Linehouse designs coastal living for Cape Drive residence in Hong Kong
CategoriesInterior Design

Linehouse designs coastal living for Cape Drive residence in Hong Kong

Chinese studio Linehouse has designed the interiors of Cape Drive Residence in Hong Kong to respond to the surrounding coastal views.

Located on the south side of Hong Kong Island, the three-floor home is a short walk from the beaches of Stanley and Chung Hom Kok and has panoramic ocean views to the east and west from its elevated position.

“The design harnesses a costal essence through materiality, light and an easy flow, seamlessly connecting the interior and exterior spaces,” Linehouse explained.

Linehouse Cape Drive residence
The home is located on the south side of Hong Kong Island with expansive ocean views

An open living area on the ground floor connects to the kitchen and dining space while an internal courtyard was inserted between theses areas and includes a centralised tree and surrounding seating.

The living area extends to the main terrace with full-height windows that frame the expansive ocean views.

Clad in stone, the terrace forms a sunken seating area with pockets of greenery surrounding it, which shelters the sea wind.

Linehouse Cape Drive residence
A timber staircase framed by a shuttered screen connects all three floors

White timber louvers were used as a continuous ceiling plane in the living area which also extends to the terrace as a canopy.

“The design of the home reflects the relaxed and laidback lifestyle of a beach setting,” said the studio. “Warm tones, tactile surfaces and textures, a clean and simple material palette, and a seamless flow between inside and out.”

Linehouse Cape Drive residence
An outdoor terrace was clad in stone with a sunken seating area

“Cape Drive Residence offers the fitting backdrop for coastal living,” it continued.

A warm oak timber staircase was punctuated by a shuttered screen that runs vertically through all levels of the home while arranging more private areas such as bathing and dressing.

The whitewashed timber material of the screen echoes the coastal location and reflects light through the spaces.

A white metal rod screen can be slide open at each level, offering transparency and light through different spaces.

Linehouse Cape Drive residence
An internal courtyard was inserted between the dining and kitchen area

Bedrooms, a second living area and a study were placed on the upper two levels, all with coastal views.

The same whitewashed timber material used on the shuttered screen was adopted to form storage, seating and shelving in these private spaces, providing a textural contrast to the hand-raked plaster walls.

The bathrooms add a fresh moment of colour into the space, using patterned tiles handmade in Portugal by Elisa Passino.

Linehouse Cape Drive residence
Shelving and storage spaces were created from whitewashed timber material

Linehouse was founded by Alex Mok and Briar Hickling in 2013 and the duo went on to win emerging interior designer of the year at the 2019 Dezeen Awards.

The studio has recently completed a guesthouse in Hong Kong that evokes the comfort of home and a Mediterranean restaurant in Shanghai with natural, tactile materials.

The photography is by Jonathan Leijonhufvud.


Project credits:

Design: Linehouse
Design principal:
Briar Hickling
Design team: Ricki-Lee Van Het Wout, Cindy Pooh

Reference

Tom Dixon furnishes penthouses in One Park Drive skyscraper
CategoriesInterior Design

Tom Dixon furnishes penthouses in One Park Drive skyscraper

British designer Tom Dixon’s Design Research Studio has furnished the interiors for two duplex penthouses that Herzog & de Meuron has created within its cylindrical Canary Wharf skyscraper.

Architecture studio Herzog & de Meuron designed the seven penthouses in the residential One Park Drive skyscraper, which were the last part of the project to be completed, to contrast the commercial buildings that surround them.

“We had to think about what it means to live vertically and how to create a strong distinction between something that is commercial and something that is residential,” Herzog & de Meuron’s UK studio director John O’Mara said at the penthouses’ opening.

Wood-clad courtyard and white bathroom
The seven penthouses feature wood-clad courtyards

Located on the 56th and final floor of the 205-metre-tall One Park Drive building, the duplex penthouses feature balconies overlooking Canary Wharf. To give them a more residential feel, Herzog & de Meuron added an unusual detail – hidden internal courtyards.

