Inside One Bedford Place, an architect's nostalgic tribute to old Hong Kong
When Lofter Group was founded by entrepreneur Carol Chow Pui-yin in 2012, its focus was on renovating old industrial properties. Now it has just unveiled its first new-build office tower, One Bedford Place, with an interior design that references the heritage of its surroundings in Tai Kok Tsui. And for that, the upstart property developer tapped architect
Frank Leung and his design firm,
via
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The brief was to create a memorable series of common spaces within the 26-storey tower, designed by Ben Tse & Associates (overall structure) and Axia Design Associates (facade). 'We were really excited to inject something expressive,' he says.
Many office environments in Hong Kong are sleek but generic; both Leung and Chow wanted One Bedford Place to look different. 'Carol has always been a big fan of updating what's quintessential about Hong Kong,' says Leung. 'Tai Kok Tsui is a really colloquial part of Hong Kong. So we started from the street – the hardware stores, shop signs, mosaic tiles.'
Old-style lift gates feature in artwork that borrows from Stanley Wong's redwhiteblue series. Photo: Han Tang
This would hardly be the first project to embrace vernacular Hong Kong style. The nostalgia trend has been going strong for several years now, with renewed interest in classic design elements such as neon, mosaic tiles and
metal letterboxes . Leung's challenge was to incorporate all of these without slipping into pastiche.
'Culturally, there's a renaissance, with films, music and fashion that are proud of Hong Kong as it is,' he says. 'But there's a fine line between creating a film set, something Disney-esque, and doing something suitable for contemporary use. It's a matter of degree.'
That's apparent as soon as you set foot in the lobby. The first thing visitors will notice is a staircase that spirals up to the first floor from a podium made of gold-veined black marble. The same stone is used for the steps, which are bordered by a contrasting mixture of matte black and warm wood finishes. 'We wanted it to be dramatic,' says Leung, adding that the choice of black was meant to evoke the building's industrial surroundings.
Leung's team created installations of vintage Hong Kong-style letterboxes. Photo: Han Tang
The staircase anchors a cafe that will operate in the lobby, with a curved black banquette and custom-made chairs of wood, metal tubing and black leather. From there, visitors can take in the other Hong Kong-inspired elements. Copper scaffolding extends across the ceiling, acting both as a light fixture and a reference to the many metal-cutting shops nearby, while also appearing at first glance like bamboo scaffolding, soon to be phased out in the city.
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