Tabla de contenidos para Issue 34 en Design Anthology, Asia Pacific Edition

Beyond its capital city of Kuala Lumpur and three commonly known ethnicities (Malay, Chinese and Indian), there’s far more to Malaysia than meets the eye. Divided by the South China Sea, its two massive land areas, Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia, are each home to diverse terrains and various indigenous groups with rich heritage and craft traditions that remain largely undocumented. Escaping the colonial mentality, the current generation of designers is looking inwards, exploring the land and vernacular history in search of inspiration. The lack of government support doesn’t faze them as they chart their own paths from the ground up. Originally a graphic designer, Wei Ming Tan began exploring three-dimensional works when a now-defunct local firm invited her to design and produce interior objects. The experience, along with short…

DESIGN ANTHOLOGY: Liza, you spearheaded the rejuvenation of The Zhongshan Building, a 1950s building that’s been transformed into a creative hub. How would you introduce the project and the community you cultivated? LIZA HO: We started the project in 2017. My mother-in-law inherited the building, which is tucked away in a forgotten area of Kuala Lumpur, quite near Chinatown. It’s actually three buildings that are interconnected, and we had about 2,200 square metres to play with. I only wanted a gallery at first, but then I realised that the area wasn’t really hip, so we wanted to bring in people from different backgrounds related to art. On the ground floor of the building, we have the more sophisticated shops and a bakery with a courtyard. Up one level we have…

Only a short drive from Kuala Lumpur, the town of Janda Baik in Pahang has become a popular destination for urbanites seeking respite from city life. At 800 metres above sea level, the sleepy town boasts cooler climes, pristine forests and large tracts of land. But while the setting may be ideal for holiday homes, the sloping terrain often poses challenges for building. Architect Choo Gim Wah is familiar with the rewards and challenges of building in Janda Baik, having designed several retreats here to date. In fact, Choo had previously designed the first home for this client, a renowned local artist, in the same area. This recent project, Canvas Hill Residence, gets its name from combining the painter owner’s material and the sloping site. Its sharply inclined site presented…

Desa ParkCity, an affluent upper-middle class suburb in Kuala Lumpur, is infamous for its purebred dogs. In a predominantly Muslim country where many consider dogs to be haram, the sight is a rare one. Bathed in the golden evening light, short-haired chihuahuas, Siberian huskies and dappled dachshunds brave the heat to promenade with their humans around Desa ParkCity’s central architectural feature: a landscaped park built around a large lake. Lakes have become almost compulsory as a feature of the new townships emerging around Greater Kuala Lumpur. Being able to walk around a park with a lake has become synonymous with what it means to have public space and access to nature. But these idyllic backgrounds belie the industrial history of Kuala Lumpur: these lakes were mining ponds in the 19th…

01 Alan Chan: Collecting Inspiration for Design by Alan Chan, texts by Catherine Shaw RIZZOLI ‘Alan Chan, it seems, is everywhere,’ writes Aric Chen in his foreword to this work. Indeed, those resident in Hong Kong in particular will see Chan’s imprint on visual identities, interiors and more besides. In addition to being a prolific and constant design presence, Chan is also a collector of objects (some 10,000 of them) and Collecting Inspiration for Design showcases a selection across different themes, with four chapters covering Chan’s early and enduring East-meets-West inspirations, tea culture, dragon iconography and the ‘infinity’ of boxes. Extensive texts by Design Anthology contributor Catherine Shaw illuminate each theme and detail Chan’s life and career, making the work part biography and offering personal insights into his inspirations. And…

There was a time in Malaysia when design-forward F&B spaces could only be found in five-star hotels, and Adam Tihany’s redesign of Lafite in Kuala Lumpur’s Shangri-la Hotel in the early 2000s was the capital’s only glimmer of world-class design. But things have changed. Hipster cafe culture paved the way in the city, with several spaces springing up in Chinatown from 2015. Most of the pre-war shophouses in the area had fallen into disrepair but things started picking up when entrepreneurs, drawn by the vintage charm and cheap rent, began to open up shop here. ChoCha Foodstore and Wildflowers, both located in former brothels, have made an impact with their richly detailed interiors. Created by design firm MentahMatter, ChoCha was an immediate hit with its pastel-coloured mosaic tiles, wrought-iron detailing…

For Pamela Tan, there’s an urgency to revisit ‘meaningful encounters in the public realm’ in typically car-orientated Malaysia. Her public art installations, which take the form of temporary mixed media pieces, offer a splendour of spatial experiences and narrative devices. Themes range from reflecting on the history of the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers in Kuala Lumpur, to reinterpreting nature, to exploring the form of a curve. There’s a tension between developing a formal language, the designed spatial moments and the final narrative device that ties each piece together. Her practice proves the power of synthesising research, architecture and art. Tan has never had any formal art training. Instead, she joins a small but robust roster of practitioners who studied architecture and worked in a corporate firm before…

