House of Madison’s New Hong Kong Flagship

House of Madison recently opened the doors of its new flagship store in Hong Kong, designed by Frank Leung of via. as a luxurious, elegant take on the area’s historic shophouses

One of Asia’s most established distributors of kitchen and lifestyle solutions, House of Madison, worked with long-time collaborator Frank Leung, founder and principal of award-winning practice via., to create a 460-square-metre showroom for their stable of brands — including bulthaup, Rimadesio and Sub-Zero & Wolf, plus new additions — lighting by Viabizzuno and furniture by Wittman rounding out the residential concept.

A short walk from their previous location, the new two-storey space is located at the base of the iconic Hopewell Centre in Wan Chai, an area that Leung notes is steeped in history and retains several of its original shophouses. Leung says that in order to create a dialogue with this context, his team envisioned the space as one of these houses, where the ground level is the public-facing component of the showroom and the upper level is their interpretation of the shop owners’ living space.

The street-level gallery is calm and welcoming, and is set to become a space to display an evolving selection of designer home and lifestyle goods. An asymmetrical limestone staircase doubles as amphitheatre seating for intimate gatherings and leads to the upper level, which is laid out like a luxe penthouse and divided into smaller, more intimate spaces through the clever use of arches rendered in bronze mesh.

‘The arches and the use of materials reflect my preoccupation with crafting a new foreground — for design elements, products and furnishings — over a pre-existing backdrop. These arches are both ephemeral and unyielding, and at the same time recede and defer to the products on display. This represents an architectonic methodology that is the hallmark of via.’s holistic approach to space and design,’ Leung explains.

At the heart of the space are several working kitchens (and an in-house chef) that greet visitors as they enter the showroom. Visitors then move on to the more private and intimate spaces furnished as a meeting space, living room, bedroom and a generous walk-in-closet / dressing room. Each sequential zone is finished and furnished with a sophisticated layering that is synonymous with both via. and House of Madison.

‘This project gave us the opportunity to explore the duality of a space. We see it as a destination and a lifestyle experience — a place to experiment and create, and where new ideas are generated,’ Leung says. ‘At other times, it’s a place for gathering, a social hub where people can relax and enjoy themselves. We wanted it to work as a version of a lived-in residence where the different functions blend together in a seamless and unassuming way.’

Text / Suzy Annetta
Images / Lit Ma