Waldorf Astoria Bangkok for Hospitality Design

For the first entry of Hilton’s luxury hospitality brand in Southeast Asia, Waldorf Astoria Bangkokneeded to make a grand statement. Seven years in the making, the 57-story mixed-use tower from global firm Gensler and local firm D.I. Designs is capped with a magnolia flower-inspired design, dubbed the Petal by locals, that reveals itself as a magnificent flower in bloom.  Hong Kong-based André Fu, founder of AFSO, was appointed to craft the 171 guestrooms and suites, two restaurants, and a lounge for a design that reflects the timeless legacy of the Waldorf Astoria brand while celebrating Thai culture.

“When I first embarked on the planning process of this project with my team, we sought to create a thoughtful interfusion of Waldorf Astoria’s legendary heritage, a present-day narrative of the capital city the hotel lives in, and what modern travelers are seeking,” he describes. “Just as the Waldorf Astoria New York is quintessentially New York, the Waldorf Astoria Bangkok needed to give guests a strong impression that they are in Bangkok.”

To create a sense of place, Fu balanced the building’s architecture and Waldorf Astoria’s classic Art Deco language with subtle Thai references. “I wanted to challenge myself with the goal to juxtapose these elements into a new form of expression in the hotel,” he explains. Here, curved lines dominate notably in the sweeping staircase, which recalls the movements of a Thai dancer.

Cultural elements are visible in details like bronze lobby screens with intricate Art Deco motifs and subtle Thai twists. In the Front Room restaurant, for example, glistening lanterns suspended from the ceiling are inspired by floating paper lanterns popular on Thai beaches, adding a magical quality to the double-height space. Meanwhile, Peacock Alley lounge is a deconstructed version of the famous clock in the New York property, weaving bronze detailing with a regal purple palette and luxurious marble.

A muted palette of ivory and warm gray with accents of mauve, mineral turquoise, and racing green ensure the hotel is distinct from other Waldorf Astoria properties. Similarly, within the 171 guestrooms and suites, hints of Thai references made their way into the key distinguishing features, including in-room screens and handpicked artisanal décor.

New York firm AvroKO was responsible for the sky-high venues Bull & Bear, the Loft bar, and the Champagne bar, which is accessed through a hidden sculptural wooden door. Inside, vintage furnishings, wood carvings from Thai artists, and a sectional sofa evoke a moody lair. Indeed, all three venues “explore an East-meets-West philosophy,” says William Harris, principal at AvroKO. “We were inspired by the legendary Thai artisan and craft culture, a counterpoint to the New York art world and the many artists that helped shape New York City.” He adds, “It was important that our design honored the original brand DNA but also pushed the boundaries to help redefine the Waldorf Astoria experience for the future.”

“Ultimately, it is about the spirit of the place that makes it interesting for people to converge at and also to return. It is not so much about what I do visually, but more about what I do to make it relevant, how I tap into the ethos of that and translate it to create a personality and an experience,” says Fu. “Waldorf Astoria Bangkok is a new take on my design journey to challenge myself.”

Rule Bender for Hospitality Design

A Consuming Experience for IndesignLive

Setting the stage for multiple forms of consumption, Blacksheep’s design for The Cooking Library in Seoul puts the focus squarely on sensory experiences, emphasised by tactile and analogue design elements.

From the moment you enter the multi-level, multi-faceted space intriguingly dubbed as The Cooking Library, it becomes immediately evident that this culinary-centric place is unlike any other in Seoul.

The Cooking Library is one of four ‘Libraries’ conceived by Hyundai Card – a credit card company under the Hyundai Motor Group. The idea was to create venues that provide an analogue respite from our fast-paced digital lives and to allow for meaningful connections through immersive and emotional experiences. The other three ‘Libraries’ focus on travel, music and design.

Focused on the art of cooking, The Cooking Library (located in Yeongdeungpo-gu, one of Seoul’s most affluent neighbourhoods) was designed by London-based specialist F&B design studio Blacksheep in collaboration with Choi Wook of One O One Architects. It extends beyond the boundaries of its cuisine-based programme with a series of spaces that connect fluidly through craftsmanship, tactility and analogue elements.

The Cooking Library extends across several levels, but Blacksheep’s CEO and founder Tim Mutton notes that the interiors have been intentionally designed without definitive floor distinctions. “Rather than being defined by the five levels, each space is distinguished by the experiences offered within and is linked to the next space through stimulation of the senses – by scent, sound and sight,” he says.

