Table of contents for Issue 42 in Design Anthology, Asia Pacific Edition

LIGHT Coulisse Table Lamp Hermès Designed by Tomás Alonso, the Coulisse table lamp draws inspiration from the structural panels of theatrical set design. Situated between sculpture and functional object, the light uses simple shapes — circles, rectangles and triangles — to orchestrate an interplay of shadow and light. The piece is constructed from hand-painted parachute canvas stretched over an exceptionally lightweight bamboo frame crafted by Japanese master cabinetmakers. A copper-plated steel connecting circle unifies the lamp, resulting in a lightweight, ambient object that defines space through soft, contrasting colours. hermes.com CHAIR Marilyn Armchair Baxter × Draga & Aurel The Marilyn armchair, designed by Draga & Aurel for Baxter, is a study in enveloping comfort and artisanal precision. The metal frame with revolving base is available in a range of gloss and…

The kitchen is often where ease and familiarity take root, where movements shaped by habit feel instinctive. Tools respond to hands seamlessly, and routines gradually evolve into rituals. This understanding underpins Nature—Ritual, a large-scale exhibition by New Zealand’s Fisher & Paykel, set to be presented at EuroCucina 2026 during Milan Design Week this April. The heritage brand’s participation at this edition of the world’s leading design week is conceived in collaboration with Alt Group creative director Dean Poole, who shaped the exhibition’s architectural and sculptural language, and Calvi Brambilla & Partners co-founder Fabio Calvi, who created the spatial composition and flow of the experience. Installed within the halls of Fiera Milano Rho from 21−26 April, Nature—Ritual is envisioned as a serene Antipodean oasis. A forest-like installation, lush with native trees…

On the 47th floor, the muffled hum of an opera singer rehearsing slips under a suite door and out into the corridor. It’s early evening at the just-reopened Park Hyatt Tokyo and its residents are preparing for their evenings — a guest profile that for more than 30 years has included artists and auteurs, academics and actors. The hotel’s role as a home for the visiting creative class was, of course, immortalised nine years after opening in Lost in Translation. The film was itself set in the hotel but also depicted both a photographer and an actor in residence, choosing its minty, geometric interiors and sky-high views as their temporary home in the Japanese capital. Since opening in 1994 atop Kenzō Tange’s monumental Shinjuku Park Tower, John Morford’s Park Hyatt…

‘The purpose of an Aman is not to sleep,’ says Jean-Michel Gathy. For almost four decades, Aman built a cult following by allowing its guests to — until check-out — trade the banalities of modern life for an elevated, cotton-wool alternative. Exceptionally high staff-to-guest ratios meant that needs were anticipated and the friction of getting even the smallest things done was reduced to next to nil. But, despite their escapist qualities, these properties largely resisted becoming pastiches of the places they inhabited. Gathy should know: he designed one of the group’s earliest properties, Amanwana, which opened in 1993, and has since shaped much of Aman’s architectural language alongside cardinal figures such as Ed Tuttle and Kerry Hill. ‘If you go to Amanjena in Marrakesh, which Ed designed so beautifully, when…

With dwindling congregations and an ageing housing stock, the far-flung churches nestled in New Zealand’s rugged landscape are increasingly attractive to designers. These historic structures often possess exquisite native timber and heritage qualities, yet they remain complex to navigate. The inherent challenge lies in deciding what to change and what to hold on to — in distinguishing between what belongs to the architect and what belongs to community memory. When transforming the century-old Wainui church into a destination for his family, Warren and Mahoney principal Jonathan Coote sought to tread lightly. Working in collaboration with his wife Melanie, and brother-in-law Nic Curragh from Christchurch firm Objects, he prioritised patience. ‘I wanted to be careful with what we had, because there aren’t many of these old churches still around. A lot…

