Project Overview

Urban de Escape concept is expressed at the House L by the design of an open plan style, which connects living & dining areas like a boutique resort. The artistic pattern and textured timber floor run through the whole apartment. Together with the marble tiles feature walls as well as the fully marble finished bathroom, a spa-like home is created to indulge in the under-stated luxury style. Sophisticated interior & furniture bronze details in delicate profiles enhance the accent.

Organisation

Studio Melt Limited

Project Brief

With the Urban de Escape concept, the House L design addresses natural materials in a modern yet simple way. The accent of the atmosphere is the harmonization of timber, marble & bronze textures which sets a unique indulgence experience, like a boutique resort escape in the urban city.

In the first feature space, the living, dining, & kitchen are opened and connected. Activities & functions in these zones merge at different times & moments throughout the day and occasions. In the living, the marble wall with the display shelving works with the feature timber AV wall. Together with the herringbone pattern timber floor, which extends into the dining and kitchen, a relaxed family, as well as party corner, is created. The dining area has a picture-framed sea view. Food is served directly from the adjacent kitchen counter in the way of the chief table. In between, a featured marble top island counter acts as a centrepiece for food & drinks, also a chit-chat corner for friends.

Bringing the same style & colour scheme into the bedrooms, the spaces are interpreted in a calm & artistic way. Simple yet sophisticated taste with tuned down details form a further relaxed & chill atmosphere.

The master bathroom is fully finished with white marble tiles. A free-standing bathtub by the window with the adjacent rain shower give a tranquil & mind cleansing. With the gentle wash of light from a big window, this spa like space enhances the home bath experience to another level.

Project Need

Creating a unique indulgence experience like a boutique resort escape in an apartment is an innovative approach, in which the functions and facilities in a hotel are different from residential. Therefore, atmosphere and style accent by lighting and materials textures are used and applied to express this design.

The lighting design in the project is the sounds from the brook whispering, trees moving in the breeze, and birds’ gentle tweets in nature, like the tranquil yet indulgent environment of a resort. Fixtures with specific beam angles and focusing directions highlight and brighten specific surfaces and areas. The unevenness of brightness gives a moody wash to the space. Nevertheless, places and surfaces which need sufficient lux levels have not been sacrificed. With thoughtful lighting circuits and group allocation, different sceneries for different functions and occasions are set.

By using the natural textures and colours of timber, marble and bronze, the apartment is dressed with a contemporary boutique yet relaxed escape style. The whole space is finished with herringbone and random patterns of timber planks. The artistic natural texture gives an enjoyable touch on bare feet, as well as warmness and softness. This indulgence feeling is also expressed by the finishes of walls and furniture. Working with the full marble walls and bronze details at specific features, the scent of luxury escape in the urban is provided.

With all these simple yet sophisticated elements which harmonize perfectly, the interior of a residential is interpreted innovatively with satisfying the practical usage ingeniously.

Design Challenge

Creating a boutique resort concept for a residential project is indeed a challenge. The arrival experience, spatial arrangement, functional zoning, materials application, lighting design, and practical usage are different between these two settings.

At the arrival, there is no hint of the interior, it's a barrier from the urban outside. Once entered, the boutique resort design gives a totally different escape experience.

For the space, the living dining and kitchen are opened and linked together. This arrangement not only increases the spaciousness of a villa but the usages and movements throughout the day of usual living are also perfectly blended in. The second zone is the study and gym area. Both homes working and working out are the main activities and are seamlessly combined. This area acts as the transition and separation of the living and resting spaces.

To create an atmosphere of escape, textured timber and white marble are used on the feature furniture, walls and floors. Together with delicate bronze detailing, a soft yet harmonized interior is created to provide tranquil enjoyment in which the practical concerns of durability, as well as usage convenience, are all covered. Especially the master bathroom, which is finished in full white marble tiles, its open style with an island tub fulfils the daily needs. At the same time, the setting and style give an indulging spa experience.

Finally, the lighting design with specific beam angles and focusing direction sprinkles the whole interior with a unique accent and sufficient brightness.

Sustainability

The concept of a boutique resort involves a certain quantity and variety of natural materials to provide the required textures, colours, and accents. Therefore, timber and marble are the majority in this design, in which, they are applied wisely with sustainability concerns.

Oak was used for all timber-finished surfaces. This wood is long-lasting and common in supply with sufficient quantity on Earth. During manufacturing, all furniture parts are made in the factory. This can significantly reduce the wastage on site. The remaining materials can be re-used and re-arranged for other orders. The lightness of its colour helps the brightness of the space, thus less energy would be consumed by lighting. The bright and light overall colour scheme also dedicates helps in this.

Artificial marble look tiles help in durability. The hard ceramic surfaces with less demand for cleaning thus the usage of specific cleaning agents, which means fewer chemicals. Its thickness is less than the natural one, which requires less packing, less protection, and fewer resources during transportation because of less weight. No chemical protective coating is needed during preparation and ewer procedures are involved in the installation.

In addition, as the atmosphere is the soul of the design, LED lighting with adjustable brightness is incorporated. By setting different mood sceneries for different usage and practical requirement, groups of lights in different circuits are designed. Needs for full power and full switching on is reduced. As a result, less energy will be consumed.