The wood-clad courtyards open up towards the sky via D-shaped ceiling cut-outs and function as a “back garden,” the studio said.

Each of the penthouses, which range from 152 to 362 square metres, also feature a statement spiral staircase made from concrete poured in-situ. The staircases all have different designs.

Spiral concrete staircase inside One Park Drive penthouse
Spiral staircases were made from concrete poured in-situ

Design Research Studio furnished the interiors for two of the duplex penthouses in One Park Drive using a combination of furniture by Dixon’s studio and handpicked vintage furniture.

Among the vintage pieces used for the design were chairs by Danish designer Verner Panton and lamps by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. Dixon also custom-made large artworks for the space.

White sofa in front of floor-to-ceiling windows
The penthouses are on the 56th floor

Dixon’s studio used the theme of Home of the Collector to imagine what the interiors of the penthouses should feel like.

“Each room has been meticulously curated – we wanted every single object to feel as if it has been made specifically for this space or that it has been carefully selected for it,” Dixon explained.

“It should feel personal, convincing, compelling and aspirational – we didn’t want to design a typical luxury apartment,” he added.

“The beautiful, fluid spaces feature high ceilings and large expanses of wall and windows and the artworks create the sense of a private gallery.”

Coming up with a concept for an imaginary homeowner was an enjoyable aspect of the job, Dixon added.

“It’s actually really good fun to try and invent a personality and try and work out what they would actually do,” he said, explaining that he had envisioned the apartments being filled with art pieces and furniture that had been picked up on travels.

Bathroom with tadelakt walls at One Park Drive penthouse
Bathrooms have sand-coloured Tadelakt walls

The apartments in One Park Drive are all designed by Herzog & de Meuron with a tactile material palette that helps to draw attention to the interiors.

Wood was used to create striking details for the interior architecture, including the wardrobe doors with leaf-shaped openings.

The studio used Tadelakt plaster to create sand-coloured bathrooms with globe-shaped lights and rounded mirrors, while floors are concrete or pale wood.

Sofa in living room of One Park Drive penthouse
The penthouses also have balconies overlooking Wood Wharf

The duplex penthouses are the last part of One Park Drive to be completed. The skyscraper, which contains 484 apartments in total, forms part of developer Canary Wharf Group‘s plan to add homes to the predominantly commercial Canary Wharf neighbourhood.

Other recent projects by Tom Dixon include a twentieth-anniversary exhibition that featured mycelium towers and Design Research Studio’s design for restaurant The Manzoni.

Reference

How Universal Design Can Drive Inclusivity
CategoriesArchitecture

How Universal Design Can Drive Inclusivity

Celebrate a decade of inspirational design with us! The 10th Annual A+Awards is officially underway, and the Extended Entry Deadline is March 4, 2022Click here to start your entry today.

Despite all the talks around inclusivity and diversity in all aspects of life, the idea of universal design is still not one that is widespread. The term, first coined by American architect Ronald Mace, and then later popularized by architect Selwyn Goldsmith, explores a branch of design that caters to everyone regardless of their age and abilities. This implies going beyond wheelchair-accessible spaces and addressing the vast spectrum of disabilities that can exist.

The limitations of designed environments first became a topic of discussion after the second World War when we saw a large number of injured veterans. While the advancement in medicine made it possible for them to live longer lives, there wasn’t enough infrastructure that was entirely accessible to them. Veterans in the United States demanded equal rights for themselves, leading to the establishment of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990.

Enabling Village by WOHA in Singapore | Photo by Edward Hendricks

But having equal rights was not enough. When it came to spaces and environments, Mace was instrumental in creating the seven principles of Universal Design in 1997. These are equitable use, flexibility in use, simple and innovative use, perceptible information, tolerance for error, low physical effort and size and space for approach. They are meant to serve as guidelines for designers to create more inclusive and accessible environments.

