Design classics that can be adapted to high-rise living

MANILA, Philippines - When they wanted to see creative new ways to contemporary living, writer Sharon Leece and photographer Chester Ong headed to China, a “new China,” one that is now “leading designers to infuse their work with a fresh vision rooted in Chinese culture but totally of the moment.”

The resulting collaboration with Tuttle Publishing is China Living, available at National Book Store, a gorgeous book that inspects some of China’s beautiful, modern homes.

You see the dichotomy between classic pieces — such as emperor’s chairs and lotus-shaped lamps — contrasting  amazingly with, say, the Scandinavian design signature Swan chair.

The design landscape that the book examines ranges from high-rise condominiums to artistic retreats in former industrial buildings to refurbished courtyard homes in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, three of the most vibrant cities in China and the world. 

Writer Leece and photographer Ong trained their sights on the Beijing apartment of Juan Van Wassenhove, who “used to live in a traditional 150-year-old Qing Dynasty siheyuan near Beijing’s Forbidden City. These days, however, the courtyard house functions as a deluxe B&B called La Suite Interdite and Van Wassenhove enjoys the comforts of modern apartment living in the city’s cosmopolitan Sanlitun district.”

In only 120 square meters of space, Van Wassenhove sought to bring China’s history to modern times in the form of art and furniture.

Leece says, “Van Wassenhove has woven Chinese elements into the actual structure of his space. Using local materials whenever possible, and relying on skilled local craftsmanship, his approach is both economical and gives a clear signal that this is China.  ‘I wanted to show that made in China does not have to mean low quality,’ he explains. ‘The levels of craftsmanship can be high and the items can also be aesthetically pleasing and very modern indeed.’”

Van Wassenhove also chose modern pieces and had them reworked using Chinese materials. A Mies Van de Rohe daybed, Le Corbusier’s LCII chair are made using linen from Yunnan and cotton from Guizhou.

 â€œIt’s classic furniture with a twist and localized to add that little bit extra. The idea is to have a common language in design,” he says in China Living.

The 180-sqm. Shanghai apartment of artist and designer Jiang Qiong Er, which sits by the Sozhou River, is another place that “interprets both Chinese and Western cultures in an abstract yet spirited manner.”

Jiang, a Shanghai native, studied interior and furniture design at the National School of Decorative Arts in Paris. She was the first Chinese designer to be invited to attend the Exhibition of French Furniture Salon in Paris and her work is displayed in the Pompidou Museum of Modern Art. Today, she divides her time between Shanghai and her workshop in Paris.

“I had a very traditional education with two very famous Chinese artists, one for calligraphy (Cheng Shi Fa) so I am influenced by ink and brush painting,” she explains. “Afterwards I studied in France, so I try to mix these influences in spirit rather than in form.”

Jiang’s space is filledwith light and enhanced by furnishings that are both contemporary Chinese and French “savoir-faire.”

Back to Beijing, the Dashanzi — or 798 Art District — is compared with Greenwich Village or SoHo in New York, “a bold example of the evolution of China’s contemporary art movement.”

“Artist Huang Rui, a founding member of China’s first avant-garde art group known as Xing Xing (“The Stars”), is an active promoter of the Beijing art scene. One of the founders of 798, Huang believes contemporary art has a lot to offer for the development of China, not least in the area of freedom and self-expression.”

Huang’s loft studio features metal-framed glass doors and double-height ceiling, exposed brickwork and white painted concrete. “The room is dominated by a huge terrazzo table and with two long benches — one of which is a carved tree trunk. A steep, timber-plank staircase leads upwards to a Japanese-style tearoom at the rear of the space which nestles beneath large sloping windows and an arched ceiling. Another stairway leads to a light-drenched studio and master bedroom.”

Pick up a copy of China Living — you can learn numerous design styles and techniques from the range of homes that Leece and  Ong feature. Plus it shows us that the past can exist happily and beautifully with the present.