https://www.scmp.com/rss/326744/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com When businessman Samuel Law Yiu-fung went flat hunting after getting married in 2018, he and his wife decided on Ho Man Tin, a neighbour­hood that had left him with memories of a child­hood so happy he was persuaded to raise a family there. The couple chose a 10-year-old, 1,746 sq ft apartment, which afforded space and promised a good night’s sleep: what would be their bedroom overlooked a quiet park. But to meet its potential the flat needed an overhaul. Not only did they want a big suite for... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3088061/hong-kong-family-home-shows-minimal-doesnt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3088061/hong-kong-family-home-shows-minimal-doesnt?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Jun 2020 01:30:14 +0000 To call architect Nelson Chow Chi-wai’s latest Hong Kong project a residence seems inadequate. The flat’s interlacing materials of onyx stone, marble and oxidised metal make the home appear sculptural but also of a piece – like layers of sedimentary rock inside a mountain quarry. Chow, founder of NC Design and Architecture (NCDA), was enlisted for the job by a lifelong friend. She and her partner – who split their time between Hong Kong and Tokyo – wanted a flat that was beau­tiful, functional... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3080874/hong-kong-home-more-living-areas-bedrooms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3080874/hong-kong-home-more-living-areas-bedrooms?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Apr 2020 01:30:21 +0000 When Mei Yee Lim bought a flat in Cullinan West, a new development near Sham Shui Po, she knew she would need the help of a professional designer. “I’d been living in two-bedroom apartments for the past 10 years and taking up the space for myself,” she says. “Downsizing to a 350 sq ft, one-bedroom flat was a challenge.” Several designers turned her away because of the flat’s size, but Clifton Leung Design Workshop was up for the challenge. “Hong Kong apartments seem to be getting smaller and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3077774/downsizing-350-sq-ft-was-challenge-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3077774/downsizing-350-sq-ft-was-challenge-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2020 01:30:12 +0000 Design is about solving problems. It may not sound glamorous, but designers are tasked with finding solutions to a range of technical, formal and budgetary challenges – not to mention flaring tempers. Belying the polished lustre of this flat in Shenzhen’s Fragrance Hill estate was a strained relationship between the designer and client that simmered throughout the year-long renovation. “Near the end of the project we had a fight and almost terminated the contract,” says Wesley Liu Yik-kuen, of... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3074427/inside-young-chinese-couples-shenzhen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3074427/inside-young-chinese-couples-shenzhen?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2020 01:30:05 +0000 It’s winter in New York and a cold wind blows off the Hudson River, barrelling through the streets and lifting the bare branches of trees. At Hudson Yards, where trees have yet to grow, the wind gusts between the plaza’s steel-and-glass towers and whirls through The Vessel – the sculpture at its centre – on which visitors traipse despite the arctic chill. Nearby, riffing on the steel blues and river greys of the former train yard, designers Rockwell Group and Joyce Wang Studio have created a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3049079/interior-designer-talks-us-through-her-spa-and-club?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3049079/interior-designer-talks-us-through-her-spa-and-club?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Feb 2020 10:00:15 +0000 A banana stole the show. From VIP preview day onwards at Art Basel Miami Beach, crowds of collectors gathered to take selfies with the soft fruit taped to the wall at Perrotin Gallery. Entitled Comedian, the work by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan quickly sold to three collectors for prices ranging from US$120,000 to US$150,000. Buyers received a certificate of authenticity from the artist along with “installation instructions”. Banana memes ensued. The fruit gained its own Instagram account.... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3042225/beyond-banana-art-week-miami-had-lot-say-about-sustainable?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3042225/beyond-banana-art-week-miami-had-lot-say-about-sustainable?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Dec 2019 07:00:12 +0000 I meet Dr Ruth Gates one morning in Kaneohe Bay, a sheltered cove on the southeast coast of Oahu, Hawaii. She is taking me to Coconut Island, a small island visible from shore but accessible only by speedboat. Gates, in her mid 50s, is the director of Hawaii’s Institute of Marine Biology and principal investigator at the Gates Coral Lab, and the president of the International Society for Reef Studies, as well as the author of more than 100 scientific papers and a frequent public speaker. From... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2149588/saving-worlds-coral-avert-wipeout-irreversible-costs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2149588/saving-worlds-coral-avert-wipeout-irreversible-costs?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Jun 2018 01:00:20 +0000 How does a painting once priced at US$60 ultimately sell for US$450 million? This question comes to mind as I climb the stairs of a pre-war town house near Central Park, New York, to speak to the man who unearthed Leonardo da Vinci’s last painting, Salvator Mundi (Saviour of the World). Last autumn, the 26-inch high painting shattered auction records when it sold for US$450.31 million, far surpassing the previous record held by Picasso’s Women of Algiers, which fetched US$179.4 million at... https://www.scmp.com/business/money/wealth/article/2144271/meet-man-who-found-da-vinci-sold-record-us450-million?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/money/wealth/article/2144271/meet-man-who-found-da-vinci-sold-record-us450-million?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 May 2018 01:00:15 +0000 “You’re not afraid of heights are you?” Race Randle, senior vice-president at Howard Hughes Corporation has stepped casually out onto the glass balcony of a 36th floor penthouse. Below, the waves breaking on the reef appear like chalk smudges. The pages of my notebook ruffle in the wind. The balcony floats freely above Honolulu’s aquamarine ocean and there is nothing in my line of sight from Pearl Harbour to the Diamond Head crater. The penthouse, which offers unobstructed views through its... https://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/2139507/luxury-island-life-try-hawaii-real-estate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/2139507/luxury-island-life-try-hawaii-real-estate?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Apr 2018 23:03:03 +0000