Andre Fu

Architectural Interior Designer Andre Fu was born in Hong Kong and educated in England. He graduated from Cambridge University in 2000 and created his firm, AFSO, the same year. Inspired by Hong Kong’s evanescent and urbane energy, he moved back in 2004 to add his signature style to some of the region’s most recognisable hotels including the The Waldorf Astoria in Bangkok, Shangri-La Tokyo as well as the award-winning Hong Kong hotel The Upper House, fashion brand COS and the Opus Suite at London’s Berkeley Hotel.

What initially got you interested in interior architecture?

As a teenager, I was always interested in the emotional impact of spatial design, especially in the context of how an environment could impact one’s behaviour.

What is your creative process?

Typically, my design process begins with a series of prolonged dialogues with the hotelier or the owner. I always believe that my role is to translate a vision into an environment for guests to be indulged. I would also visit the site and try to negotiate the flow and identify the views. This follows with a series of workshops with my team to explore, to create, and to refine the experience.

Andre Fu Living

How has this process changed to observe the challenges and issues around the Pandemic?

During the past few months, a majority of my design meetings have been conducted digitally. What I have learnt from communicating on design with digital platforms is that all of the information has to be extremely precise and clear; photos of materials ought to be reviewed carefully as a slight deviation from the true colour could strongly affect the perception of the scheme. On a separate note, my personal outlook of what everyone has learnt from the pandemic is to focus on design solutions that would create meaningful experiences, with all the health and safety measures in mind. Our ways of living has always evolved with time and the challenges to create good design that caters to the future of living will allow designers to think more creatively.

What is the number one piece of advice you would like to tell new designers?

Good design takes years to realise and a lot of obstacles ought to be overcome in the process. The key is to endure the duration that it takes to create something that will stand the test of time.

Location

Hong Kong

Website

andrefustudio.com

Instagram

@andrefustudio

St Regis - The Grand Staircase

K11 Artus - The Library

What are some of the important issues among design practitioners?

In the midst of social media, the landscape of design has evolved at an accelerated speed. It is critical for people to re-evaluate the purpose of design. Designers from different cultural backgrounds are creating designs that could communicate with different context and in short how design today crosses culture.

Is Hong Kong a good example of how cities are evolving in design and architecture?

Indeed, Hong Kong is a hugely dynamic and transient city. The role that design could play to revive a city.

What sets Hong Kong apart from other large cities around the globe?

The fact that everything co-exists in a rather awkward, yet intriguing way.

What elements of other cities would you like to see implemented in your city?

A stronger focus on urban landscaping, and more incentive for innovation in design.

What are some of the most challenging and inspiring elements of your current projects?

We are currently working on a key hotel project in Kyoto. It is set right opposite a UNESCO preservation site and the project poses a key challenge in delivering a design that is truthful to a city with such an intriguing wealth of heritage and craftsmanship, yet also being able to provoke an atmosphere that is authentic yet modern.

Are there any rules or habits that help you do your job more efficiently?

I am a believer in hand-sketching as it is the most direct way to connect the mind with the hand. It is also the most effective means to express an idea.

What has been the impact of COVID-19 on your work during 2020?

It is definitely a year of challenges and in many ways the situation has allowed me to contemplate and reflect on the way I want my studio to evolve in the future. Hotel The Mitsui, our new hotel project in Kyoto, recently opened marking the first hotel we managed to complete during the pandemic, with much of the design fine-tuning done via Zoom.

For Andre Fu Living, we originally planned for a large installation in Milan at Palazzo Visconti to unveil the new collection. Due to the cancellation of the event, we have created a 3-minute video to showcase the brand narrative as well as the poetic inspirations behind our series named ‘mid-century rhythm’. Thanks to social media platforms, I have been involved in quite a number of live discussions with key collaborators and media partners. Interestingly we have also come up with a campaign for our new book; Crossing Cultures with Design.

How does the future look to you post-COVID?

With the way we have all learnt to work across the globe with digital platforms, I believe the purpose of travel will take on a different light. Luxury hotels will revolve around the essence of expressing a unique persona; a destination that embraces culture, heritage and a candid sense of place. In terms of public spaces, it shall be about having the feeling of being a part of a vibey community, yet having the option to be discreet and private. It is all about a balancing act.

SOUND & VISION

KEF collaboration with Sir Terence Conran

Sound and art have long been connected and in our world of wireless soundwaves the speakers we use to listen to our favourite music are now just as valuable as a piece of modern day designed furniture.

One of the originators of the British hi-fi industry KEF have been producing precision engineered speakers since the 60’s and have solidified their design partnership with Conran and Partners by launching a collaboration with designer Sir Terence Conran: The LSX Soundwave.

The collaboration started with the KEF Music Gallery in Duddell Street in Central, Hong Kong; a space that elevates the idea of the showroom making it more reminiscent of an exclusive private club where guests are invited to leave the real world outside and immerse themselves in music and art.

The interior by Conran and Partners complements the acoustics of the KEF audio products with areas that include The Collector’s Lounge, a space where guests can enjoy Dark Waves; a sensory experience by digital artist collaborative teamLab, which combines immersive 3D effects and high-resolution music.

Masterpieces by Hong Kong ink painter Nancy Chu Woo and renowned Japanese visual artist Yayoi Kusama adorn the space. The gallery also features pieces by British contemporary installation artist Julian Opie and Australian photographer Luke Shadbolt.

The speaker collaboration takes the partnership to another level; the LSX Soundwave’s base comes in Conran’s trademark blue, whilst stylised soundwaves weave their way through the grey fabric that encapsulates the LSX to enhance the original speaker. It provides a tactile and visual uniqueness that echoes the late Sir Terence Conran’s early work as a textile designer.

Conran at the time said, “Simplicity, beauty and functionality are the solid foundations of good design but I always think a magic ingredient or element of surprise can raise the whole look or mood of a product all together. A flash of colour, an intriguing pattern or an element of texture perhaps. When I sat down to consider the design of the fabric for the LSX Soundwave, I looked out from my desk over the river Thames and the ripples over the water and visualised waves of sound passing through the air.”

The Conran partnership continues KEF’s long tradition of design collaboration. Previously, KEF collaborated with the visionary designer Ross Lovegrove on the ambitious Muon project and the creation of the original LSX was overseen by British designer Michael Young.

KEF was founded in 1961 by Raymond Cooke OBE (1925–1995) with an ethos based on the continuing quest to find new and better ways of reproducing sound. Since the company’s establishment, KEF has maintained a flair for unusual and controversial speaker engineering, design and material use. KEF has always driven innovation in sound with examples including its iconic ‘egg’, Muon and Blade speakers.

Visit KEF Music Gallery at 12/F, 1 Duddell Street, Central, Hong Kong.

For more information visit: uk.kef.com & conranshop.co.uk Instagram @kef.hongkong & @conranandpartners