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PostMagDesign & Interiors

Inside One Bedford Place, an architect’s nostalgic tribute to old Hong Kong

For a new office tower in Tai Kok Tsui, architect Frank Leung drew on classic Hong Kong style to create contemporary interiors that blend tradition with modernity

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Bamboo steam baskets make light fixtures in the gym at One Bedford Place, Tai Kok Tsui. Photo: Han Tang
Christopher DeWolf
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.

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
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.”

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