Design Innovation Earns Top Awards
The award-winning project at Beijing Shangri-la is an innovative feature wall crafted from 1,000 plywood layers
Hong Kong design firm CL3 Architects Ltd. achieved international praise by winning two prestigious awards for hospitality design.
The awards propel Hong Kong and the city's talented young designers on to the global design stage.
CL3 beat over 150 entries from 17 countries to take the "Gold Key Award for Excellence in Hospitality Design," which was presented by the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show and sponsored by Interior Design and Hotel magazines.
One of six design firms selected as grand prize winners, CL3 won the "restaurant" category for Nishinura Restaurant at the Shangri-la hotel in Beijing. For the same project the firm received the International Interior Design magazine's "Best of the Year" award, which drew 930 entries from around the world.
It won a Merit Award for another project, the Bamboo Ladder Installation for the Venice Biennale's International Architectural Exhibition.
Growing international recognition
Managing director William Lim said the awards demonstrated increasing international recognition of Hong Kong design.
Mr. Lim was a co-founder of CL3 and has helped drive the company's growth from a small Hong Kong studio in 1993 to a regional design firm with liaison offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Bangkok.
The company provides professional services in architecture and interior design to the hospitality, corporate and retail markets throughout the Asia Pacific region.
"When we started the company, China was having its first building boom and my partners had identified emerging opportunities," he said. "It was pre-'97 and as foreigners we could not set up the business in China, so Hong Kong seemed the natural base.
"Even now, I still feel that Hong Kong is an essential base for us. A lot of our Chinese clients regard Hong Kong designers as being more creative and service-driven than some of our colleagues in the Mainland, with more international exposure. This has definitely been a plus for us doing work in China."
Building a design hub
As Hong Kong designers become more widely recognized, Mr. Lim foresees the day when CL3 no longer needs to have liaison offices in different locations, but can manage all of its regional projects out of its Hong Kong studio.
CL3: http://www.cl3.com/
HONG KONG ECONOMIC AND TRADE OFFICE IN WASHINGTON D.C.
1520 18th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202)331-8947 Fax: (202)331-8958
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please send an e-mail to hketo@hketowashington.gov.hk
Copyright @ 2003, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Washington D.C.
Hot Topics:
Useful Links:
Hong Kong Government Information Center
Hong Kong Trade Development Council