Rattan in Concrete Jungle Apartment
Hong Kong is famous for its cramped living space and its concrete jungle. Our client is no different from 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 helps soften the cupboard?s existence.
Photography by © Chi, Ireen Sit
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 phase, 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. Photography by © Chi, Ireen Sit
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 l...