With art appreciation and gallery showrooms on the rise in major cities around the world, enterprising minds are finding innovative ways of incorporating art into their interiors – and businesses. Here are four examples from the region.
January 6th, 2015
#1 OCBC Premier Bank
If it weren’t for the signboard, passers-by would be forgiven for thinking the new OCBC Premier Bank in Singapore (top image) was an art gallery. Designed by Studio Juju, it bears all the hallmarks of a temple to the fine arts: a stark colour palette, plush furnishings, and, of course, the art itself. Read more.
#2 Pop-Up Café
Located in Bangkok’s Central World shopping complex, this pop-up café for an interior magazine is a creative hybrid between an eatery and an exhibition space, showcasing visual arts and design to its visitors in an informal and relaxed atmosphere. Conceptualised by the design team comprising Sasivimol Sinthawanarong, design principal of JARKEN group of companies, and designer Attapon Wiboonyanon, the 200 square metre café seamlessly integrates its 60-seat dining area with niche spaces designed to feel like parts of a home. Read more.
#3 Ovolo Southside
Located in Hong Kong’s Wong Chuk Hang district, Ovolo Southside has been conceived by Kplusk Associates as a utilitarian loft environment and a unique arts space.
In 2008, Ovolo Group acquired an unused factory warehouse in the Wong Chuk Hang district that was, up to recently, a rundown industrial zone on the south side of Hong Kong Island. Six years on, the development opens its doors as Ovolo Southside, Hong Kong’s first warehouse-to-hotel conversion. Read more.
#4 Skytel Boutique Hotel
Skytel in Chengdu, China has ambitions to serve both the traveller and the art enthusiast. Designed by Panorama, the new 200-room boutique hotel straddles the realms of hospitality and art, a savvy strategy perhaps, given the expanding art market in Chengdu.
The lobby area houses a 240sqm multifunctional space to cater for art exhibitions and auctions, as well as a host of events. Here one will find a temporary cloud-like art installation with subtle interactive projection. Read more.
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