Light is vital when creating an artist's studio and living space, especially when the light source is the bright Californian sun. It's not every day a Hong Kong architect has the opportunity to design a deluxe, two-storey home in Santa Monica, Los Angeles. After visiting her close friend, internationally acclaimed artist Diana Shui-Iu Wong ( www.dianawong.com ), Denise Ho (tel: 2884 2815; www.denisehoarchitects.com ) returned to Hong Kong with a unique commission. Having found an empty plot of land, Wong asked Ho to design a combined art studio, gallery and residence to put on it. The full-time artist hails from Hong Kong but moved to Los Angeles more than 30 years ago. Since then she has endured a number of living/working arrangements, none of which were wholly satisfactory. 'To begin with, I had my studio in my bathroom, then I rented different garages ... later I used a guest room next to my house,' she recalls. About 17 years ago she converted a property into the studio/residence she wanted but it became such a popular haunt for art lovers that she was constantly inundated with visitors and could not focus on painting. Wong's contemporary art ranges from mixed media on canvas to installation pieces that might be combined with live performances. Space is paramount so when the chance arose to build from scratch, she was determined to get it right. Wong and Ho met in 1996 on a ceramics study trip to Fuzhou, where they investigated historic pottery sites dating from the Ming dynasty. They have been friends since - even through what turned out to be a long and arduous design and construction process. 'California is notorious for its stringent building codes,' Ho explains. 'Regulations range from building setbacks and proportions to choice of facade materials and even plant species. There are architectural restrictions because people are so protective of their city the only way to ensure it maintains its character is to lay down rules.' Being unfamiliar with all the legislation, Wong and Ho engaged the help of Californian architect Paul Murdoch ( paul@paulmurdocharchitects ), who guided the project through planning-review panels, committees and neighbourhood consultations. He was also responsible for the contractor bidding and construction administration. Three years later, in July 2003, Wong moved in. The building is clearly zoned from front to back, with Wong's living and sleeping quarters stacked against the glazed frontage. At the rear of the house is a self-contained apartment with a separate entrance for Wong's daughter. Bridging the two is a double-height gallery and studio space. It gives mother and daughter their own privacy but there are enough openings and viewpoints to enable casual interaction. The windowed facade of the studio at the side of the house brings the outdoors in and provides an entrance for guests during exhibitions. 'We conceived the studio as a courtyard with slots bringing light into it,' says Ho. Armed with the experience of numerous artist-studio spaces behind her, Wong was clear about her goals. The architect working on Wong's previous studio, for example, had designed it so sunlight penetrated the space in strong rays. 'It looked great but it wasn't ideal for painting,' says Wong. 'Every time the sun moved I had to move my painting and the contrast meant my eyes had to adjust constantly.' It also helped that Ho had stayed with Wong for nine months in her previous studio and had developed an intimate understanding of how the artist lived and worked. 'Lighting was important and we spent a lot of money on five skylights ... there are no shadows in daylight and it's beautifully balanced,' says Ho. For the skylights in the new studio, Murdoch specified a solar-treated glass to diffuse the bright California sunshine into even, natural light on the floor and walls. Another challenge the architects faced was posed by the combined functions of the studio-cum-gallery. It was important for Wong not to feel restricted by her surroundings while in the process of painting, but the gallery had to be neutral and unblemished for exhibition. She often works on a large scale and uses the floor as her easel, so a maintenance-free cement surface, which could be hosed down, was laid. Excess water and paint flow into a sealed sump below the timber-decked floor and can be re-used or disposed of. The 'canvas wall', as Ho calls it, for displaying the paintings is out of splattering distance. 