【SCMP】Inside One Bedford Place, an architect’s nostalgic tribute to old Hong Kong

For a new office tower in Tai Kok Tsui, architect Frank Leung drew on classic Hong Kong style to create contemporary interiors that blend tradition with modernity

When Lofter Group was founded by entrepreneur Carol Chow Pui-yin in 2012, its focus was on renovating old industrial properties. Now it has just unveiled its first new-build office tower, One Bedford Place, with an interior design that references the heritage of its surroundings in Tai Kok Tsui. And for that, the upstart property developer tapped architect Frank Leung and his design firm, via.

The brief was to create a memorable series of common spaces within the 26-storey tower, designed by Ben Tse & Associates (overall structure) and Axia Design Associates (facade). “We were really excited to inject something expressive,” he says.

Many office environments in Hong Kong are sleek but generic; both Leung and Chow wanted One Bedford Place to look different. “Carol has always been a big fan of updating what’s quintessential about Hong Kong,” says Leung. “Tai Kok Tsui is a really colloquial part of Hong Kong. So we started from the street – the hardware stores, shop signs, mosaic tiles.”

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