Studioilse transforms Cathay Pacific’s First Class Lounge in Hong Kong’s International Airport

London-based Studioilse has transformed a corner of Hong Kong’s international airport into a new 2,000 sq metre first class lounge for Cathay Pacific. ‘Before we designed a single thing we started questioning what luxury really means to first class travellers today,’ says Studioilse founder Ilse Crawford. ‘We spent a lot of time in lounges watching and talking with people. It was riveting.’
The result is a world away from the typical corporate lounge aesthetic to a space more akin to an elegant apartment, except in this one, the living room, library and dining room comes with a well-being area, signature fragrance and curated music.
All the familiar luxe design tropes like deep leather armchairs and tasteful artworks are present and correct but the understated interiors also sports Crawford’s subtle layering of comfort, materiality, and unobtrusive functionality. Thoughtfully arranged seating, soft lit table lamps, plush rugs, and tables with hidden built-in electrical and USB outlet strips are small but important details. ‘It is about space organized around the individual human being instead of the 800 travellers using the lounge each day,’ says Crawford.
The designer’s trademark use of natural materials is also on show with limestone floors, a graceful matt jade green onyx entrance, and an impressive onyx and brass horseshoe cocktail bar in the living room. Furniture and lighting feature investment pieces such as the Diz chair by Brazilian designer Sergio Rodriguez, the Clover Leaf sofa by Verner Panton and Lindsey Adelman’s brass and glass Agnes chandelier.
The pièce de résistance, however, is the day lounge. Arrive early for a classic head and foot massage and then retreat to your bijou private room to read, sleep or observe the airport’s frenetic runway from the comfort of your own day bed.
ADDRESS
Hong Kong International Airport
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Catherine Shaw is a writer, editor and consultant specialising in architecture and design. She has written and contributed to over ten books, including award-winning monographs on art collector and designer Alan Chan, and on architect William Lim's Asian design philosophy. She has also authored books on architect André Fu, on Turkish interior designer Zeynep Fadıllıoğlu, and on Beijing-based OPEN Architecture's most significant cultural projects across China.
-
ICON 4x4 goes EV, giving their classic Bronco-based restomod an electric twist
The EV Bronco is ICON 4x4’s first foray into electrifying its range of bespoke vintage off-roaders and SUVs
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
‘Dressed to Impress’ captures the vivid world of everyday fashion in the 1950s and 1960s
A new photography book from The Anonymous Project showcases its subjects when they’re dressed for best, posing for events and celebrations unknown
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Inside Camperlab’s Harry Nuriev-designed Paris store, a dramatic exercise in contrast
The Crosby Studios founder tells Wallpaper* the story behind his new store design for Mallorcan shoe brand Camperlab, which centres on an interplay between ‘crushed concrete’ and gleaming industrial design
By Jack Moss Published