When confronted with a ramshackle terrace house that hasn’t been renovated in more than 30 years, most people would run in the opposite direction. Not Fabian Tan. ‘I’ve got gritty hands,’ says the Malaysian architect. ‘I liked the idea of working on something that wasn’t new.’ Located in a popular Kuala Lumpur suburb, the single-storey house was cramped and dreary, but Tan immediately saw its potential. While he maintained the existing roof, he completely revamped the interior, transforming it into an elegant three-bedroom home flooded with light. After removing an awkwardly placed water tank, he added a half-floor loft space, increasing the home’s footprint slightly to 120 square metres. A strong connection with nature is established from the outset thanks to the large glass sliding doors that overlook a quaint…

Malaysian collective Wunderwall Design was established in 2016 by Wil Ken Ee, Sharmaine Wong and Wei Hoong Chia, who came together with the shared goal of elevating experiences through well-considered design. The trio has pursued this through a variety of projects, from the Blade Runner-chic Small Shifting Space in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown to the neo-Victorian cafe Jibby by the Park. The team’s unique and design-forward work has made Wunderwall one of the city’s most sought-after firms. Ee, Wong and Chia started out working from a windowless office that was more of a storeroom, but as the team grew they looked for a space in Section 17, an area just outside of Kuala Lumpur that has maintained its old-school charm in the face of urban sprawl. But their studio is now…

In the UNESCO World Heritage Site of George Town, Penang, a cluster of shophouses hides in its centre a historical treasure. Located in the oldest part of town, Cannon Square is home to the Khoo Kongsi clan house, belonging to the association of the Leong San Tong (‘Dragon Mountain Hall’) clan. While not a large structure, its extraordinary architecture, completed in 1906, includes intricate wood and stone carvings on almost every element, all awash in brilliant colour. Together with elaborate murals and couplets, it’s a fine showcase of the eminence and wealth the clan built in 17thcentury Penang. For Singapore-based architect Soo K Chan, the Kongsi was once home; being part of the Khoo family, he grew up in the compound. Aside from running world-renowned firm SCDA Architects, Chan is…

01 Borgo Santandrea — Amalfi Coast A stunning cliffside hotel on the Amalfi Coast, Borgo Santandrea marries mid-century design with classic Mediterranean style. Each of the 29 guestrooms and 16 suites offers uninterrupted views of the sea and ancient fisherman’s hamlet of Conca dei Marini. The rooms, three restaurants and two bars feature white and blue hues, hand-painted tiles, vintage furniture and handcrafted pieces by local Amalfitano artisans, as well as iconic pieces from designers Gio Ponti and Nicola Gallizia, courtesy of Italy’s Molteni&C. Another highlight is the private beach, a rarity on the rocky Amalfi Coast. 02 Else — Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur’s Art Deco Lee Rubber Building has been carefully transformed to become Else hotel. Designed by Studio Bikin, the hotel maintains the building’s original spirit, but has…

Architects and designers who work on their own homes generally describe the experience as difficult, simply because they can be their own worst critic, making endless changes and micromanaging every single detail. Not so Jeffrey Wilkes, principal of Kuala Lumpur-based studio DESIGNWILKES, who says designing his 420-square-metre family home in Damansara Heights with his partner Simon Gan was ‘heaven’. Sitting on an expansive plot thick with tropical foliage, the two-storey bungalow was built in 1964 by legendary Malaysian architect Kington Loo, and was purchased by Wilkes in 2005. ‘We took possession on my birthday. That first weekend, I sat down in one of the rooms that had a built-in desk and drew all of what had to be done,’ he says. ‘They started bashing bricks on the Monday and we…

Located outside of Kuala Lumpur’s frenetic city centre, Taman Desa is a quaint neighbourhood that takes it down a notch. The walk-up apartment of Jun Ong, a light artist and a co-founder of design and architectural studio POW Ideas, retains the precinct’s tranquil timbre but with an industrial edge. As you enter his bijou abode, blonde millwork, clean lines and an openness between adjacent rooms cohere into a calming experience. This bachelor pad sets itself apart as Ong’s feline had an outsized ‘voice’ in the interior design. ‘Many features around the home were heavily dictated by my cat,’ says Ong with a chuckle. A former pantry space is now a catwalk, while an aperture within a nondescript cabinet leads to a cosy kitty pod, and elsewhere a high bookshelf doubles…