Equitable use implies the provision of the same degree of access, security and safety for all users. The principles also point to flexibility by accommodating a wide range of preferences such as left and right-handed access, provision for different paces of movement and so on. They also state that the design should be intuitive in a way that individuals with different literacy and language skills should be able to navigate the space without any difficulties. The information provided should also be presented in graphic, audible and tactile forms. Each space must have warnings of hazards and errors and preferably have these high-risk elements isolated. Transparency in buildings, recurring seating spaces, anti-skid surfaces, tactile floor guides and handrails with easy grips are just a few other examples of elements that can be included.

Enabling Village by WOHA in Singapore | Photo by Edward Hendricks

According to Indian architect and Universal Design advocate Kavita Murugkar, Universal Design is an almost fundamental value given that it ties in with accessibility and, in turn, an individual’s right to freedom. She said, “Everyone is talking about equality and extending equal rights and opportunities for all individuals, and creating equal possibilities of participation in the society. This is possible only through equal means of access.”

While we have come a long way in our understanding of what design needs to do, there is still a slightly limited perspective of disability while designing. The needs of someone who is an amputee might be very different from someone who is visually impaired. The latter might need many more tactile and audible cues to guide them in spaces whereas an amputee could require some more room to accommodate any aids they might have.

Enabling Village by WOHA in Singapore | Photo by Edward Hendricks

Furthermore, someone with missing arms could require alternative ways to use buttons or even open doors. An individual with Parkinson’s might need spaces that have finishes and interventions that are favorable for those who struggle with balance. And that is just on the physical level. People with autism might require quiet rooms and those with dementia could benefit from surroundings that have fewer identical elements.

A project that has tried to address this is the Enabling Village in Singapore. Designed by WOHA, the community space offers retail, recreational and training services for differently abled individuals. All public spaces and restrooms in the building are wheelchair accessible. The event spaces have induction loops that can transmit audio to people using hearing aids with T-coils and they also provide braille maps of the space if needed. Even elements like ATM machines in the center have braille labels and earphone ports. The project includes a center for innovators to gather and test ideas for assistive technology. It is equipped with a room where these inventors can also test their products in fully soundproof and lightproof spaces. Furthermore, they are also creating job opportunities for the differently abled members of the community.

Friendship Park (Parque de la amistad) by Marcelo Roux, Gaston Cuna, Patricia Roland and Federico Lezama, Montevideo, Uruguay | Photos via issuu.com

Another example of inclusive design is the Friendship Park in Montevideo, Uruguay that is designed by Marcelo Roux, Gaston Cuna, Patricia Roland and Federico Lezama. It is made in a way that children of all ages can enjoy the space regardless of their physical or cognitive abilities. Apart from the easily accessible spatial arrangement, materials like concrete, metal and rubber are used in abundance to provide tactile and aromatic cues to the users. The team has tried to incorporate more curved surfaces to avoid sharp edges; they have also used a variety of colors throughout to make it appear more fun and the spaces easy to recognize and remember.

Murugkar said the awareness about Universal Design is still not as much as it should be, especially considering its importance. She introduced it as an elective in Dr. B. N. College of Architecture in Pune, where she is an Associate Professor. But she believes that we need to get to a point where the subject is integrated into the entire curriculum and not just taught as a specialization. “Universal Design is a utopian idea. You can definitely not have a design that addresses the needs of every single individual on this earth,” she said. “It just aims to make the spectrum of usability of a particular service or product or an environment broader and broader.”

Inclusive design is more of a way of approach than a design methodology that must be implemented right from the conceptual stage and carried through to the smallest element in the final product. While this approach may give rise to innovation, the question remains: is actually possible to cater to every individual and make this philosophy a reality?

Celebrate a decade of inspirational design with us! The 10th Annual A+Awards is officially underway, and the Extended Entry Deadline is March 4, 2022Click here to start your entry today.

Reference