Henning Voss is no stranger to the Hong Kong property market, having bought old flats for conversion into handsome bachelor pads for rent or sale. So when it was time to create his own nest, which would double as an office, he had a firm idea of what he wanted. He adopted the look he and his business partners had chosen for their investment properties and designed the flat so it could accommodate a handful of employees during the day and be turned into a private refuge at night.
With Newton Concepts' Jennifer Newton, who designed his other apartments, Voss transformed a 900 sq ft shell in Sheung Wan into a practical but stylish flat with personal and public space. In the middle of an open- plan living area, the work surface turns into a dining table at night. At opposite ends of the room are the lounge, which is fitted with an overhead projector and pull-down screen, and a functional kitchen that pairs raw brickwork and gleaming stainless steel to stunning effect. A roomy bedroom with an en-suite bathroom leads from the shared space and can be closed off during work hours.
'I wanted it to be loft-style, which was the reason behind the brick walls,' says Voss, who runs NecesCity, a free, daily e-mail-based lifestyle guide for men.
Tactile, textured wood has been used liberally: to cover ugly beams, in the guest bathroom, inserted into concrete flooring and, most effectively, to create the double-purpose table.
'Jenny told me she had these teak railway sleepers,' says Voss. 'They're 50 years old and she said she could make a very cool table with a steel frame.'
Raw concrete has been a feature of all three of Voss' flats. In his home, the material was used for, among other things, the countertop and sink in the master bathroom but, unlike in one of his other apartments, not for food-preparation surfaces in the kitchen.