Category Archives: Interiors

An Interior Opera

Back at the beginning of July KEF opened their first Music Gallery in Central, a stunning spatial experience merging music, art and design.

Z53A7354Being a renowned British manufacturer of premium audio products who stand for engineering integrity, design innovation and acoustic quality, KEF wanted to go all out for their Hong Kong flagship and make it a manifestation of their brand and these values. As an overture for the brand, the launch of the showroom represents an important milestone for their development and expansion in Asia, so they collaborated with Conran and Partners, a renowned British design studio to create a space that would be memorable and distinctive.

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A Design Revolution

upper hseOver the last few years an aesthetic uprising has been taking place around Asia. With the region enjoying the fruits of a mushrooming economic climate, the environments of many leading Eastern urban metropolises have started to metamorphose and transform into something of a more attractive nature. Like a snake shedding off its old skin, these central capitals have slowly but surely become more visually appealing, with stunning new interiors cropping up alongside an ever-increasing stream of strikingly-planned urban areas. Whether it is Tokyo’s consistently futuristic cityscape, the clean well-organized and unrelentingly booming streets of Singapore, Dubai’s breath-taking skyscrapers, or the ever-changing landscape of China, where a new high-rise building is erected every five days, Asia has been undeniably and conspicuously restyled of late. Continue reading A Design Revolution

Scraping the Sky – The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong

Luxury gets taken to new heights at Ritz Carlton’s stupendous new Hong Kong property.

Ritz Carlton Hong KongUnless you’ve been reading censored news over the last year, you’ve probably heard about Ritz Carlton’s phenomenal return to Hong Kong, with their striking new property much more than adequately filling in what was approximately a three-year absence for the brand in the city. Having just passed its first anniversary things have only gotten better to the point of perfection, and over the last twelve months the sky-scraping hotel has come to be an iconic happening address, with luminaries, leading politicians and stars such as Lady Gaga having graced the towering heights of the property.

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Song of Style: Song Saa

We’re just going to say this straight up; there will never be another Song Saa. Like a rare top-drawer gemstone, this boutique Cambodian luxury resort will never be replicated – it’s the kind of place that the phrase ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ was designed for. However, after experiencing the magic here, you’re going to want to visit twice or thrice in a lifetime. We say that because we’re already wishing we were back there (and continue to do so daily).

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Pretty Crabby – Fatty Crab

Having successfully gone from Malaysia to New York, the hot and slightly weirdly-named concept that is Fatty Crab has now arrived in Hong Kong with a bang.

Fatty Crab RestaurantA few years ago, when the concept of Fatty Crab was first opened by the expatriate Fatty Crew in New York City, the concept at first received a mixed reception amongst reviewers and diners alike. Having emulated and taken a name from a small no-frills hole in the wall in Malaysia, the group culturally tailored it slightly to the Big Apple market, with consistent elements such as the dingy interior and scrumptious large spicy crabs at the heart of the menu remaining. In time, the concept caught on and, like the accepting diverse foreign atmosphere that is NYC, the cultural import that was Fatty Crab grew to be an astounding hit. Now, the group has just brought the concept to Old Bailey Street in Hong Kong, home of the Hairy Crab. To make it work here, the group worked to customise the concept slightly more for the local market, with an upmarket and raw edgy styled interior making the restaurant perfect for the local Soho crowd.

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Working Space Age

The explosive growth in staff mobility is having a seismic impact on the future of office design

Feature23Nov13The workspace of today is undergoing a profound shift. As human living is transformed by the modern need for greater mobility, flexibility and sustainability, a revolution is taking place in attitudes to work environments.

“Space is changing,” says Simon French, global design director at Regus. “It’s not all about the four walls around you. Technology is freeing people from their desks, and workspace has got to reflect this. This means more drop-in space, more hot-desking, and more flexible multi-use spaces. Gone are the days of one person, one desk.” Continue reading Working Space Age

Steak Out – Carnevino

The talented people from Dining Concepts have done it again, with Carnevino being another successful partnership between the budding restaurant group and the New York-based chef Mario Balti.

With the dust has barely settled on the opening of Mario Batali’s Lupa in LHT Tower on Queen’s Road Central, the busy chef-lebrity has just opened his second restaurant in Hong Kong, Carnevino, in the same building one floor above. Although both restaurants are targeted at a similar set of clients, Carnevino is slightly more upscale and formal than Lupa, with the new restaurant actually being part of an award-winning chain from Las Vegas. Continue reading Steak Out – Carnevino

Indian Chic – Lodha Fiorenza, at Goregaon in Mumbai

The ultra-hip global design firm, yoo, just recently launched their latest and one of their most audacious projects yet, Lodha Fiorenza, at Goregaon in Mumbai.

