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Peta Tomlinson

Throughout history, ceilings have been a canvas for artistic expression, with some of the most celebrated examples found in the world’s most revered architecture.
In modern mass residential construction, however, we somehow settled for the idea of flat white – a legacy of the Bauhaus movement, which in the early 20th century rejected ornamentation, says architect Alexander Wong.
But things are looking up, as statement ceilings become an ascendant design trend globally.
For Wong, founder of Alexander Wong Architects, it has always been so.
“We never forget to include the ceiling design at the very start of all our projects, [incorporating] the lighting as well as electrical and mechanical requirements, the desired mood, and what that means in reinforcing the central theme of that particular project,” he says. “The whole space is an organic construct that is then developed in a holistic way.”
Wong’s studio is known as much for its fantastical hotel, retail and cinema projects as it is for its luxury residentials, but regardless of the site or size, ceilings can throw up challenges. They might be too high or too low. There may be structural beams, ducts and pipework to contend with, and, simply concealing it all behind a conventional flat false ceiling is, in Wong’s view, a wasted opportunity.

Big or small, complex or straightforward, “every ceiling is meaningful”, he says. “Small can become powerful; big can become balletic. That’s what makes every home more interesting.”
Grand ideas from the commercial or hospitality world can be replicated in a residential setting, as demonstrated at Maison Belle, a show flat for Paliburg Group at Mount Regalia, Kau To Shan. With a sizeable 3,000-plus sq ft floorplate, a generous budget and a developer preference for art deco style, Wong topped the extravagant fit-out with chandeliers dripping from lofty, glossy wood and mirrored ceilings.
However, elevation is not a prerequisite for a statement ceiling. For Natura, a 600 sq ft Mid-Levels apartment with a just-above-standard 2.6-metre ceiling height, Wong continued timber floorboards up the walls and overhead, sculpting the planks around the light fixtures, rather than boxing them in.
“The design is whimsical, but also practical,” he says, “achieving a totally original design without reducing the depth of the space.”
Given Hong Kong’s typical constraints of low ceilings (2.5-metre minimum) and exposed services, NC Design and Architecture’s ceiling solutions put functionality first. Says Nelson Chow, founder and principal: “We start the design plan by concealing imperfections, then elevate with materiality [such as plaster, wood and fibreglass] and lighting to turn potential drawbacks into stand-out features.”

Hand-crafted looks add uniqueness to a home, and the fifth wall (as the ceiling is known) is something designers “can really play up”, Chow continues.
“Whether it’s cornice detail, square or elaborate mouldings, stepped layers or creating integrated lighting, there are many options. Ceilings needn’t be linear: in terms of form, we can play with depth, organic curves and more, to do something really beautiful without the interruption of furniture.”
One of his studio’s signature techniques for family homes involves sculptural, curved or egg-shaped plaster forms that drop organically to wrap around and hide beams and ducts. “The fluid geometry softens the space and adds a calming ‘wow’ factor, hand-plastered for smooth integration without bulk,” he says.
If height allows, layered false planes or arched, CNC (computer numerical control)-milled fibreglass elements create depth and interest, with recessed sections precisely built to box in ducts and beams invisibly. “Often we’ll combine this look with hidden LED coves for an ambient glow that distracts from any structural necessities,” Chow says.
But if you’re really pressed for space, a simple reflective paint on the ceiling can make a room feel loftier.

Addressing another common Hong Kong housing complaint – a lack of adequate storage – Alice Cheung Tin-wai, co-founder and creative director of ABT design studio, inverts the idea of a platform.
“In a tiny home, with its various doors and windows, usable horizontal space is limited,” she says, referring to an ABT-designed 300 sq ft apartment in North Point. “Many people assume a floor platform is the answer, but we prefer attic storage, as it’s easier to access.”
Overhead storage also avoids the “complicated flow problems” associated with moving furniture to lift up a hatch.
To maintain a comfortable living space below, a minimum three-metre ceiling height is ideal. For the owners of the North Point flat, 500mm of attic storage in the bedroom holds everyday necessities in pull-out baskets. In the living area, deeper, 700mm overhead compartments store bulkier, less-used items such as the couple’s camping equipment and festive decorations.
There’s another upside, Cheung adds. In a small flat, a ceiling higher than 2.5 metres can make a room feel narrow. Therefore, installing overhead storage can help the space appear larger.

