When Brutalist and Nordic Influences Meet
Contrasting elements sit side by side in this Taipei apartment, designed by Roy Hong to reflects its creative residents’ admiration for the Nordic way of life
In Taipei, architect and interior designer Roy Hong has created a character-filled apartment for two designers and their young son. The homeowners are keen fans of the Nordic style and slower way of living, and though their apartment now reflects this, there’s no shortage of local elements. ‘I tried to use the most traditional materials found in Taiwan’s countryside, but transformed to reflect a more Nordic style,’ Hong explains of the combination.
The light-filled apartment has been transformed into a semi-open space with a large living area, private bedrooms and combined guest room and study. Hong artfully brings together natural and industrial, commercial and traditional, and old and new in a style he describes as ‘brutal elegance’. Emphasising sustainability, he used raw and recycled materials as well as second-hand and repurposed furniture. Metal, glass and wood are combined, for example, in a set of uncoated wooden doors into which recycled antique glass has been embedded. Hong also repurposed IKEA furniture to create cabinets and study room screens. Organic materials like the cork and wooden slats and boards used for ceilings create a natural feeling that’s offset by the more industrial corrugated steel ceiling in communal spaces.
Dark grey predominates, chosen for its ability to create different moods throughout the day as the light and shadows change, and is punctuated by black and wooden furniture and displays of the owners’ books, art and design objects.
‘I think a home should be like a container for memories and experiences, and no doubt it’s the people who play the most important role in this space. A good space is the beginning of making a better life, and that’s the real joy of interior design,’ Hong says.
Text / Babette Radclyffe-Thomas
Images / Roy Hong