With India going from strength to strength every day and with many Indian luxury properties redefining luxury for the world, it was only a matter of time before yoo appeared in India. Founded by the world’s most celebrated designer, Philippe Starck, and one of the most influential property developers in Europe, international property entrepreneur John Hitchcox, the celebrity-aligned design company has names such as Kelly Hoppen, Marcel Wanders and Jade Jagger working for them.

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With experience spanning 33 different projects and 27 countries, yoo exists to help developer clients compete successfully in the property marketplace, by providing the very best in design, branding and marketing. Their latest foray in India is, fittingly, in Mumbai and it is also fittingly designed by Jade Jagger, the 39-year-old daughter of Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger.

Jagger has already designed homes in Morocco, properties in Turkey and apartments in New York, and her work is always respectful of the culture within which the project is located. This is undoubtedly the case with Lodha Fiorenza, which blends India’s rich and varied tradition with unique cultural elements from across the world and Jagger’s trademark style of relaxed luxury.

“I am absolutely delighted to be partnering with Lodha to design Lodha Fiorenza. I have always been inspired by the vivid colours and exotic textures of India; it’s been a wonderful experience to incorporate them in the design of Lodha Fiorenza – a perfect balance between luxury and comfort,” commented Jagger at the launch.

When completed in 2014 the primely-located position project will boast 452 apartments, across four buildings. Milano, the tallest of the four structures, is a 52-storey tower which will rise to a breathtaking height of 600 feet. The building will feature luxurious four bedroom residences and lavish duplex sky villas of just one per floor. Residents will get to enjoy such lavish facilities as a rooftop lounge, an observatory with stunning views of the Aarey colony and the Arabian Sea plus an infinity edge cantilevered swimming pool. The other three towers, Venizia, Sienna and Roma, offer stylish two, three, and four bedroom residences in the Jade Jagger for yoo style. All the homes will be fitted with the highest specifications and include lighting and sounds controls by iPad, German Poggenpohl kitchens, and Italian marble flooring.

Area Guide – Central

LUPA / Compass Offices (Aon China Building) –

As home to some of the city’s leading companies, Central remains unsurprisingly one of the best areas in town for corporate dining, be it for a casual business lunch or gala dinner.

Many of the neighbourhood’s bars, restaurants and cafes have accordingly molded their services, furnishings and cuisine to cater to the needs of the area’s many busy-bodies.

Hearty New York Italian eatery LUPA is one such establishment. The newly opened restaurant has squarely positioned itself in the all-important sweet-spot between casual lunch establishment and formal dining hall. At 5,500 square feet in size, the sprawling interior is equally fitting for large events, particularly when combined with the 2,500 square-foot outdoor terrace, which in and of itself is perfect for a small cocktail affair.

Also new to the district is the latest serviced office complex from Compass Offices. The exquisitely furnished establishment takes up the 16th and 17th floors of the Aon China Building which, situated in the heart of the district, an ideal place to base yourself if you’re in town for a business trip.

The building itself has recently undergone renovation, and now boasts three ultra-posh elevators that are sure to impress even the most pernickety of business clients.

The spaces on offer are each beautifully furnished and offer equally beautiful city views, together with all the connectivity one would expect from a modern office. The shared office facilities include a large private lobby and three well-equipped meeting rooms with comfortable seating for four, six and 14 people.

Compass Offices also houses a banking-grade data centre on site for those with more demanding information technology needs.

Virtual offices are also available and start at HK$598 per month. Meeting rooms on their own go for about HK$50 per 15-minute session. Custom office fittings are also available for long-term clients.

Originally published in South China Morning Post, June 2012

Interior Design Supplement – Interior Design’s Tighter Space

Though the Hong Kong interior design industry is flourishing, the city currently faces a dearth of well-trained interior designers – and this looks set to continue as work from emerging markets in the region is on the rise. The pinch is being felt across the industry, with even the larger interior design firms finding it difficult to recruit designers.

Offering an explanation for the shortage, Logan MacWatt, managing director of Aedas Interiors, points out that the majority of skilled designers are essentially all fully employed.

Continue reading Interior Design Supplement – Interior Design’s Tighter Space