Who? A 26-year-old designer who wants to change the world's 'negative outlook' on China through the work of her company, Mica (Made in China Architecture). Wang joined the Hong Kong design scene 11/2years ago after finishing her studies in the United States and Europe. So far, she has completed three interior projects, including for a restaurant in Causeway Bay. She has also designed four commercial websites.
How did she get into design? At the age of six, she was driven past the HSBC headquarters, built by Norman Foster, in Central. 'I asked my father who created the building. He said, 'architects'. Then I thought: 'OK, I want to be an architect when I grow up.'' That proved more than whimsy. She studied architecture and material science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Boston, and later at the Royal College of Art, in London. In between, she spent a year at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. Soon after graduation, a pastry chef friend asked Wang to help design and rebrand her patisserie - and a designer was born.
What are the challenges a newcomer faces? Wang's age occasionally takes potential clients by surprise. 'I have to show them who I am and my passion. I explain to them my input is valid because I've seen a lot. During my year in the Netherlands, I spent a month driving around Europe studying different styles of architecture. And I'm very hands-on. When a project is ongoing, I visit the work site every day,' she says. Being female also helps. 'The testosterone level is quite high at those work sites, which may not always put a male designer at an advantage. But being a woman, I seem to find it easier to make people listen to me and get things done.'
Where can we see her work? Her debut project was the patisserie Sift in Ap Lei Chau. The interior is marked by a bespoke stepped and sloped display that places each piece of pastry on its own pedestal. She was also behind the Drawing Room restaurant (left) at the boutique Jia hotel. Wang intends to tap the mainland market by creating 'high-end made-in-China designs' that show the world 'China-made designs are worth global attention and are worth learning from'.