Cheung, however, cautions against devoting an entire ceiling to storage – for one thing, it would be too hard to access. Adding light troughs around the segmented storage turns a practical solution into a design feature.
But maybe you’re less concerned about making a style statement, or even looking to supplement storage? What if it’s more about the vibe?
While toiling away in his workday office, business owner Kevin Gui Yu-guang dreams of laid-back, barefoot days at his favourite surf breaks. At his Victoria Harbour-view apartment in Sai Wan Ho, the refined boho interior, designed by Norman Ung Wai-lun, co-founding partner of Design Eight Five Two (DEFT), replicates that laid-back coastal feeling.
A weathered-timber aesthetic was key, so in the slightly elevated living room area, the raked wood panelling overhead and matching floorboards give the impression of stepping up from the sand into a beach hut. At the apex, a recessed light fitting resembling a skylight bathes the room in a moonlit ambience.

“We wanted to create the feeling of transcending into a separate zone, creating a little beach house within the flat,” Ung says.
Whereas the living room ceiling is “rougher, more like a windswept beach”, Ung says, the bedroom ceiling, slightly stepped and trimmed with timber, has a calmer, curvaceous form, like waves lapping at the shore.
“Because of the full sea view, and me being a surfer, I wanted my apartment to be infused with an ocean vibe,” Gui says. “Everything looks beachy, but refined. I feel calm and relaxed here.”


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Interiors

The fifth wall: how ceilings became the next frontier in interior design

At Maison Belle, a show flat for Paliburg Group at Mount Regalia, Kau To Shan, Alexander Wong Architects went all out with chandeliers and mirrored ceilings. Photo: courtesy Alexander Wong Architects

For Natura, in Mid-Levels, Alexander Wong Architects continued timber floorboards up the walls and overhead, creating a “whimsical, but also practical” feature. Photo: courtesy Alexander Wong Architects

Ceilings needn’t be linear, says Nelson Chow, of NC Design and Architecture. A metallic finish adds drama to the organic flow of a sculpted ceiling in this Southside home. Photo: courtesy Common Studio

In this 300 sq ft North Point flat, ABT design studio inverted the idea of a platform, making use of ceiling space to provide overhead storage. Photo: courtesy ABT design studio

Overhead storage in the 300 sq ft North Point flat, by ABT design studio. Photo: courtesy ABT design studio

The refined boho interior of this Victoria Harbour-view apartment in Sai Wan Ho, designed by Norman Ung of Design Eight Five Two (DEFT), has a laid-back coastal feeling that chimes with its surfer owner, Kevin Gui. Photo: Alexander Mak

Meet the Hong Kong designers turning trash into treasure

Roganic, designed by Atelier E. Photo: courtesy Roganic

Keith Chan, of Hintegro, designed the long bench in Craft Coffee Roaster made with spent coffee grounds. Photo: Keith Chan

The Upcycled Gambit installation by Editecture’s sustainability lab, reEdit, at Milan Design Week in  April, uses tea waste, scrap bamboo and recycled plastic to create a Chinese chess set and table, and partition screen. Photo: courtesy Editecture

ReEdit’s Chinese chess set. Photo: courtesy Editecture

A laminated-bamboo counter that was part of Herzog & de Meuron’s original design for M+ museum was repurposed into a new series of furniture by Beau Architects. Photo: Xu Liang Leon

Beau Architects’ repurposed laminated-bamboo counter. Photo: Xu Liang Leon

Napp Studio’s exhibition for the deTour 2025 festival was designed so that the exhibits could be disassembled into functional pieces of furniture. Photo: courtesy Napp Studio

A chair with a salvaged frame and a floor lamp made from a discarded electrical tube, by Natasza Minasiewicz, on display at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2025. Photo: Natasza Minasiewicz

The abandoned chair before Natasza Minasiewicz transformed it. Photo: courtesy Natasza Minasiewicz

Norman Foster’s hi-tech HSBC masterpiece turns 40

The summit of Norman Foster’s HSBC Main Building in relief against The Peak, 1986. Photo: Ian Lambot

Architect Norman Foster at the HSBC Main Building in 2010. Photo: Sam Tsang

The cathedral-like atrium, 12 storeys and 55 metres high, as measured from ground level, starts to emerge, in January 1984. The three-storey cross-bracing and mast sections show their internal aluminium, fire-protection cladding. Behind are the link bridges and support structure for the lift shafts. Photo: Ian Lambot

February 1984 and secondary construction is closely following that of the main structure. Emergency stairs continue to climb and module installation is proceeding. Photo: Ian Lambot

The resplendent, 55-metre-high banking hall atrium, capped by the internal sunscoop, with its alternating rows of mirrors and spotlights. This device was designed to reflect natural light into the atrium and plaza below from the 33-metre-long, mirrored external sunscoop erected on the south side of the building at level 12. Photo: Ian Lambot

The Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank and Junk (1985). This celebrated perspective from across Victoria Harbour is now showing as part of the Design Trust’s exhibition “The Art of Movement”, which traces Hong Kong’s architectural art and natural landscapes from the 1980s to the present day. St John’s Building, 33 Garden Road, Central, until April 12. Photo: courtesy Ian Lambot and Blue Lotus Gallery

Ian Lambot in the ground-floor plaza, between the HSBC Main Building escalators. The escalators were angled in consultation with a feng shui expert, who identified the building’s most auspicious entry and exit points. Photo: Alexander Mak

The completed main framework is picked out in early-morning mist in June 1984. The first of the six cranes is being dismantled and is minus its jib (second left). Photo: Ian Lambot

One of the largest external aluminium cladding sections is manoeuvred into place in August 1984. The cladding was designed to prevent water penetration, especially during typhoons. Photo: Ian Lambot

The Central location and limited access meant large loads were delivered late at night. Almost all major steelwork was lifted in the early hours, the mast sections being fitted here forming part of the truss at levels 28-29. Photo: Ian Lambot

The column-free building’s flexibility in office planning and its transparency may be best appreciated at night. Fluid spaces, avoiding corridors and enclosed areas, reward users with striking prospects towards Kowloon or The Peak. Photo: Ian Lambot

This elaborate bamboo structure was erected on level 11 adjacent to the atrium to help with the installation of soffit cladding, which protects against moisture and condensation. Photo: Ian Lambot

January 1984: a tunnel is dug through bedrock to connect Victoria Harbour with the HSBC Main Building to supply seawater for its air conditioning system and washrooms. At a depth of 75 metres, the tunnel passes well below Central MTR station. Photo: Ian Lambot

Prefabricated modules made in Japan arrived on site ready to be “plugged in”. Inside were washrooms or electrical and mechanical services equipment. Photo: Ian Lambot

The finished Main Building in splendid isolation, pictured from the Zoological and Botanical Gardens, Mid-Levels, in 1986. Photo: Ian Lambot

HSBC

Luxury show flat interiors in Hong Kong blend realism with dream design

The ARTTA Concept-designed 1,000 sq ft show flat in Chinachem Group’s In One project in Ho Man Tin. Photo: Steven Ko

Straight lines and a contemporary Asian aesthetic in ARTTA Concept’s 600 sq ft flat. Photo: Steven Ko

The 1,000 sq ft flat is one of two designed by ARTTA Concept at In One, both of which sold within a month. Photo: Steven Ko

Bean Buro incorporated wellness features, such as air and water filtration, non-toxic materials and smart lighting, to align with the body’s circadian rhythm. Photo: courtesy Bean Buro

The Development Studio’s show flat, at 33 Kennedy Road, Mid-Levels, designed by Studio Ella. Photo: HDP Photography

Most people can’t imagine what is possible until they explore options with their designer, says Studio Ella founder and director Ella Bridgland. Photo: courtesy Studio Ella

Bean Buro designed a duplex with children in mind, at New World Development’s Mount Pavilia, Clear Water Bay. Photo: courtesy Bean Buro

According to Studio Ella founder and director Ella Bridgland, the trend of creating more personalised show flats is growing globally, even though in Hong Kong, “lots of developers are not willing to take a risk doing something different”. Photo: HDP Photography

A Wong Kar-wai film set? No, it’s an old Shanghai-style family home in Jing-An

An old Shanghai-style flat. Photo: courtesy hoo

The dining area. Photo: courtesy hoo

The guest bedroom. Photo: courtesy hoo 

The kitchen. Photo: courtesy hoo

The living room. Photo: courtesy hoo 

Main bedroom. Photo: courtesy hoo

The origami apartment: how washi paper and precision design reshaped a Tsim Sha Tsui flat

Living area of the flat in Tsim Sha Tsui designed by GAAN. Photo: Eugene Chan

Dining area. Photo: Eugene Chan

Kitchen. Photo: Eugene Chan

Dressing table. Photo: Eugene Chan

Bedroom. Photo: Eugene Chan

Corridor ceiling. Photo: Eugene Chan

PostMag

Ceilings offer uninterrupted expanses for creative expression. Little wonder designers revamping homes are looking up


Ceilings offer uninterrupted expanses for creative expression. Little wonder designers revamping homes are looking up.


Hong Kong

Architecture and design

The fifth wall: how ceilings became the next frontier in interior design

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Ceilings offer uninterrupted expanses for creative expression. Little wonder designers revamping homes are looking up

Ceilings offer uninterrupted expanses for creative expression. Little wonder designers revamping homes are looking up