22 July 2020
In addition to function as a “social place”, a modern home should also be a “return type” of place for reflection, retreat and a degree of introspection. These two requirements are interwoven in the spatial presentation of Mansion Liu designed by Bob Chen Design Office.
“What we chose in life tells about us.” If we break all the walls, a home typically displays items that embody the owner's memory. Visiting one's home is like going through one's past and walking into their emotions.
“To immerse myself in design is like a vacation” says Guang Liu, a professional advertiser, owner of the 500sqm villa in Hangzhou.
Guang Liu and Bob Chen (www.bobchen.cn), the designer of the house, have known each other for more than fifteen years and have been working their way through their own career in Hangzhou together.
“I’ve always said that some people are born to be a designer. I assume that Bob is one of those talented people. When I needed a designer for my own house, the first name that came up to my mind is Bob. No one enjoys doing design more than he does. Besides, he may think more about design than the owner of the house himself.
About ten years ago, my obsession with used articles began, and started to buy a lot of them, and gradually developed my guilty pleasure. My office and my friends’ warehouses are filled with weird things that I have collected. And as a result, I started to realize what I really like, and more or less I found some value and the so-called sense”.
Buying a big house to store these things was the first idea. I believe in my own taste of interior that is why I have designed more than 100 times in my mind already.
As for scale, that's the first thing Bob will consider, and it is after that he will move on to the next step to think about details. To consider the fluency and accessibility of the whole space, and reasonable circulation is as important as considering design details. Thanks to Bob’s graphic design background, each line and point makes sense in space.
A project design has been tracked for over two years, back and forth, with all kinds of details being thought over and over again, which has probably been far away from the economic benefits of a design company. I really appreciate Bob’s “spare no pains”.
The plan layout of my home is quite special. That is why most of the furniture needs to be custom made.
What is the best way of home design? I think the answer is to respect yourself. In other words, respect your emotions, your personal attitudes and principles towards the world, and the possibility that appears in your life, rather than blindly pursuing things. He understands me, he respects his feelings and that makes this house”.
Photo: Wen Office