If Hong Kong were a chair, what would it look like? 10 designers respond
Local designers were asked to create chairs that capture the spirit of the city for the China International Furniture Fair in Shanghai. The results were quite surprising
The question of what Hong Kong stands for has been put to 10 local designers, and they have answered - with chairs.
This delightfully idiosyncratic exercise was conceived by Patrick Leung, founder of PAL Design Consultants in Hong Kong, when he was asked to curate the Hong Kong booth for this year's China International Furniture Fair in Shanghai.
"The atmosphere in Hong Kong is so down at the moment. I also think that the rest of the world has developed a negative impression of our city. I want the project to focus on the more positive, friendlier, aspects of Hong Kong's spirit, and, since it's for a furniture expo, I reckoned that designing chairs would be fun," says Leung.
To condense the spirit of a big city has inevitably resulted in a few clichés. But nonetheless, there is wit and there are ingenious design elements, and some of the chairs may even end up in your living room one day.
William Lim - architect, designer, artist and collector all rolled into one - has relished the challenge. "It is most unusual for 10 Hong Kong designers to work together on one project. It's a good way to bond," he says.