If ever a home embodied the art of embracing a view, Hartland Estate is it. The five-bedroom residence overlooks Ubud’s Ayung River gorge — a lush patchwork of palms, flame trees, bamboo and banyan trees cascading towards Bali’s sacred river. When Max Jencquel first saw the site 15 years ago, his immediate thought was a single word: ‘Paradise.’ Today, Hartland houses four free-standing antique villa suites, a springwater and saltwater infinity pool, vegetable gardens and a meditation bale pavilion with a rainforest view. It’s a home full of heart, reflecting the owner’s history as a former gallerist in New York, while blending sensitively into the Sayan ridge. The project marked the beginning of a successful career in Indonesia for Jencquel, a Venezuela-born designer who had recently arrived in Bali from…

To my knowledge, Yangon is the only city in the world where motorbikes are completely banned — not for environmental reasons, but allegedly to prevent political assassinations. On the street, it seems like every other car is a beaten-up Toyota Probox, imported second-hand from Japan. Like most things in the city, this makes little sense: the cars are right-hand drive, yet they drive on the right side of the road. Myanmar made the switch in 1970, supposedly on the advice of the leader’s wife’s astrologer. Acknowledging this chaotic charm is a roundabout way of staking my claim — albeit by my own criteria as an immigrant — that Yangon, my home for the past decade, is one of the greatest cities I know. In Yangon, the homogenisation that plagues so…

Last year, while planning this issue, I found myself in Kobe to see Takuya Niwa, a fifth-generation futon maker, produce a cushion. We’d gathered at the invitation of Yasuharu Kuzaki, the founder of Tokyo-based label Aton, who’d brought us together to see his latest project: a collection of cushions, stools and modular mattresses to be released under his textile brand Échapper. Niwa-san chatted as he worked, laughter occasionally rippling through the room as he told a joke, only to dissolve back into silence as the needle returned to its steady cadence. We watched with craned necks and open mouths, bobbing our heads in time with his stitching, as though we were all playing the same instrument in our minds. At some point, we forgot we were in public, having slipped…

Sculptural and luminous, Volker Haug’s lighting often takes geometric forms, softened by a sense of playfulness and whimsy that prevents the pieces from ever feeling rigid. The German-born, Melbourne-based designer attributes much of his distinctive approach to what he calls his ‘untrained eye’. Originally trained as a hairdresser, Haug has been fascinated by light since childhood, first experimenting at the age of ten, tinkering with lamps with the same restless curiosity that continues to fuel his work today. ‘What has stayed with me is that feeling of change, how a single switch can make a space feel calm, warm or dramatic,’ he says. ‘Light always felt natural to me, like a language I could understand without being taught. I’m still chasing the same feeling I had as a child, just…

On a table in Aton’s Omotesando showroom, three linen towels sit stacked beside a pile of old books, waiting. Only the clatter of hangers handled by staff breaks the silence. Upon Yasuharu Kuzaki’s arrival, everything unfolds: towels, books and voices come together to form the story of Échapper. The name is French for ‘to escape’. ‘I like the rhythm and resonance of it,’ Kuzaki says. He didn’t choose this name for its exoticism, but as a bridge between two cultures that have been fascinated with each other for nearly a century. In the 1930s, French designers were already studying the Japanese principles of restraint and simplicity. For Kuzaki, the word also evokes the spirit of the chashitsu (‘tearoom’) — a place that escapes the everyday, dedicated to ritual, calm and…

01 Waa Studios, Vietnam Waa, a Ho Chi Minh City-based label dedicated to gender-neutral accessories, continues its exploration of material and form this season. The label’s latest collection experiments with innovative leathers and weaving patterns, refreshing classic silhouettes across tote bags, mules and sandals — ideal for a short getaway to a warmer climate or for everyday use. waa-studios.com 02 Pillings, Japan For Pillings’s latest collection, designer Ryota Murakami turns his attention to the overlooked routines of daily life. Drawing inspiration from the Japanese supermarket chain MyBasket, the collection leans into soft cottons, light knits and sheer layers. A delicate buttoned cardigan, punctuated with gathered rosette appliqués, brings texture and quiet charm to everyday dressing, and creased, ruched shoes add a subtle feminine note. pillings.jp 03 Harris Tapper, New Zealand Flirty hems…

