Innehållsförteckning för #25 från Design Anthology, Asia Pacific Edition

In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re living in the future. Remember those post-apocalyptic movies we (of my generation) watched as children; the ones about a global pandemic or some kind of environmental disaster? Well, that’s what it feels like we’re experiencing (minus the zombies). Late last year, during the height of the protests here in Hong Kong, I actually remarked — rather foolishly, in hindsight — that our generation is lucky because we’ve never experienced great hardship. I was wrong. We may not have lived through a global war or economic depression, but this is the first time in most of our memories that we’ve been so indiscriminately and globally impacted. I know that many people around the world are still coming to grips with the ‘new normal’ and are…

Baea Hong Kong-born entrepreneur Adah Chan has recently launched a range of nature-inspired homewares under the brand Baea. Having worked in the homeware and textile industries for most of her career with the likes of Ralph Lauren Home and Designers Guild, Chan channels her experience into an offering of unique bed linens, cushions and other objects. This includes a collaboration with textile designer Catherine Reeves on two timeless collections, both inspired by nature. Sustainability is woven into each product from the outset, with premium organic cotton, buttons made from plant-based material and biodegradable packaging. The debut collections consist of bed linen, throws and cushions, and are available globally online and through select retailers in Hong Kong. baea.com Man of Parts × Yabu Pushelberg New York- and Toronto-based design practice Yabu…

Sensitivity to context has always been a fundamental part of architecture, but is often overlooked in favour of optimising floor area. Occasionally, however, a partnership between developer and architect demonstrates the type of understanding of the surroundings that can elevate a building to something that imparts a more profound experience. That is precisely what Nan Fung Group and Vervain Resources aimed to create at 8 Deep Water Bay Drive. The site is nestled amid Hong Kong’s verdant and hilly southern side, with outlooks towards Tai Tam to the east and Mount Cameron to the north-west. The architects from P&T Group designed along the contour of the hill, helping to make the entrance more approachable rather than greeting residents with monolithic podium walls. Nature has also been a critical part of…

In Sri Lanka, the abundance of raw materials leading back to nature creates an invisible connection that binds elements of purity and craft, cultural commodities and traditional techniques. In the midst of it all, the quiet fishing village of Ahangama makes the perfect nest for The Kip. Evening light shines through jungle trees into the four-bedroom restored colonial villa, the golden sunlight accentuating objects that are simple in nature — the same things that create a balance of object against space, a sense of proportion and place. ‘We wanted to blend in with the landscape around us. If you’re in a natural environment, you should feel nature,’ says co-founder Phoebe Taylor. There seems no better place to embrace the slower pace that The Kip embodies. ‘From a design perspective, anything…

There is a simple beauty to Windy Chien’s knot and rope sculptures — and beauty, it must be noted, is a word not often used in the art world these days, pushed aside in a time that seems to prize politics over process. Her practice melds art and design, the practical and the decorative, craft and concept, analogue and digital, and is as much about the journey as the destination. As final products, her works are minimal and meditative rope sculptures: macramé wall hangings inspired by circuit boards, functional pendant lights suspended from strands resembling DNA spirals, or interlocking rings forged from a single line of rope twisted in the same manner we chain tyres to guard them against slippery ice. Her best-known work is likely the one whose first…

Nikhil Padgaonkar compares the process of designing his Goa home to a child drawing a collection of shapes on paper and calling it a house. ‘I wanted to work with very basic forms — cubes, triangles and rectangles — without any wings or extensions,’ says the documentary film-maker and multimedia creator, who has no formal architecture training. The result, however, is a striking hilltop retreat that’s anything but basic. Located in the northern village of Moira, the home is shrouded in screens made of galvanised steel slats that effortlessly bring the outdoors inside. ‘When you step into the home from the east entrance, you can see right through to the other entrance and the forest beyond,’ says Padgaonkar. ‘The house is merely a transitory space between two outdoor points.’ The…

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André Fu: Crossing Cultures With Design  by Catherine Shaw (Thames & Hudson) Over the past decade and a half, Hong Kong native André Fu has risen to become one of the most in-demand and recognised interior architects in Asia and perhaps the world. His understated luxury graces hospitality spaces from Hong Kong, Singapore and Seoul to London and New York. Modern but classically inspired, Asian but globally inspired, his aesthetic is perhaps best described by author and regular Design Anthology contributor Catherine Shaw as ‘not about combining styles; rather, it rests on an ability to navigate very different cultures and styles and to reflect contemporary culture not based on any one model, but on the inherent qualities of beauty’. This work showcases 18 projects, and while the stars are undoubtedly…

The woollen throw that designer Liam Lee pulls from his bag unfurls like a waterfall; purple folds extend, in turns sheer and opaque, across the table. The fabric, a mohair and lambswool blend, feels the way one imagines a cloud might: light, plumy, soft. But as is the case with many finely crafted objects, the throw’s effortless finish belies the painstaking labour that goes into its making. ‘The scale of my production is very small, since it takes around forty hours to complete each piece,’ says Lee, who dyes and hand-felts the fabric at his New York studio. The textiles are all machine-woven by Cushendale Woollen Mills in Kilkenny, Ireland, a family-owned enterprise founded in 1778 and one of a dwindling number of mills that use wool from local sheep.…

The rise of conscious consumption means it’s becoming increasingly important for consumers to know where and how products are made; in this new luxury, provenance and best practices have become the key markers of quality. Established three decades ago, Melbourne-based Prestige Carpets has long championed these principles. The floor-covering specialist prides itself on its commitment to using pure New Zealand wool and innovative tufting and weaving methods to produce bespoke carpets that are consistently chosen by Australia’s leading designers and architects. The wool fibre used for every carpet can be traced back to specific farms in New Zealand. In addition to providing a sense of provenance, this also means that all wool is farmed in accordance with strict animal welfare and environmental guidelines that ensure adherence to best farming practices…

