Inside Hong Kong designer Alan Chan’s fabulous ‘chamber of art and curiosities’
Space 27, in Quarry Bay, is designer Alan Chan’s loft-turned-private museum filled with 400 pieces from his wildly eclectic collection, curated to celebrate his 70th birthday
About 30 years ago, Alan Chan Yau-kin – designer, brand consultant and shrewd property investor – bought two floors of an industrial space in Quarry Bay. Six years ago, he took one back from his tenants and after a badly needed overhaul (the building dates from 1955 and still has a temperamental lift), it emerged as a white-walled, cement-floored loft. He named it Space 27 – 27 being his lucky number – and rented it out to such high-end brands as Marc Jacobs, Chanel and Celine for functions.
In January, on the 27th, Chan turned 70. Since his 60th birthday, he’s marked each occasion with parties in different venues. This year, however, he felt he should also celebrate 50 years in the creative industry and the 40th anniversary of Alan Chan Design Company.
“Who is Alan Chan?” he muses, one recent afternoon before supplying the answer: “Not only a designer but an artist, a collector, a creator. I wanted my guests to see who I am.”
Which is how Space 27 came to be transformed into what his press release terms a “Chamber of Art and Curiosities Illuminating His Lifelong Passion Behind Collecting”. That there’s a press statement suggests a public dimension but unless you are a friend, a person worth knowing or a lucky journalist you won’t have access to a genuine wonder – a Hong Kong version of a kunstkammer curiosity cabinet spread across 5,000 square feet, plus a 2,000 sq ft terrace on which to get your breath back.
It’s easy to create contrasts. But how do you create harmony?
Chan likes to refer to it as a home away from home, which could only be true of people who live in a space filled with wildly divergent objects (a Buzz Lightyear toy, a French dial telephone, a metre-high statue of Rich Uncle Pennybags from Monopoly), have mega-successful artistic friends (a portrait of Chan by Zeng Fanzhi hangs at the entrance) and never sleep (there are no bedrooms).
He’s closer to the mark when he says it’s “an apartment-style private museum”; amid the artefacts, enough useful furniture has been borrowed from Colourliving in Wan Chai for visitors’ comfort. Most of all, it’s like peering into the hospitable nest of a cultured magpie with an enthusiastic eye, who has spent decades flitting about the world gathering objects.