The Cooking Library’s universe of food unfolds sequentially through distinct yet connected settings, with materials, furnishings and fixtures offering clues to the change of function throughout the spatial journey. Inspired by a vision of a humble rural European factory transposed into the heart of Seoul, the interior spaces are defined by practicality and function with a warm and natural aesthetic softening the industrial palette.

Communal bakery and dining spaces on the ground floor are characterised by stone and concrete surfaces complemented by joinery and storage units in oak finishes. The tactile, visually rich journey continues on the next level, where a presentation of condiments becomes a spectacle of crafted luxury with delicately crafted brass, timber and cork accents within the displays.

Up another level, the concept of cooking takes an even more hands-on turn. The Recipe Room and Cooking School and, later, the Greenhouse and Cooking School spaces (one floor up) invite visitors for an active immersion into the world of the culinary arts, with their industrial and domestic settings gently juxtaposing against each other in a series of dynamic spatial dialogues. Below, on the basement level, an extensive pantry offers insight into a working kitchen, with Georgian wire glass panels allowing views of the cooking ingredients. All levels of The Cooking Library have factory-inspired blackened steel sanitary ware and specially commissioned artwork by British artist, David Shrigley.

Enjoying a good meal, attending a guest appearance from a famous chef, browsing cooking books and ingredients, taking part in a cooking lesson, or wandering around a herb garden – with sensorial stimulations aplenty, The Cooking Library embraces the many facets of the culinary arts, allowing the visitors to get excited and get lost in the analogue-driven discoveries of the art of cooking.

This excitement is encapsulated in Mutton’s recollection of one of his favourite details: “The bronze-lettered quote located over a cast iron hand pump at the entrance of the building reads: ‘Through water came life, through life came love.’ We want all guests to embrace and experience the love and art of cooking.”

Linehouse Uncovers the Past for a Shanghai Office

 first China office for backpack manufacturer Herschel Supply, designed by Linehouse, echoes the rapidly transforming urban fabric of its neighbourhood.

Enigmatic and eye-catching, the laneway entrance to the Herschel Supply office in the Jing’An District of Shanghai is a beguiling, asymmetrical feature. It suitably encapsulates the design philosophy of architecture and interior design practice Linehouse, and also serves as a hint to the interior framework that organises the Canadian lifestyle brand’s first China office.

The entrance, like its surrounding site, is as much a revelatory glimpse into the building’s internal activities as an indication of the surrounding urban flux. In this part of the city, many of the old residential structures are being demolished or stripped back, revealing the architectural details of Shanghai’s past.

“We wanted the design to lend itself to the streetscape, to capture this urban quality,” says Briar Hickling, co-founder of Linehouse, about the project’s relationship to its site. “Herschel is a design-driven brand and we aimed to capture both the urban/nature and utilitarian qualities in the spatial design of the office.”

As with many of the firm’s projects, the design process for the Herschel Supply office began with a desire to create a unique spatial experience that, at once, formed a dialogue between the shared and the private zones in the 134-square-metre unit and revealed the process of deconstruction relevant to the neighbourhood context. The design team deliberately used materials such as corrugated metal, concrete, raw steel and black cork to reflect the urban and utilitarian nature of the brand. A pitched metal framework was inserted into the office space as a strong gesture that extends the streetscape into the interior.

Lined with perforated and solid corrugated stainless steel, the framework dictates the different programmes. Glass partitions divide the structure and operable sliding doors unveil or conceal the meeting room and pantry areas to the open workspaces beyond. In some zones, ceiling panels were omitted to open up views to the surrounding structure, further blurring the boundaries between the ‘public’ or shared and the private, and between the new and the previously constructed.

An extension of its neighbourhood, the Hershel Supply Shanghai office is, at once, a part of its urban fabric and an exemplification of change in an evolving urban residential area. Hickling affirms, “Our approach for this project was to create something unique and unexpected, which challenges the traditional notion of what an office or workspace should be.”

Space Matrix Brings Context and Experience to Microsoft Taipei

Microsoft’s Taipei office by Space Matrix Singapore anchors the global brand in the local culture through spaces that enhance the employee experience and showcase the brand’s products.

For the team at Space Matrix, designing the 75,000-square-foot Microsoft Taipei office was as much of an exercise in understanding the values of the brand as it was a cultural study. In line with the client’s goals for the space, the new office design provides a departure from the previous traditional office environment, unveiling dynamic spaces to cater to the local teams’ needs, while promoting future growth.

