'I REALISED ONE DAY that I spend approximately a third of the year travelling; that's about 120 days of the year living in hotels - a home away from home, I think they say,' says Gary Chang, the Hong Kong-born award-winning architect and designer. Unlike most architects in Hong Kong, Chang's work focuses not on sky-high towers but on the quality use of space, no matter how big or small. 'I think that's where my fascination with hotels came from,' he says.
Best known for his Suitcase House, one of the 11 avant-garde villas at the Commune by the Great Wall near Beijing, Chang is also responsible for the interior design at the Waterfront residential block in West Kowloon, the Workstation building for Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific and the Kung Fu tea set for Italian design brand Alessi. His unique vision and simple tastes are seen as a rarity in showy Hong Kong and this may be why he is so sought after.
With so many international clients, Chang finds himself in a different city almost every other week of the year. 'It started in 1996 when I was asked to speak at my first official international conference in Osaka, Japan. From there, I gained more exposure and began to receive more invitations to speak at symposiums or join discussion panels around the world. To start with, organisers used to put me up in hotels but the more I travelled, the pickier I got with the hotels.
'I dislike how 'busy' people are these days.
I know people who go to conferences and after speaking, drive straight to the airport to head back home. I like to take my time and explore new cities. I always make sure my trips overlap the weekend, which means I also spend more time in hotels.'
The best place to explore, Chang says, is Iceland. 'It's currently my favourite place to visit - truly a natural wonder. I love how you can be in the city one moment and, in half a day, be out by the volcanoes and glaciers.'
Chang's fascination with hotel rooms quickly turned into an obsession. 'I prefer to stay in each hotel for one night only so I check in in the morning, check out the next day and check into another hotel. If it's not possible to change hotels, then I'll try and change hotel rooms.'