Rising Asian designer Joyce Wang beats 60 other nominations to take home the top prize at INSIDE – World Festival of Interiors.
October 7th, 2014
Top image: World Interior of the Year – MOTT32, Hong Kong by Joyce Wang
Joyce Wang’s career has been on the rise since she completed AMMO restaurant a few years ago. Notable project after project have made her a household name in Hong Kong. And after bagging the top prize at INSIDE – World Festival of Interiors for MOTT32 in Marina Bay Sands, Singapore last week, she’s cementing herself as a name to watch in Asia.

World Interior of the Year – MOTT32, Hong Kong by Joyce Wang
Located in a former storage facility, which once housed expensive family heirlooms for wealthy Chinese immigrants, MOTT32 is now an atmospheric underworld dining experience. Taking inspiration from the heritage of the site, the restaurant is littered with forgotten heirlooms, Chinese propaganda and industrial materials doubling as furniture and light fittings. Joyce Wang Studio took a decaying space and combined traditional Chinese décor with industrial design elements, already popular in New York and London. Located underground, with no natural light, the designer embraced the constraints of the venue and used them to create a theatrical and exclusive experience as guests are guided downstairs through a long, snaking corridor.

Joyce Wang also won the top prize in the Residential category for Xintiandi Penthouse, China
“Winning the World Interior of the Year will mean so much to the team,” says Joyce Wang, upon receiving the award, “We are a practice of ten people and the project was very personal to the entire team. It was a Hong Kong project, it explored Hong Kong culture both past and present, which makes the project such a special one and winning this award even better.”

Winner in the Display category – IDC Space: research and display for the International Design Centre, Singapore by Sawako Kaijima
David Kohn, winner of last year’s World Interior of the Year award and judge for this year, had this to say: “Joyce Wang Studio took a constraining location and maximised what was possible, using the existing structure to create a sophisticated and detailed project.”

Winner in the Hotels category – Tama Hotel Phnom Penh [D22H22], Cambodia by FHAM
All in all, projects from Asia made a strong showing at this year’s INSIDE, with five out of the nine awards going to works from this region.
For the full list of winners, visit insidefestival.com
INDESIGN is on instagram
Follow @indesignlive
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
Rising above the new Sydney Metro Gadigal Station on Pitt Street, Investa’s Parkline Place is redefining the office property aesthetic.
The new range features slabs with warm, earthy palettes that lend a sense of organic luxury to every space.
London-based design duo Raw Edges have joined forces with Established & Sons and Tongue & Groove to introduce Wall to Wall – a hand-stained, “living collection” that transforms parquet flooring into a canvas of colour, pattern, and possibility.
As a Luminary this year, Joyce Wang is the epitome of someone who leads by example and creates her own pathway of design.
Since founding her practice in 2011 Joyce Wang has carved out an international name for herself, establishing studios in Hong Kong and London. She’s a jet-setting mother-of-three, but she is not interested in world design domination, rather her focus is on upending the status quo.
Joyce Wang of Joyce Wang Studio joins our 2019 INDE.Awards Jury. Here we take a look at her latest collection – Flint – which is a testament to the firm comeback of terrazzo.
The future of hospitality is multi-sensory: touch, smell, sound and so on. How then are we personifying our clients in the design of their spaces, and how can we pull this off without being gimmicky? A new Hong Kong restaurant and bar by Joyce Wang Design Studio takes a different approach, encapsulating the chef’s character and culinary style in the space itself.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Celebrating six decades of architectural excellence, the Commonwealth Association of Architects launches a year-long campaign.
CPD Live returns for its final live-presented season of 2025, bringing architects, designers, and specifiers a free opportunity to earn CPD points before the year ends. Kicking off at 9 AM AEDT, This Tuesday 14th October.