Reduction: A Harmonious Blend of Classic and Modern

Exploring Po Chuan Kao's Award-Winning Interior Design

Reduction, a residential design project by Po Chuan Kao, is a testament to the power of light, shadow, color, and space in shaping the overall style of a home. The design team believes that interior design is not just about creating a home, but about constructing a unique beauty that reflects the expectations, perceptions, and unique memories of a life. The color tone and efficiency of use in this design allow users to look forward to and enjoy an exclusive place they can call 'home'.

The design's unique properties lie in its division of space and its minimalist approach. The space is divided into two, defining the smoothness of each area and path and controlling the introduction and flow of natural lighting. With minimalism, the spatial concept is transformed into a simple and modern one. The grayscale, concealed doors, and cabinets combine functionality and aesthetics to create visual consistency and form an ideal aesthetic space.

To realize this design, a perfect combination of materials was used to inject a new dimension of diversity and depth into the space. Materials such as serpentine, Roman green, hand-made texture special paints, metal sheets, stainless steel, imported laminate hard plastic sheet, iron parts, baking paint, moru glass, terrazzo walls, and more were used. The site is 148.7 square meters, with three rooms and two bathrooms. The design team replanned the original four-bedroom layout into three rooms and took the concept of gallery-style exhibition space to describe it.

The boundary between the public and private areas is clearly defined. Compared to the standard plan of a sofa against the TV wall, this living room has a reduced design to provide a large space with concealed doors and sliding doors, so that the windows, doors, and cabinets can be integrated into one. From a distance, it looks like an exhibition space that can give users a healing atmosphere with infinite extension and deep precipitation.

The project was finished in Taiwan. In designing public and private spaces, 'reduction' is at the core of the project, to minimize and restore the original textures of the interior to create a flexible and accessible space. This concept also applies to the color scheme. The project uses a low-saturation gray natural mineral coating to reduce visual stress and create a harmonious look. In this way, the furniture and occupants can better express their unique personalities.

The design team carried out the project with a vision, knowledge, and enthusiasm. From conception to execution, harmonizing the client's expectations and the design team ideas into the interior was the challenge of the project and the most time-consuming and labor-intensive part. To realize a 'reduction' concept, the design team took different materials in the same color tone to present a brand-new mix of classical and modern.

The design team presents the project with a fusion of classical European elements of columns and a modern, streamlined technological sense. The interplay of color and material leads to a new look of classical elements in the large mansion. Moreover, the design team took reduction as the core to transform the current discussion of the project into a concise and contemporary vision. For example, the grayscale natural mineral coating reduces color saturation, while the delicate carving of curved surfaces brings a different sense of extension to each turn.

Reduction was awarded Silver in A' Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Award in 2023. Silver A' Design Award is rewarded to top-of-the-line, creative, and professionally remarkable designs that illustrate outstanding expertise and innovation. These designs, admired for their strong technical characteristics and splendid artistic skill, showcase a remarkable level of excellence and introduce positive feelings, amazement, and wonder.