29 November 2016
Episode 268
30 minutes
Hong Kong started out as a city that made things and later became a trading hub for buying and selling. Now it has its sights set on becoming a regional centre of creativity, innovation and design. In this episode we take a look at what progress is being made, checking in with some of the main players from across the industry and talking to representatives from both the public and private sectors. Join us for the ride.
29 November 2016
Share episode
DownloadChapter 1
7 minutes
Photo: Getty Images
15
15
/
The government has a role to play if Hong Kong is going to compete with the best in the world when it comes to design. Gregory So, Hong Kong’s secretary for commerce and economic development, spoke to us about what the state is doing to develop local creative industries, in particular the fashion-design industry.
7 minutes
Share chapter 1
Chapter 2
7 minutes
15
15
/
Today Hong Kong still suffers from creative brain drain, with students flocking to design courses at prestigious overseas institutions such as London’s Central Saint Martins. But opportunities to study at home have improved dramatically in recent years. Six years ago the Savannah College of Art and Design (Scad) opened a branch in Hong Kong, its first and only presence in Asia. We visit the Scad campus – housed in a lovely converted courthouse in Sham Shui Po – to meet fashion marketing professor Cory Quach.
7 minutes
Share chapter 2
Chapter 3
6 minutes
15
15
/
Hong Kong’s booming infrastructure projects pull in architects from all over the world. Dennis Ho is a partner at international design firm Hassell, which has its roots in Australia. Ho moved back to Hong Kong earlier this year after spending more than 20 years working for London-based architecture firm Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners. We visit him at his new digs in North Point, an up-and-coming community on Hong Kong Island that is attracting a new wave of commercial and creative residents.
6 minutes
Share chapter 3
Chapter 4
5 minutes
15
15
/
After studying and working in the UK, André Fu returned home to Hong Kong to start his own design firm in 2004. Since then he has become one of the city’s best-known designers and his firm Afso has grown into an international design practice with a roster of global clients and hospitality brands. We meet Fu in The Upper House hotel – seven years after he outfitted its interior in his signature “modern Asian” style – to find out what he has been up to.
5 minutes
Share chapter 4
Want more radio episodes like these in your inbox?
Sign up to Monocle’s email newsletters to stay on top of news and opinion, plus the latest from the magazine, radio, film and shop.
Monocle on Design - latest episodes
Clay special
We take a closer look at the earth beneath our feet. Writer Jennifer Lucy Allan delves into the human history of this ancient material, and we visit the maker Bisila Noha at her London studio. Then: Adam Weismann, co-fou…
‘Never At Home’
We meet the team behind the art initiative that transforms vacant sites for temporary artistic use. Among these is the Funkhaus, a former radio building of Austria’s national broadcaster, ORF. Alexei Korolyov reports.
Film special
We take a look at some silver-screen releases that take a cinematic view on the built environment. Then we go on a global green architecture tour and take a look at New Zealand’s mid-century brutalism.
A fresh start
New ideas, bright predictions and the trends that will shape the year to come – we preview some of the design stories found in Monocle’s latest edition of ‘The Forecast’.
The best of 2024
The team shares this year’s highlights. Expect conversations with designers Maria Bruun and Farah Marafie, and architectural historian, Iain Borden. Also, we hear from the team behind the ‘Dwellings’ exhibition of birdho…
Highlights from the year
Monocle’s design editor, Nic Monisse, reflects on some of the conversations shared with creatives this year as 2024 comes to a close.
Christmas special
In this festive episode recorded at Monocle’s annual Christmas Market, we discuss the art of gift wrapping with author and furoshiki expert Tomoko Kakita. Plus, designer Nika Zupanc on her collaboration with Italian brand…
Contemporary architecture in Chiang Mai
Tomás Pinheiro considers how contemporary practitioners in Thailand’s second city, Chiang Mai, work with local materials and traditional construction methods.
Dafi Kühne, timelessness in design and Fernando Mendes
Swiss graphic designer Dafi Kühne explains why legibility is relative and we meet the president of the Instituto Sergio Rodrigues. Also, the architect Jeanne Autran-Edorh reflects on timelessness in architecture.
Home comforts
Monocle’s design editor, Nic Monisse, reflects on how architecture is key to a strong sense of home.
Soane Medal winner Hanif Kara, plus Rive Roshan
This year’s Soane Medal winner, Hanif Kara, joins us at Midori House. Plus, a studio visit to the Dutch artistic practice, Rive Roshan.
Family values
Giulia Molteni, part of the third generation of the Molteni family, discusses the importance of a shared vision when continuing the international legacy of the family-owned furniture business.
An architecture special
We visit a new Asif Khan-designed boardwalk in London and discuss kiosks found across Central and Eastern Europe. Plus, we preview Monocle magazine’s new special edition, ‘Monocle: The Entrepreneurs’, out now.
‘Rooted’
The first solo exhibition at London’s Gallery Fumi, from James Plumb. The British design duo, Hannah Plumb and James Russell discuss their development process for the sculptural lighting pieces featured.
Sydney special
We hear interviews from Monocle Radio’s pop-up at the UBS Australasia Conference 2024. We check-in with leading antipodean architects and interior designers on residential, hospitality and school design. Plus, how archit…