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Shirley Lau

Architect and interior designer

While working as a  researcher with the BBC in London, Mike Atkin  discovered his passion for architecture.  Now  director of Marco Pierre White is, Atkin has overseen 70 projects across Asia, including the Great food hall, Elements restaurant and the  Now TV studio in Hong Kong.

Favourite place to shop for the home

'Ovo [16 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, tel: 2526 7226]. So much stuff in Hong Kong is fashion-driven. It's 'in' this week and 'out' the next.  Ovo seems to transcend that.  Their stuff is unusual.'

Favourite item at home

'A painting by Hans Lugner,  aka the Birdman of Hong Kong. He's a German who used to live in Hong Kong. The painting has the most birds of all the paintings he's ever done. The colours - orange, red and yellow - make me happy.'

Favourite living designer

'Philippe Starck is pretty impressive. What he does is just fun. There's no way you can pigeonhole him. He does a million different products. He applies design principles to so many different things. That's really clever and functional. I think that's what design should be.'

Favourite design magazine

'El Croquis  from Spain. Each issue features one  designer. Too many magazines today are like MTV - they are soundbites only. They have tiny articles and give you little photos. This one goes into huge depth. Architectural Review also goes into detail about different concepts and sketches.'

City with the best design

'Barcelona. From buildings to pavements to tarmac, everything gels. It has fantastic buildings that strike the ground really well. The pavements and the  landscape are beautifully done. There's  a design sensibility and harmony  running through the city.'

What's  top of your wish list?

'A wall bracket for the Roman blind in my living room. One of the two I've got is broken so I can't pull up the blind. In the morning the sunlight usually pours into the living room. Not now.  This little bracket  is hindering my enjoyment of the morning sun! I'll replace it today.'

Where do you find inspiration for your designs?

'A fine bottle of red wine with a fat pen in my hand. I like red wine and it relaxes me. Inspiration doesn't come in a pressured situation. And then there's the fat pen. A thin one pushes you towards tiny details. A fat one encapsulates a complicated idea in a pared-down form. The fatter the pen, the more able it is to distil things into a couple of lines.'

Design philosophy

'Your first instinct is probably the right one, so learn to trust it and have confidence in yourself.'



Mike Atkin