In Hong Kong, it is commonplace for an interior space to be completely demolished in order for new tenants to take over. Character and warmth in the form of older hardwood floors for example are commonly traded in for a newer drywall and vinyl finish. For the Lai Home, we combated this trend by creating a space that felt modern, but yet natural and worn in. 

To do this we overloaded the space with natural textures, combining unfilled travertine, wood panels, and hand-painted clay walls to create a highly tactile muted canvas that we would layer with contrasting modern elements. Arches are used as the significant geometry of the house and are covered in clay, giving reverence to its historical European beginnings.

Our challenge, which was at the client’s request, was to include sharp reds and golds. Both colors are historical symbols of fortune in Chinese culture. While arches are used predominantly, we wanted the two languages to stand apart from each other. We did this by keeping most of the colors in metals that would simulate as an addition added after completion. 

At the entrance, the stacked arches become the focal point, framing the views of the estate while partially providing privacy and shading. The arches are used mainly in transitional spaces, both to the outdoors on the ground level and more intentionally, in the second-floor hallway which leads to a second entertainment area and a theater room. 

The previous staircase was a solid brick build up cladded with wood.  We replaced the mass with floating marble planks that extended from the wall. This helped open up space underneath, allowing the ground floor to appear more spacious, but more importantly, struck a balance between the red metal along the wall with the stone finishes throughout the space.

In HK, it is traditional to maximize the usable area, odd positions and angles of beams are common in interior projects which imposes a lot of challenges of concealing the beams and odd shapes while keeping the space area open. This was especially a problem at the corridor on the second floor, where our arch shapes intercept the concrete structure of the stair above which could not be altered. This made for a unique shape within our arched hallway.