Cyber space
James Law is living ahead of his time - in a futuristic, fully automated abode where the sofa is the control centre, the walls are his television and he doesn't have to lift a finger to get things done.
Living in a fully automated home - with walls that disappear at the flick of a switch or lights and a television that respond to the sound of your voice - is something most of us have seen only at prototype showcases in exhibition halls or in magazines. Such a lifestyle is out of reach for many, but not for self-styled 'cybertect' James Law, who turned science fiction into reality in his new apartment in Kowloon Tong.
Law's mission is to develop an understanding of 'cybertecture''; he sees it as a 'symbiotic balance achieved between design and technology', whereas traditional architecture deals purely with physical space. This being the first place he can call a home of his own in Hong Kong - he previously lived with his parents - it provided the perfect opportunity to test the visionary thinking he's been trying to promote to his clients.
Despite all the sci-fi technology that dominates the 1950s-built, 1,000-square-foot walk-up, Law hasn't ignored the apartment's natural surroundings. On entering the flat, the first vision is of Kowloon Tsai Park and Lion Rock through a floor-to-ceiling picture window. The view contrasts sharply with the interior of the flat - cyber space.
A demanding work schedule left Law with little time to think about the interior design of his new apartment, so he called his contractor and instructed him to 'knock everything out'. Unfortunately, the contractor took him literally, demolishing every wall and removing all the windows. Law hadn't developed any concrete ideas until he looked at the raw shell. It was a perfectly rectilinear plan, but with one minor flaw - a structural column in the heart of the empty space. 'The starting point was, 'What the hell am I going to do with this?'' says Law. Where possible, the use of the space has not been fixed. 'It's an open palette and all the activities are a little more hybrid,' Law says. 'I designed my own furniture because I didn't want conventional sofas,' he adds, describing the pieces as 'islands on a white sea'. However, the focal point is Law's self-designed home automation system. A wireless touch pad controls the air-conditioning, automatic doors, locks, blinds and curtains, as well as the audiovisual projectors, projection blinds, internet access, cable television and voice-recognition system. Tinted mirror panels slide across at the touch of a button to seal off the flat's sole bedroom. 'When guests came over I didn't want the space to be rigidly designated as dining room, living room, bedroom ... yet I also wanted some privacy,' says Law. The ultimate plaything has to be the drop-down screens Law installed across the length of two adjoining walls. 'The whole flat transforms into a digital space,' he says. While providing the ultimate entertainment venue for friends and family to watch movies, play games or surf the net, Law also uses it for business - to deliver presentations and demonstrate his ideas.
The ambiguous boundaries are helped by clever finishing, predominantly tinted grey glass and tinted mirrors. The bathroom and kitchen - difficult to make mobile - are partially visible behind tinted glass. The tinting creates a softer, subdued look. The bathroom slots into a wall of tinted glass that also hides utility and storage space and the central computer 'brain' that controls the automated system. Law is in the process of adding a voice-recognition system that will activate all the functions.
3 The bathroom is decorated with large-format blue mosaic tiles and white porcelain fittings, all found in hardware stores in Mongkok. Grey-tinted glass encases the shower and toilet.
4 The floor-to-ceiling picture window embraces the surrounding landscape and floods the open-plan apartment with light. 'It was also functional in getting the place built,' says Law. The opening was used to move in the large pieces of glass and mirror.
5 The kitchen can be sealed off from the rest of the flat with automated sliding, tinted-glass doors. A simple, linear stretch of steel units was built by the contractor to Law's specifications. The gas hob and hood are from Towngas (shop L030, New World Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2880 6988).
6 The master bedroom can be concealed from the general living space by sliding walls clad in tinted mirror (the Ravi model in beige, $6,700, from Franc Franc, Festival Walk, tel: 3106 8958). The matching pair of Archimoon Classic bedside lamps are from Flos ($3,700 each).
7 Law found the rectangular table with retractable top ($40,000) and chairs ($6,000 each) for the dining area at Ital Design (39 Wong Nai Chung Road, Happy Valley, tel: 2892 1339).
TRIED & TESTED Remote control
The two-metre wide sofa provides more than stylish comfort; it is the control centre of the home. From here, every function in the apartment and its various ambient moods can be remotely controlled.
Unable to find comfortable furniture that supports high-end technology in a way Law found suitable, he designed the lounge suite and had it made by IF Collection (about $40,000, room 404, 50 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2520 0223). The price includes two smaller ottomans. Built into the circular sofa is a stable surface that can be used as a coffee-table. While lounging on the sofa, Law can check his e-mail via the plug-in laptop arm and remote-control the mechanics of his flat - lights, blinds, television, sliding doors - through his wireless Cybertecture Home Automation System. Law's company developed the personalised system, which costs about $350,000, in partnership with I-Control Ltd (tel: 2590 0299), using systems by Creator and custom software from James Law Cybertecture International (tel: 9365 5455).
STYLIST Esther van Wijck