Friday, 13:00 A Taste of Time Start your trip in the Ballard Estate business district. Britannia & Co., opened in 1923 by Rashid Kohinoor, is a rare survivor from Mumbai’s cafe era. Stepping inside feels like entering a time capsule. It serves classic Parsi cuisine, blending Persian and Indian influences, from the iconic berry pulao with Iranian barberries to rich, spice-laden sali boti made with local ingredients. 15:00 Check-in Head towards the tip of the peninsula to drop your bags at Abode Bombay. Abedin Sham transformed his family’s former lodge — once David Sassoon’s residence — into a 25-room boutique hotel in Colaba’s colonial Lansdowne House. Designed by Sian Pascale, rooms feature salvaged teak floors, sari silk cushions and Art Deco antiques. Some rooms are compact, so choose carefully. Abode is…

HONG KONG Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui Opened on the site of the former Mariners’ Club, this hotel layers maritime history into a modern design concept. The architecture is distinct: a V-shaped tower ensuring every one of the 495 rooms faces Victoria Harbour. At street level, a glowing red brick facade pays homage to the neighbouring century-old Signal Tower. Inside, the design collective — including Hirsch Bedner Associates with Hong Kong’s Steve Leung Design Group and Via. — references the location’s past with subtlety. Hammered steel ceilings in the lift lobbies mimic harbour ripples; art installations draw on typhoon signals. F&B options range from fine dining and an eight-seater speakeasy to the rooftop pool bar. PATTAYA NA JOMTIEN The Standard The Standard’s latest outpost shifts focus from Pattaya’s kinetic centre to…

It all began more than a decade ago when Shin Chang bought the bungalow next door to his parents’ house, seeking a quiet retreat to call his own. Today, tucked away in a quiet neighbourhood in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, the two-storey bungalow has become Lapan House (or ‘House Eight’). For Chang and his partner Penny Ng, founders of design firm MentahMatter, the home is more than a residence; it serves as a personal sanctuary that reflects a grounded, humble way of living. The house’s raw concrete facade can be seen from the discreet street entrance but, once you step inside, what’s immediately striking is the abundance of greenery, framed by textured brick walls. ‘We wanted to create an immediate cut-off from the street, a kind of buffer zone where you…

The story of House of Soil begins with a deliberate act of disappearance. For Soil Studios founders Alex Ho and OJ Miu, the relentless velocity of Hong Kong’s commercial design industry felt unsustainable. They found themselves juggling dozens of projects, managing a team, raising three children and losing themselves in the friction. They sought a hard reset: a 21-day pilgrimage around Tibet’s sacred Namtso Lake, walking 400 kilometres with minimal gear, often sleeping by the roadside in freezing temperatures. It was there, amidst the blinding white snow and thin air, that the concept of ‘soil’ took root. It wasn’t so much about the architecture of the landscape, but rather the impermanence of their presence within it. ‘The most precious thing was not the photos we took away,’ reflects Ho. ‘It…

Ho Chi Minh City’s labyrinth of side streets and alleyways harbours some of the city’s best-kept secrets — culinary, sartorial and cultural. A local flâneur or perambulating traveller might stumble across an oasis sequestered from the city’s sizzling clamour, somewhere suffused with verdant calm and homegrown creative flair. One such place is Gallery Medium, a space nestled inside a modernist villa behind a long stretch of wall marked by the imprints of time, just a few steps away from one of the more bustling streets in the city’s central districts. ‘I see time as a thing of beauty,’ says Coca Hu nh, an interior designer who founded the gallery in 2022. ‘Take the moss-covered wall outside, for example; I love how it contrasts with the contemporary ambience we have in…

In Balinese philosophy, the concept of Tri Hita Karana expresses the deep interconnectedness of humanity, the divine and the natural world. This harmonious framework — central not only to Bali’s spiritual and ritual practices but also to daily life — guides everything from the building of homes, management of irrigation systems and the coexistence of communities. It is a philosophy that reflects a profound respect for balance, one that is deeply embedded in the culture’s craft and design sensibilities. For Indonesian designer Hendro Hadinata, founder of his eponymous studio, this principle became the foundation of his latest collaboration with the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC). Debuting at Indonesia Design Week 2025 in PIK 2’s Indonesia Design District, the Karana Collection fuses the warmth and durability of American hardwood with an…