Snaking sensuously through the city and into the Gulf of Thailand, the Chao Phraya river is one of Bangkok’s most evocative aspects. And there are few better ways to appreciate the waterway and adjacent visual highlights like Wat Arun (the Temple of Dawn) and the Grand Palace than from Namthip, a traditional Thai rice barge that has been converted into one of the most luxurious cruising vessels ever to ply the river. ‘I love the romance of old Asia,’ says Albano Daminato, the newly minted AD100 designer who oversaw the boat’s refurbishment. ‘Our vision for Namthip was to combine that timeless, tropical feel with an attention to detail that encompassed everything from the materials used for the upper-deck roofing to the cocktail glasses and table crockery.’ The exacting approach taken…

‘It’s about time we started exploring this region,’ says Hong Kong-based collector Patrick Sun about his recent acquisitions from India. Sun is among many international collectors, dealers and museums who are now turning their gaze to South Asia. But while major artists from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are gaining recognition around the world, many artists from the subcontinent remain under the radar; here, we profile five such talents to watch. MARTAND KHOSLA Artist and architect Martand Khosla’s precarious sculptures, vivid installations and drawings made of crushed bricks delve into the dark underbelly of urban India. ‘I had a desire to try to engage with what’s happening in our cities,’ explains Khosla about his motivation for turning to art. ‘If we look at the city as a macrocosmic institutional…

Modern urban India abounds in stark dichotomies — skyscrapers cast shadows on ancient ruins, gated enclaves share walls with ‘urban villages’, and cars and buses jostle for street space with rickshaws, thela (hand-pushed carts) and sometimes even herds of cattle and sheep. The paucity of space, infrastructure and resources is something I’m reminded of as I make my way down a narrow, winding alleyway in Lado Sarai, an endless web of closely packed two- and three-storey buildings in southern New Delhi. India is projected to more than double its building stock by 2030 and grow by more than 400 million urban dwellers by 2050, both of which will increase its net carbon emissions manifold. But local architects and urbanists are beginning to take note; a growing school is exploring the…

WOOL Studio Store Hong Kong Hong Kong-based Scandiphiles can now rejoice — furniture agency WOOL has opened a light-filled boutique in the island’s Sai Ying Pun neighbourhood. Here you can find furniture, home products and accessories from Scandinavian favourites like MENU, Frama, Tekla, Kristina Dam Studio and new paint and plaster brand St. Leo, all of which will beautify your home and transport you to your favourite Copenhagen neighbourhood. woolstudio.co Ito Kish Manila Renowned Filipino designer Ito Kish closed his Manila showroom in 2017 to concentrate on consultancy work. Now he’s returned to the world of brick and mortar retail with a new space in Makati, which will only open for specific events and exhibitions. With the new store, Kish will also be launching From the Neighborhood, a perennial selection…

On entering design studio AFSO’s new Hong Kong office space, a circular window in the lift lobby affords a precursory glimpse both of the physical space and the world of the studio’s founder, renowned architect and designer André Fu. A milky-green onyx tabletop shimmers under the soft glow of a custom pendant; on it sits a contemporary flower arrangement by local florist and frequent collaborator Gary Kwok. Japanese in inspiration, the foliage balances delicately atop a ceramic vessel. Directly behind, a floor-to-ceiling shelving unit displays a number of product prototypes, from ceramic dinnerware to bronze vessels and glassware. The artfully arranged mise en scène is not only a welcoming display for visitors but also a canvas onto which Fu can curate the products AFSO has designed for his new eponymous…

Stephanie and David Getty, founders of Jakarta-based Studio Getty, launched their new venture Surrounding Objects at the 2020 Stockholm Furniture Fair’s Greenhouse platform. The design studio and workshop was born out of the Gettys’ desire to create useful and beautiful items in collaboration with designers, artists and craftspeople, and to use local resources in the hope of highlighting more common materials in order to ‘breathe new life into them and showcase them in a way that makes people see their potential’, as David describes. Surrounding Objects is also a reflection of the Gettys’ backgrounds; they met at the Rhode Island School of Design, where they obtained their master’s degrees in architecture, and after both working for architect David Salmela in Minnesota, they relocated to Jakarta in 2014 to oversee design…

Four Seasons Hotel at Chao Phraya River — Bangkok Occupying a pristine stretch of river frontage in Bangkok’s creative Sathorn neighbourhood, the Four Seasons offers a luxurious experience of the city’s iconic Chao Phraya river. Designer Jean-Michel Gathy of Denniston championed the riverscape in his design of this ‘urban resort’, with all elements intended to highlight the water views. Cascading courtyards and porous boundaries blur the distinction between indoors and out, allowing guests to feel in harmony with the natural landscape. The 299 guest rooms include river-view rooms, suites with garden terraces and the impressive two-storey Presidential Suite, and all interiors feature elegant touches of Thai influence and artworks curated by Gathy himself. The Londoner — London  Edwardian Hotels London has opened what it calls the ‘world’s first…

Bali’s Ubud holds an enduring charm for visitors and expatriate residents alike, thanks largely to German painter Walter Spies, who made the northern town his home in the 1920s and 30s and captured its folklore and mysticism on canvas. For nine years, Spies lived in a bungalow in the Campuhan area that played host to an all-star line-up of guests including artists, musicians, movie stars and royalty. The paintings of Bali that Spies produced during this period undoubtedly helped shape the vision of ‘paradise on earth’ that endures in the popular imagination. On a small piece of land just a short walk from Spies’s former residence sits Rumah Purnama, or House of the Full Moon. A small, unassuming angkul-angkul (entry door) marks the entrance to the home that Venezuela-born, Paris-trained…