Aligning the brand and the local culture was identified as one of the key requirements for the new office. The people-centric aspect became paramount in establishing the overall direction for the design across five floors.

“We believe that spaces are for people,” says Archie Cruda, Associate Director, Design Excellence Centre at the Singapore studio of Space Matrix. “Given that Taipei’s culture is people-centric, there was a seamless alignment in integrating the brand into the local culture and context.”

Across all levels, Space Matrix followed Microsoft’s new global design guidelines for space distribution, devised to cater to various types of human interaction: collaborative, shared and individual work spaces. The client’s main concern was that the teams might resist the changes that would come with the new office, so the design team also gave priority to creating destinations on each floor that would bring people together, building a sense of community in the process.

By bringing contextual considerations into the development of Microsoft Taipei’s office spaces, the design team enabled an easier transition from the old to the new office setting, developing work and social areas rooted in Taipei’s culture.

Thus, level 15 evokes the old heritage Mountain Line Train, level 16 transports its visitors to a lush balcony in a Taipei apartment, level 17 to a Taipei night market, and 18 to a vibrant river front. Level 19 features a customer platform. The team also developed creative graphics to bring elements of the themes to life (for example, the creative use of ceiling lights and graphics represent Taiwan’s night markets).

The integration of Microsoft products in subtle and seamless ways was another key component of the design. In Cruda’s words, “The client wanted to showcase the Microsoft product but in a very subtle, non-confrontational way, believing that technology should not overpower the space but be intuitive and enhance the human experience.” Provisions were implemented to allow visitors to interact with Microsoft’s latest developments within the new office. It shows how technology, when integrated smartly and unobtrusively, can enhance the human experience.

Contextual Revival, Resort-Style for IndesignLive

The new Movenpick Resort & Spa in Bali merges aspects of traditional Balinese culture, local history and contemporary Indonesian craftsmanship in a unique array of spaces and installations.

The recent opening of Bali’s new lifestyle destination, the Samasta Village shopping and cultural complex – with Movenpick Resort and Spa at the centre of the development – has brought a new wave of tourist activity to laid-back Jimbaran. The location has a long history as a fishing village and the resort, while expansive, exhibits a sensitive response to its local history and surrounding context. Indonesian firm Hadiprana have celebrated the humble beginnings of the village within the resort’s spaces and through specially commissioned artworks.

Open, airy and distinctly contemporary in its overall aesthetic, Movenpick acknowledges its Jimbaran location in subtle but striking ways. Inspired by the lifestyle of the local fisherfolk, from the equipment used on a daily basis within the trade to the crafts that are a part of their daily lives, Hadiprana’s design takes cues from the vernacular. And in so doing, it unveils an updated reinterpretation of local references.

Allowing for a certain playfulness in scale and application, these design elements – such as the form of a wave in the carvings on lobby partitions and wall panels – appear through the public and private areas of the resort. These details tie the spaces together.

The subtle and overt references to nature weave a consistent design thread. Carefully curated materials and visual porosities create continuous connections with the landscape beyond the walls. The resort fully embraces the setting around it – from the dramatic promenade piercing through the lobby and framing the view out to the landscape and trellised structure beyond, to the ground-level restaurant Anarasa with floor-to-ceiling windows and a sheltered outdoor dining area, to slivers of greenery that make their way into the openings and voids that puncture the building’s mass at strategic locations.

Artworks and installations were commissioned out and produced in-house, and are positioned throughout the resort to reinforce the connection to nature and the local context of Jimbaran. A mix of custom installations from Hadiprana Artwork, furniture from product designer Alvin Tjitrowirjo, and handpicked paintings and statues by local painters and sculptors form an impressive collection that honours Balinese culture and celebrates contemporary Indonesian art as a whole.

According to the team at Hadiprana, “The selection and production of art installations was a well-thought process considering the theme, colours and the whole interior concept. Therefore, the artworks were selected not just for decoration but to give ‘soul’ to the whole resort area.”

A Hub for Creative Collisions for IndesignLive

Asylum designs a co-working environment suited for innovators from all industries.

Co-working has become a preferred way of working for many companies and start-ups, thanks to its offering of workplace flexibility and networking opportunities. With the recent spurt of co-working hubs all around Singapore, businesses looking for a workspace to suit their needs are in no shortage of options.