'It's like a stage with all these activities wrapped around it,' she says. TRIED & TESTED Show and sell Rather than taking a chunk out of the rectilinear studio to construct a separate storage room for Diana Wong's finished pieces, architect Denise Ho devised a series of 20 pull-out panels, three-metres square, on which Wong's paintings can be mounted. When buyers come to see her collection she wheels out the panels as required. The 3.5cm-thick frames are finished in TimberGrass bamboo plywood by Teragren ( www.teragren.com ), sealed with satin lacquer and laminated on either side with Homosote soundboard. Custom-made bronze anodised aluminium handles make them easy to move, as do top-hung Unistrut steel wheels inserted into a ceiling-mounted track ( www.unistrut.com ; available in Hong Kong from Tak Cheong Yau Kee Engineering, flat D, 6/F, Kin Yip Plaza, 9 Cheung Yee Street, Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon, tel: 2595 0686). 1 The double-height art studio is fitted with more than 40 spot and floodlights from Iris ( www.iris-lighting.com ) and Litelab ( www.litelab.com ), which are controlled by a computerised dimmer system (from Electronic Theatre Controls, Tower III, Enterprise Square, 9 Sheung Yuet Road, Kowloon Bay, tel: 2799 1220; www.etcconnect.com ). The lights are mounted at angles on ceiling beams and can be pointed in almost any direction to illuminate Diana Wong's paintings. On one wall is Wong's Summer Pond (price on application; www.dianawong.com ). The easy-clean, low-maintenance concrete floor has a smooth finish. Colour has been added to the concrete mixture to create a beige hue and it has been sealed with multiple coats of acrylic varnish. The architects designed a series of movable and fixed prep-stations for mixing paints and selecting brushes, which can be wheeled around the studio as needed. During exhibitions they double as a bar for serving drinks and refreshments. 2 An upper gallery spans the length of the studio above the entrance. It is accessed from either end, bridging Wong and her daughter's separate residences. 3 The living room is almost an extension of Wong's studio and is furnished with Asian artefacts. She bought the 18th-century desk at the window in China and the 10th century Buddha's head was bought in Hong Kong. The lacquered timber coffee table was bought in Los Angeles and contrasts with the intricately carved sofa (bought at auction in Los Angeles) and throne chair from Zimbabwe. The painting on handmade paper represents both a ceremonial robe and traditional Chinese entrance gate (Earth Gate by Diana Wong, US$7,000). 4 The galley kitchen is partially screened from the living room by Japanese-style curtains made by a friend of Wong. Bamboo veneer has been used on the front of the cabinets while the countertops are made of Corian in Bronze Patina by DuPont (available in Hong Kong from Toptech, 8 Commercial Tower, 8 Sun Yip Street, Chai Wan, tel: 2828 4488; www.corian.com ). The industrial-sized sink is by Kohler ( www.kohler.com ; Kohler products are available in Hong Kong from Arnhold Design Centres, 315 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2865 0123; www.arnhold.com.hk ) and the taps are by Dornbracht ( www.dornbracht.com ), whose range is available from Colour.living (333 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2295 6881; www.colourliving.com ). Similar to the living room, non-intrusive focus lights have been set into the ceiling (designed by Tim Thomas & Associates, 3239 Donald Douglas Loop, Santa Monica, California, tel: 310 313 6709). 5 The bathroom lies opposite Wong's meditation room (in background). A wall-to-wall mirror gives an impression of space but otherwise the room is clad with 10cm by 10cm eucalyptus porcelain tiles by Heath Tile (400 Gate Five Road, Sausalito, tel: 415 332 3732; www.heathceramics.com ). The washbasin vanity unit has a surface of Bronze Patina Corian by DuPont (as before) and the storage cabinet below it is clad in bamboo veneer (as before). 6 In keeping with her meditation room next door, the decor of Wong's bedroom is almost monastic. It is softened by the generous application of TimberGrass bamboo veneer (US$7 a square foot from Teragren, suite 301, 12715 Miller Road NE, Bainbridge Island, Washington, tel: 206 842 9477; www. teragren.com), which covers the symmetrically placed bed frame and cabinets as well as the floor. The bedside units are topped with 1.25mm laminated glass to protect them. A horizontal band of high-level windows lets in light and offers leafy views without compromising privacy but because Wong dislikes blinds, the larger side windows have been positioned so they don't overlook neighbours' houses. 7 Those neighbours' houses are only a few metres away so the majority of the windows are at the front of the house. Ceiling-to-floor length Electroshade System 4123 blinds by Mecho Shade ( www.mechoshade.com ) hide the interior from passers-by at night.