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October 9, 2016

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Home » Sunday » Home and Design

Designer finds success with futuristic vision

Source: Shanghai Daily | October 9, 2016, Sunday | Print Edition

WHO is he ?

Alexander Wong is an architect and architectural writer based in Hong Kong. A post-graduate from Princeton University, he established his own design firm, Alexander Wong Architects, in 2001. Wong specializes in designing luxury homes for A-list clients in the movie industry as well as creating theme-based cinema complexes like “Avatar City” in Zhongshan, “A Futuristic Eden” in Shenzhen and “Carmen Futura” in Hong Kong. In 2013 and 2015, Wong was selected by AD (Architectural Digest) China as one of the “100 Top Architecture & Design Talents in China” and also voted Best Young Interior Designer of the Decade in Hong Kong in 2015 by Mediazone. He recently designed two cinemas in Shanghai, “White Futura” for China Film Cinema and “Cinema Exotica” for Cinema City which will be completed early next year.

Tell us about some of your works, and name the one you are most proud of.

Too many to mention. I am proud of each and every one of them, but for quite different reasons. For example, “Golden Eye” for being selected as the World’s Best Show Home at the International Property Awards last December in London; De Rucci Bespoke’s “Palace Of Sleep” for being the World’s Best Retail Interior; “Carmen Futura” for creating a project based on the classic films directed by an old acquaintance of mine, Wong Kar Wai.

Are you currently involved with any project?

Yes, many different ones from a diverse clientele in different industries, including a 50,000 square foot Exhibition and Performance Center in Hengqin that promotes Innovation & Technology; a Lifestyle Supermarket based on Multi-cultural Diversity and the Future of Logistics situated in the busiest part of Hong Kong; an exciting Themed Cinema in Shanghai called “Cinema Exotica” inspired by the Middle Eastern culture mixed with Futurism; yet another Futuristic Cinema in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region based on a theme similar to “Star Wars;” just to name a few.

 

Describe your design style.

I think it’s very hard to describe one’s own style but many people, including writers and architectural critics, have labelled us as: futuristic and innovative, theme-based filled with rich narratives, and easily accessible yet frequently layered with deeper philosophical subtext. Yet to ourselves, our designs are primarily functional, practical, modular in principle, user-oriented, buildable, maintainable, cleanable and frequently inexpensive to construct yet still looks like a million dollars when completed.

What does your home mean to you?

My real “home” is my design studio where I spend most of my time. Home is where one can truly be free and creative, otherwise, a house can sometimes become very limiting especially if you live with people that are not proactively imaginative. Home should be a safe haven where one can grow in body, mind and spirit.

What do you collect?

Normally I do not collect things, as belongings are almost always a burden creating a false sense of security and also limiting our imagination.

At the moment, I am collecting famous photographer’s giant black-and-white photos as investments — Gary Heery’s “Horses” and a huge portrait of a very young Madonna. I am also hoping to buy photo-art from another young exciting Avant Garde artist called Sara Choo Jing based in Singapore whose works remind me of Wong Kar Wai and Sylvia Plath combined.

What will be the next big design trend?

Design trends are almost always based on, or dictated by, major economic trends, technological advancement, and social evolution.

With so much growth in online shopping and millennials not wishing to buy what their parents did, there will be a massive paradigm shift in shopping malls leading to more experiential facilities being designed and created... possibly a new type of interactive food and beverage outlets where one can learn something new upon each and every visit.

There will be an increasing number of architainment (design with architecture and entertainment combined) facilities, like performance halls for reality TV shows.

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