Paola Navone has spent much of her career traversing the globe, yet her most enduring creative partnership remains rooted in Italy. For more than two decades, she has collaborated with Baxter, the luxury furniture house celebrated for its pioneering approach to leather craft, represented in Southeast Asia by Space Furniture. Reflecting on their relationship, she says, ‘I met Baxter twenty years ago and discovered their approach — the care, the experiments, the attention to touch. That’s how our relationship began: exploring leather together.’ Born in Turin, Navone has long considered travel essential to her practice. Observing how people live, build and create across cultures has shaped a body of work that moves fluidly between architecture, interiors, furniture and product design. Nearly two decades spent working across Southeast Asia — including…

Silk has long occupied a singular place within Thailand’s material culture. Dyed, woven and meticulously crafted, it’s a textile through which generations of knowledge are passed down, carrying with it markers of place, labour and identity. Yet, for a growing group of contemporary Thai designers, silk is no longer treated as a fixed emblem of heritage, but as a living language — one capable of evolution, reinterpretation and new modes of expression. Designers such as Shone Puipia, Rukpong Raimaturapong and Fah Chakshuvej engage with silk not through nostalgia, but through active experimentation, allowing the material to respond to current realities while remaining grounded in its origins. Raised by artist parents, Puipia describes his upbringing as a ‘very creatively nurturing atmosphere’. ‘You absorb that quite naturally,’ he says. ‘That love for…

Like a human weaver bird, the Japanese artist Tadashi Kawamata conjures up whimsical bivouacs, grafting timber planks and old bistro chairs to buildings and trees. He does so with such dexterity and poetic licence that a wary viewer might be forgiven for fearing his sculptures may simply scatter in the wind, like dandelion heads. Born the son of a coal miner on the island of Hokkaido in post-Second World War Japan, the 72-year-old artist was a young darling of the Tokyo scene, studying painting and establishing his sculptural practice before a breakout participation at the Venice Biennale in 1982. Government grants and professorships saw him travel to New York and Paris to make art and teach, with the liberté of the Beaux-Arts de Paris nurturing his nomadic ways much more…

Between big skies, blue seas and the grassy hillside of an ancient burial mound, a structure quietly shifts into focus: a blackened shell-like shape — primitive, organic, coiled, its flowing wood form edged with stones. This is Field of Stars, a sculptural meditation on landscape and history, time and place, material and memory. It is one of a growing series of artworks that make up Tomorrow Field, an innovative and timeless land-based regenerative art project. An initiative of the not-for-profit organisation Tomorrow, it aims to uncover the meaning of art in modern times, expressed through explorations of the timeless threads connecting humans, nature, community and daily living. Tomorrow Field is scattered across the wild beauty of Tango, a remote peninsula steeped in nature and heritage on the rugged northern tip…

In the tight-knit world of Singapore design, referrals and recommendations are worth their weight in gold. For Amy Lim, founder of Pupil Office, the commission for this Gardenville penthouse arrived via an organic network of friends and colleagues, interconnected by shared aesthetics. By the time she met the owners — a couple with two young children — the preamble was unnecessary. They already knew the drill: Lim possessed a dry sense of humour, but would undeniably get the job done. This pre-established trust was vital, and laid the foundation for a project that somehow threaded the needle between moody jazz bar and busy family home. ‘Sometimes the owners would ask, “Is this the best option?” And I’d joke, “I wouldn’t have shown it to you otherwise.” And they’d roll with…

Airports have long existed in a state of architectural limbo. At best they tend to be functional and forgettable, but more often are defined by cacophony and chaos. Techo International Airport, 20 kilometres south of Phnom Penh, attempts a reset, trading the globalised terminal template for architecture that is unmistakably influenced by its locale. Inaugurated in October 2025, the airport represents a significant milestone for Cambodia’s infrastructure. From afar, the gentle waves of its roof resemble a mythical Naga traversing the horizon, drawing a silhouette inspired by the nation’s sacred temples. For the architects at Foster + Partners — who have all but cornered the market when it comes to next-generation terminals — the goal was to ensure that the moment a traveller touches down, they know exactly where they…