Collision 8 is one of the latest co-working spaces to open here, and is the brainchild of Michelle Yong, head of Aurum Land, the property development arm of construction conglomerate Woh Hup, and John Tan, serial entrepreneur and partner at two micro venture capital funds. With this project, Yong and Tan have envisioned a cross-industry collaborative environment supported by a community building programme to facilitate collisions fundamental to the growth of innovative businesses.

For Yong and Tan, the biggest distinction between Collision 8 and other co-working spaces is the focus on the community and the notion of ‘collisions’, beyond just the space. Says Yong, “By engineering serendipity through member curation and monthly personalised introductions by our dedicated community manager, we are uniquely placed to foster high value connections between our members, something that typical co-working spaces do not offer.”

With a determination to cultivate a communal spirit within Collision 8, Yong and Tan enlisted creative design agency Asylum to materialise the main objective of creating an aspirational and sophisticated, yet playful and energetic workspace, through spatial planning and interior design. As the co-founders’ design brief called for a series of spaces that exuded exclusivity, yet allowed for opportunities for members to mingle, gather and exchange ideas, Asylum aimed to provide a range of public and private areas that invited different modes of interaction.

The Asylum team paid particular attention to the public spaces, from the warmly lit library lined with glass cabinets displaying a personal collection of spirits, to the adjacent bar and lounge area, all set against a panoramic backdrop of the Marina Bay Sands, Boat Quay and Fort Canning Park. “We wanted the ‘heart’ of the space to be highly energetic, a space where members could mingle, gather and exchange ideas,” says Cara Ang, design director of Asylum. “What better way to have a nice conversation than over a cup of coffee or a good whisky? Elements such as a library lounge, a bar and a reception area, designed with the intention to heighten the exclusive atmosphere of Collision 8, fell into place, setting the ideal backdrop for social interaction.”

To accommodate a variety of working styles for the tenants, the Asylum team planned for an assortment of work settings, ranging from private offices to hot desks, breakout spaces and meeting rooms. Depending on the nature of the working environment (private, semi-private, highly collaborative), the team varied the design aesthetic from more traditional within private offices to more playful in the meeting areas. Within the breakout spaces, the Asylum team created a lively atmosphere facilitated by the use of bold textures and elements that reinforced the vibrant brand identity. Elsewhere, the team mixed fun and sophisticated elements, functional details and unexpected design features to spark the imagination of Collision 8’s tenants.

“We believe that in the right environment, collisions happen naturally. Nonetheless, we have filled the space with quirky surprises intended to spark curiosity, creativity and conversations at every turn, including fighting fish in the toilets, a mini urban aquaponics farm in the gallery area and a hall of fame, among others,” says Yong.

Having officially opened its doors on 1 August, Collision 8 aims to accommodate approximately 175 people within its 8,600-square-foot space. It already has 450 individuals as part of its growing community, and the goal to grow the membership into the thousands.

“We’ve created a space specific to the business needs of innovative, collaborative companies and individuals looking to take their business to the next level,” concludes Yong. “We believe that innovation will disrupt every industry and is key to building the next generation of successful businesses.”

Charming Chinoiserie for Prestige Global Designs

Within the public and private areas of a home, Chinoiserie décor elements can make spaces come alive with opulent colours and patterns. In a dining area, a majestic feature wall framed by slim slivers of light brings focus to the space and serves as an elegant art piece that complements the stately dinner table and chairs. Likewise, Chinoiserie-inspired patterns add a touch of sophistication to the cabinetry and furniture pieces and provide a statement-making backdrop to a small seating area.

In a bedroom, the colour selection for Chinoiserie-inspired pieces can soothe the eye with a softer palette and delicate detail work. The use of gilded gold for a frame above a bed’s headboard and in slimmer profiles of the framed mirrors instantly adds a luxuriously composed feel to the space.

Ornamental treatments that are signature to the Chinoiserie style do not have to be confined to wallpaper and panel treatments. Creative implementation and mixture of bold and delicate patterns within the living room space pull the furniture arrangement together into one cohesive area. Elsewhere, ceiling and wall framing techniques that recall aspects of traditional Chinese architecture add visual depth and highlight the difference in ceiling heights in a lofty Singapore residence.

