DESIGN NAME: Black Tenement
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Residence
INSPIRATION: In a Hong Kong neighbourhood which undergoes rapid redevelopment, the owner of the project wishes to retain these two blocks of tenement house from 1950s together with the traditional Chinese noodle store. A coffee shop will be introduced next store. Externally, the design simply keep the existing features intact and paint the whole building black to highlight the shop activities, and add new signages. Internally, we expose the old concrete columns and beams and introduce a clean lines design with a limited palette of materials.keeps the traditional Chinese noodle store and introduces a coffee shop next door. This inspires us to keep the existing building envelope intact and retain some old features; and introduce a clean lines design with a limited palette of materials. Works from local craftsmen are incorporated.
UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The project is the interplay between existing and new, rough and sleek elements in this walk up building. While the existing stairs are kept, the damaged thread is repaired and at the same time painted with a number using a stencil made by a local craftsman using hand stamping. Similar zinc stencil is also used as flat number plate, and is incorporated to the thin black steel umbrella frame outside each flat. Inside, the two different layout calls for two different settings for the studios. One uses a bespoke sliding timber screen adding a warm element to the concrete and the light grey epoxy flooring. The other uses a string curtain which results a different atmosphere. Other design element includes the dark grey stained concrete sink with exposed aggregates that add texture to the uniform black rooftop.
OPERATION / FLOW / INTERACTION: There are six studio flats and one 2-bedrooms flat at the top in total. Since it is a rent-out unit, the 2-bedrooms flat layout is partly undetermined. The design has a modular furniture system with pull-down bed and moveable boxes installed along two main walls. Together with the bi-folding metal screens, the design gives flexibility for tenants to organise their preferred interior arrangement. The roof of the building is a communal space where tenants can mingle. Each tenant has its own small parcel of farm, and next to the two concrete sink are large troughs for plants or beer baths.
PROJECT DURATION AND LOCATION: The project is located in Central, Hong Kong. It started in October 2016 and was completed in January 2018.
FITS BEST INTO CATEGORY: Interior Space and Exhibition Design
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PRODUCTION / REALIZATION TECHNOLOGY: The challenge is to create a sleek yet usable interior inside a small old building where every centimeter matters. To maximize the space, renders from existing columns and beams are hacked off carefully and remain exposed. Thin steel black frames are used throughout the interior to create sense of light and air. Partitions are kept minimal. Natural timber veneer are used as highlights, for furniture as well as splash-back of the pantry. To achieve that, special timber panels with a PVDF overlay are used to ensure they are anti-moisture and anti-bacteria. For bathrooms, mirror stainless steel panels are sand-blasted with a varying degree by hand to create a dreamy effect.
SPECIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL PROPERTIES: At each unit’s entrance, room numbers are projected via a hand-stamped zinc plate by a local craftsman. His works also form stencils which the contractor numbers all the stair threads repaired.
Inside each bathroom there is a wall cladded with mirror stainless steel panels with blurring edges, resulting through varying degree of orbital sanding at every 100mm.
TAGS: hand-chiselled zinc plate, local craftsmen, renovation, black, old and new
RESEARCH ABSTRACT: Design details evolved through conversations and collaborations with local craftsman and contractors for the mirror stainless steel effect, the signages, dark grey concrete with exposed aggregate sinks.
CHALLENGE: To create openness and layering of spaces in a small area of ±30m2.
ADDED DATE: 2018-02-26 16:18:36
TEAM MEMBERS (2) : Annette Chu and Gigi Chiu
IMAGE CREDITS: Image 1: Wangslok
Image 2: Wangslok
Image 3: Eureka
Image 4: Wangslok
Image 5: Wangslok
PATENTS/COPYRIGHTS: Copyrights belong to Eureka, 2018.
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