the ones who enjoy spending time in the kitchen and cooking various cuisines.
With a lot of technological distractions, it makes it a harder effort to spend time as a family. The importance of bringing unity and having a bonding time is imperative for the twins’ growth. Incorporating elements of nature and careful spacial planning will bring this peaceful atmosphere they crave for.
Travel and adventure is an important part in their lives so they often travel around the world and to open up and educate their children about the diversities and cultures around them. They moved to Hong Kong for that very reason: the thirst for adventure. Felix works as a Hedge Fund Manager at Chongyang International Asset Management and Clara has a part time job as a general counsel at the Western Union Asia Pacific. Their normal day would be waking up really early, eating breakfast together and getting their kids ready for school, Clara would usually pick them up from school, have dinner together and have story time sessions or playing some card games and then going off to bed. Their ideal day would consist of going out and having family adventures on hikes or going to the park and playing card games with each other. Besides from his work, Felix has a hobby of creating different objects out of wood and refurbishing other antiques collected by their family. Clara likes to spend most of her spare time either training for triathlons or curled up in her arm chair reading. Felix usually doesn’t get too attached to things, but Clara finds it harder to get rid of her antiques, among other things, that she collects. Although the Pivot Family is quite affluent, Felix and Clara still work everyday to give their children an understanding of a normal life and how work is important to become successful. They don’t necessarily like spending money on materialistic things, but concentrate more about the cultural values and proper etiquettes.
Site Description The Westminster Terrace is a single private residential building located on No. 2A Yau Lai Road in Tsuen Wan. It is situated on a hill, just behind the main road, Castle Peak, making it an easy transit for users to move around the area. The building has a total of 41 stories with 32 of the floors being residential units. Security is tight at The Westminster, allowing only residents access through the entrance gates, making the residents of valuable importance. Adjacencies The Westminster Terrace delivers easy transportation systems with bus stops and taxis available at Castle Peak road two minutes away down the hill. There are three other private residential areas within a close perimeter to The Westminster Terrace, bringing more life into the area. The MTR is just ten minutes away along with the convenience of being closer to the Hong Kong International Airport. Character It is surrounded with greenery at the bottom and captivating views from the higher floors. It is just a single building but has a clubhouse, swimming pool, jacuzzi, gardens, among other facilities. Each of the flats have a balcony, which helps to incorporate the outside environment into the homes.
Concept The Pivot residence brings a sense of warmth by incorporating shades of beiges and browns, highlighting the emphasis on darker woods along with greenery indoors. The overall concept is to bring the sense of adventure and life into the space, while still remaining a comfortable environment for the children’s growth. Incorporating cushions collected all over from their travels is another touch of culture that will be infused in the space. Possible limitations or problems would be trying to connect the family together without technological hinderances. It is important to bring them a sense of belonging and communication through using open spaces with contrasting wood against visually lighter materials such as glass.
Living Room
40/F Plan
41/F Plan
Family Library
Master Bathroom
Kitchen