Bean Buro's Curvy Chambers: A Masterpiece of Residential Design

Winner of Silver A' Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Award 2018

Bean Buro, a renowned design firm, was tasked with refurbishing a 1,600sqft residential apartment at Bel Air apartments in Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong. The client, a young family relocating from Oxford, UK, sought a tranquil space close to the ocean. The design team drew inspiration from a nearby secret waterfall, using its continuous flow and the way it is formed by the natural rocks as a metaphor for two juxtaposed elements in the apartment's layout.

The first element is a curvy blue volume that forms half of the apartment. It begins as a bookshelf with random niches in the lounge, transforms into a corridor concealing the children's and guest rooms, and flows towards the master bedroom, forming a storage volume with a seating niche. The second element is a rectilinear grey concrete volume that begins from the entrance foyer, forms the backdrop of the dining area, and solidifies towards the master bedroom.

To create privacy for the parents, Bean Buro designed a concealed pocket sliding door that can be pulled out from the concrete volume to divide the master bedroom suite and study room from the rest of the apartment. The sliding door has acoustic separation to ensure noise from the children's play spaces does not penetrate the study room. An additional sliding door is designed to partition the study room from the master bedroom suite, allowing for flexibility in the parents' use of space.

Bean Buro faced several challenges during the design process. The concrete panels used in the project were prefabricated in France and had to be cut and assembled quickly to reduce construction time. The overall floor finish is a ceramic tile with a wooden texture, chosen for its durability and visual warmth. In the children's room and guest/baby room, a full height, full width wall was created using a high-quality chalkboard laminate that can be composed into different wall patterns and colours.

The Curvy Chambers project, which started in February 2017 and finished in October 2017 in Hong Kong, was awarded Silver in A' Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Award in 2018. The award is given 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.

In conclusion, Bean Buro's Curvy Chambers is a testament to the firm's commitment to innovative, unique, and functional design. Drawing inspiration from the natural landscape, the design team has created a space that not only meets the needs of a young family but also stands as a remarkable example of residential design. The project's success is a testament to the power of innovative design and the importance of understanding and responding to a client's unique needs and desires.