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.
