Design Anthology, Asia Edition Issue 30

I was 29 years old when I moved to Hong Kong, two overweight suitcases and a one-year work contract in hand. I’d experienced life in a foreign city before, having spent three years in Tokyo, but Hong Kong sucked me in from the moment I stepped off the plane. The smell of something foreign filled my nostrils and I was immediately intoxicated. I vowed early on that I wouldn’t become one of those expats — the kind that comes for a year and ends up staying for decades. But little by little, year by year, one siu mai at a time, my plan came unstuck. That one-year jaunt turned into 16 years, and I have zero regrets. There’s nowhere else quite like Hong Kong. Anyone who’s lived here, visited or even…

AWARDS The industry awards for the region’s design community, celebrating and showcasing high-calibre work by emerging and established designers design-anthology.com/awards SHOP A curated selection of products by makers working in and around Asia, with worldwide shipping to wherever you are design-anthology.com/shop SUBSCRIBE Receive four issues a year plus our Milan Report, as well as access to the digital edition and exclusive invitations and discounts design-anthology.com/subscribe EVENTS Online and offline, we bring thought leaders together to explore the future of design and inspire the people making it happen design-anthology.com/events EMAIL The weekly Dispatch delivers a round-up of our top stories, products, events and opportunities straight to your inbox design-anthology.com/dispatch AUSTRALIA EDITION Published in Melbourne, Design Anthology Australia focuses on Australia and New Zealand’s burgeoning creative landscapes design-anthology.com/australia PODCAST Take an international tour to meet some of the most recognisable names working in design, architecture and interiors design-anthology.com/podcast WEBSITE Updated daily, our website is…

Karimoku Commons Tokyo Following the opening of Karimoku Commons Osaka, Karimoku Furniture, one of Japan’s leading manufacturers of wooden furniture, has opened its second showroom, this time in Tokyo’s vibrant Nishiazabu district. Designed by Keiji Ashizawa Design, the three-floor hybrid space serves as an office and an exhibition and event space. Brands on show include the internationally acclaimed Karimoku New Standard and Karimoku Case Study, as well as Ishinomaki Laboratory by Karimoku and new brand MAS. The opening of Karimoku Commons Tokyo also marks the launch of new furniture pieces for Karimoku New Standard and Karimoku Case Study, including a series of chairs by Norm Architects, a lounge chair by Moritz Schlatter and a workstation by GECKELER MICHELS. Karimoku Commons Tokyo offers visitors an insight into the company’s portfolio of high-end furniture brands,…

niceworkshop Seoul-based interior design studio niceworkshop, run by Hyunseog Oh and Sangmyung Yu, has launched the Bolt collection, comprising a table, chairs and bench made from stainless steel threaded bolts. Inspired by the idea of using construction material that would otherwise be discarded as waste, the designers used the bolts differently in each piece of furniture. The collection explores the perception of space through minimalist forms, using the material flexibility of bolts to achieve different possibilities. instagram.com/niceworkshop_ Pierre Yovanovitch Mobilier Two decades after founding his interior architecture practice, French designer Pierre Yovanovitch has launched his own furniture brand, Pierre Yovanovitch Mobilier — a natural evolution from his experience creating custom pieces for residential, hospitality and commercial projects around the world. The brand captures the designer’s unique aesthetic and bespoke approach, and launched with 45…

Contemporary Japanese Architecture by Philip Jodidio (TASCHEN) This work presents 55 projects by Japanese architects, mostly in their native country, and includes household names alongside less-known practitioners. Philip Jodidio’s introduction gives the thrust of the volume in discussing the history of Japanese architecture, its socio-economic context and key figures past, present and emerging. Of the current post-Fukushima period, he writes, ‘Japan has responded with energy and invention, but today’s buildings are surely greener, smaller, and less expensive than those of another era. This is a time of shrinking expectations’. Shrinking or not, expectations of Japanese architects remain high, and the volume displays their work beautifully via sumptuous photography on black paper. Projects vary from breathtaking natural spaces like Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Enoura Observatory to educational, cultural, commercial and residential works across all scales. In the…

It’s timely and relevant to create an issue on design in Hong Kong — especially in these tumultuous times, through protests, political shifts and a pandemic. Amid the uncertainties looming over the city, worsened by the realities of emigration and censorship, I’ve been prompted to reflect on which of Hong Kong’s characteristics, those that have allowed design and art to thrive, will remain unchanged. As a historian and curator called to Hong Kong in 2012 to build a design and architecture collection for M+ that reflects the city’s distinct histories and its place in the world, I’d like to offer reflections on two conditions, based on particular examples in the history of Hong Kong’s design and architectural developments, that fascinate me but that may have gone unnoticed or forgotten: Hong Kong…