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Rattan in Concrete Jungle

Absence from Island

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Comments
Innovation
Functionality
Creativity
Eco-Social Impact
Total
JURY VOTES
Small Apartment
6.77
7.77
7.46
6.54
7.13
Howard Duffy
Howard Duffy Founder at HTDSTUDIO Arkitekter AB
Nice neat little jewel of a solutio...
6
7
7
7
6.75
Sam McMorran
Sam McMorran Strategy and Design Director at IDEO
Charming little apartment that demo...
6
8
8
6
7
Lauren Touhey-Otto
Lauren Touhey-Otto Head of Design at Kinzo Architekten GmbH
Beautiful space. The pallet is very...
8
10
9
9
9
Bhavin Taylor
Bhavin Taylor Founder / Interior Designer at Bhavin Taylor Design
Amazing space that is well designed...
7
8
8
8
7.75
Mark Anderson
Mark Anderson Architect at Mark Anderson Design
Honest and intelligent project. Wel...
8
9
7
7
7.75
Tracey Wiles
Tracey Wiles Principal at woods bagot
Refined materials selection with co...
6
9
7
6
7
Nic Lee
Nic Lee Design Director at Waterfrom Design Co., Ltd
7
7
7
5
6.5
Vivian van Schagen
Vivian van Schagen Founder at The Invisible Party
7
7
7
7
7
Puri Lighting Design
Puri Lighting Design Design Director at Beijing Puri Lighting Design
7
6
8
6
6.75
Hana Ahriz
Hana Ahriz Co-founder at Space & Pepper
When having a city like Hong Kong w...
7
8
8
6
7.25
Franziska Heuschkel
Franziska Heuschkel Founder at Space & Pepper
A beautiful example of a user needs...
7
9
8
8
8
Agnes Kwek
Agnes Kwek Design Ambassador at DesignSingapore Council
5
6
6
5
5.5
John Allsopp
John Allsopp Architect at John Allsopp Studio
7
7
7
5
6.5
Comments
Innovation
Functionality
Creativity
Eco-Social Impact
Total
GRAND JURY VOTES
Shortlisted - Small Apartment of the Year
8.05
8.72
8.45
7.88
8.28
Tina Norden
Tina Norden Partner at Conran and Partners
Considered, beautifully executed -...
8.26
8.62
8.11
7.42
8.1
Leni Popovici
Leni Popovici Founding Director and Partner at KAP Studios
This feels like a beautifully bespo...
8.55
10
9.03
8.71
9.07
Valérie Boerma
Valérie Boerma Founder at Barde vanVoltt
Great design starts with a strong w...
8.5
9.04
9
9.01
8.89
Serhii Makhno
Serhii Makhno Founder at Sergey Makhno Architects
6.77
7.77
7.46
7.74
7.44
Valerie Roosma
Valerie Roosma Interior Designer at -
Beautiful use of materials, spatial...
8.17
8.17
8.67
6.54
7.89
Client
Mr. & Mrs. So
Floor area
40 ㎡
Completion
2020
Design Director
Tang Chi Chun
Collaborator
Photographer
Ireen Sit

Hong Kong is famous for its cramped living space and its concrete jungle. Our client is no different to any ordinary HongKongers. He purchased a 40 sqm flat and wished to turn it into a home for his family of three. The design aims to keep the living room large and plain while bringing in natural elements to create a relaxed and calm environment. However, the client is not willing to take care of any living plants and therefore we chose rattan, which is a famous product in nearby Guangdong, as the key material for the living room. They are used on cupboard doors where their porosity and light colour help soften the cupboard’s existence. The outcome is simple, airy and comfortable. When purchased, the flat had a typical Hong Kong apartment layout of 5 doors facing the small living room which resulted in a lack of wall space. So during the design phrase, we decided to shift the bathroom door towards the kitchen door, hence to provide a bigger piece of wall for the TV. It was a simple move but it greatly improved the layout as shown on the original and proposed plans. Another common solution to tiny flats in Hong Kong is to turn your home into a crazy transformer. However, in reality you would not be changing your home setting often and indeed it is tiring to do so. Therefore we keep the transformative feature only to the single most obstructive group of items in the living room - dining table and chairs. They are tucked inside a cupboard and are only pulled out when being used. This shall help create one big space for the child to play around. Storage was one of the major concerns of the client. During the design phrase, the client kept asking for more storage space. The entire child's room is raised and void below becomes the storage space. And in order to keep a neat interior of the child's room, steps are placed outside into the living room and double up as additional seating. There is also a set of large cupboards in the living room next to the entrance door. They, at the same time, help create a portal for the main entrance which makes the perfect space for one to wear shoes and check his/her outfit being heading out. We originally thought the client was asking for too much storage space, but in the end, when they moved in, all storage space was taken up!