Subtlety comes a long way when designing a home in a contemporary Chinoiserie style. Discreet interior decor touches can add interest to a space without making it look cluttered or busy for a clean and composed look. The delicate trellis-like feature with strong, rhythmic pattern cutouts above the bed’s headboard provides a perfect alternative for an artwork to enhance an otherwise unadorned wall. Selected upholstery, soft cushions and bedding bring further harmony to the room, tying it together cohesively with the strategic use of gold and black accent colours.

A Cultural Revival: Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta

New York-based interior designer Alexandra Champalimaud brings her detail-oriented and culture-inspired design vision to the Four Seasons brand in Jakarta. Olha Romaniuk writes.

An expert in residential and hospitality interiors, Alexandra Champalimaud has a keen eye for design enriched by a deep understanding of local history and a sense of place. Having established her New York-based firm, Champalimaud, over 30 years ago, Alexandra has been tirelessly expanding her extensive design portfolio with a roster of renowned commissions such as the award-winning Algonquin Hotel in New York and the Waldorf Astoria. Despite and because of her international experiences, Champalimaud remains profoundly attune to the unique conditions of every project, executing designs that exhibit a keen understanding of their surroundings. With her latest hospitality project, the Four Seasons Jakarta, Champalimaud discusses her firm’s comprehensive design process for the hotel.

How do you approach each of your projects? Is there a systematic brainstorming process that you follow before you begin design or is the approach to every project different?

Every project requires a different thought process, depending on what the requests of the client are. There are numerous factors we take into account before starting each project, such as respect for local cultures and traditions. With the Jakarta project, we had the opportunity to tell the story of its past, present and future through our design and, therefore, naturally had to do our research. We take into account history, heritage and cultural context all while keeping longevity and timelessness in mind.

Four Seasons has been a staple on Jakarta’s hospitality scene for over 20 years. With the new building and new location, was there any intent to redefine or update the Four Seasons brand through interior design as well?

We were directed to create a magnificent space that could appeal to the guests and the locals on several levels. The hotel had to be designed to fit into its urban, sophisticated space, while remaining true to the Four Seasons brand, which is known for its absolutely world-class luxury hospitality experience.

Your studio is known for unique designs that tell a story and have their own character and personality. What message and personality do you hope the new Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta will convey to visitors?

We wanted to convey the local culture, history and traditions of both Asian and European cultures – Jakarta’s local traditions and its history with Western Europe, and the Dutch who traveled to the city as spice traders and left their mark on the region. The Dutch influences are conveyed, for example, in the design of Nautilus bar, which features a large mural of schooners en route to port with delicately swirling lines in the carpet to evoke the feel of the ocean.

For Four Seasons Jakarta, we wanted guests to be enveloped by the spirit of the space at the first moment of their arrival, which we did by creating an entrance of amazing scale, enormous height and elegance – [and a space that is also] contemporary, fresh and young.

Aside from being influenced by Indonesia’s Dutch Colonial period, what other cultural influences did you incorporate into the design?

We [made reference to] Indonesian design such as the gilded, hand-carved tiles affixed to the ceiling of The Library, which is a private space with handsome seating and jewel-toned walls. Meanwhile, Indonesians love their chocolate but adore jewellery even more, so we designed a patisserie to house an array of sweets in the fashion of a jewel box with gilded geometric trim. One of my favourite details are the his and hers custom-designed chairs found in the sitting area of the private suites.

The lobby and the main staircase are particularly spectacular. What are some of the design details within these spaces that were designed to create a big impact as visitors entered the hotel?

There are many – the classical, gilded, 8.5-metre-high open space with ornamental metal work entry door and divider screens, the marble staircase with a custom vibrant rug, an almost 5-metre-high water feature carved in stone, the custom relief artwork from Hadiprana, the crystal chandelier from Lasvit…

In comparison with the hotel’s public spaces, the rooms appear more understated.

The guest rooms are a play on international culture coming to Jakarta, such as the Dutch in the 17th century, but also a reflection of the time when Jakarta was first founded. The rooms are classical in scale with a hint of modern details – a mix of late 18th, 19th and early 20th century furnishings. We chose a grey-blue colour scheme because it is one of the most sophisticated gentle colours, and is both uplifting and calming.

Were there any particular design challenges that you encountered during the design process?

One of the challenges we faced was how to convey this exciting city with its rich history and constant movement, where the women are fabulous and chic, and there is a delightful blend of different cultures. When I first visited Jakarta, I felt an undeniable pull towards the city and its people and when we were, then, approached with this project opportunity, we had the chance to tell the story of the city’s past, present and future through our design.