Who is he? The 63-year-old architect/interior designer the Chinese press call 'Hong Kong's father of interior design'. Kenneth Ko Man-on has designed more than 1,000 commercial and residential projects in Hong Kong and the mainland since he set up his eponymous company in 1976. He is behind the show flats at South Bay Palace, Repulse Bay. What's his story? After obtaining a degree in architecture from Melbourne University, the Shanghai-born, Hong Kong-raised designer returned to Hong Kong in 1970, working for two local architectural firms at different times before setting up Kenneth Ko Designs. One of his first solo projects was the Shek O house of a neighbour, who granted the young designer a HK$300,000 contract after seeing how he had turned his own abode into a 'cosy and functional home'. Ko's company then went on to design numerous residential and commercial premises, including the now-defunct Canton Disco, Chinese Arts & Crafts, Shanghai Tang and Episode (right). He says his secret is simply to be attentive to his clients. 'You have to pay attention to a client's every word, expression and gesture. If a wife tells you her idea then quickly looks over to her husband, you know the husband is in charge,' Ko says. How did he rise to fame? The veteran designer is probably better known to the layman for his bare-all picture book. At age 53, Ko caused a stir in Hong Kong by publishing At His Peak, which was partly meant to promote fitness. Before that, he was already an established name in the industry and had expanded his business to Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. Today, Ko's focus is on the mainland, which he visits no fewer than 120 times a year. He says he prefers working on the mainland to Hong Kong. 'Hong Kong people are very conservative. Their lifestyle is sterile. I think it's a boring city,' he says. 'On the mainland, a lot of people [have gone] from having nothing to becoming wealthy. They don't have a preset concept on particular designs. People hire you because they fully trust you. And there's a big variety in terms of people's background. There's a lot more fun and more space for creativity there.' Where on the mainland can I find his designs? His latest project is Hujin, a new restaurant in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. Given complete freedom by the restaurant's owner to design the 100,000 sq ft premises, Ko divided the space into 50 private rooms, each of which features a different theme related to Chinese art and culture. For example, one room focuses on calligraphy; another on Chinese silk. Ko says the design is in line with his passion for Chinese culture and his penchant for mixing oriental and western elements.