Taking the Upper hand

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Launched last year, Swire Hotels is a collection of intriguing urban properties, designed to be highly distinctive and utterly unique. Each hotel is individually named, promotes a strong sense of place and features an innovative range of facilities.

Andre Fu of AFSO, hailed by Conde Nast Traveler US as an ‘Asian Design Sensation’, was called in to design the interiors of the latest addition to the Swire collection, a small and intimate 117-room property in Hong Kong called The Upper House.

Flu’s portfolio includes the Piacere and Nadaman restaurants at Shangri-la Hotel Tokyo, Cassia at Singapore’s Capella Resort, the Agnes b. La Loggia flagship store in Hong Kong, JIA Shanghai’s eclectic lobby, and actress Michelle Yeoh’s private residence.

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Located at Hong Kong’s Pacific Place, Fu’s latest creation was designed to be calm, comfortable and accessible. “The interior is somewhat designed in purity. The design also emphasises a sense of place – a place for people to gather, to rejuvenate and to relax. It is all about creating a hotel that is welcoming and instantly comfortable; it is refreshingly unstuffy,” Fu explained.

The design of The Upper House aims to capture the aura of an Asian-inspired private residence. Natural materials, original sculptures and well-proportioned spaces dominate. The overall palette is restrained, calling on bamboo and laquered panels to inject an oriental sensitivity into an otherwise ‘international’ scheme.

“With the intention of creating a small intimate hotel reminiscent of a private residence, I have purposely conjured a sense of tranquility throughout the design and ambience of the hotel. The result is a sophisticated modern-oriental residence, designed with respect to balanced geometry and symmetry, providing all the comforts of a stately home,” Fu said.

The overall simplicity of the design scheme is offset by intricate detailing. “Contrary to most of the high-end hotels in the current market, my approach to the design of the Upper House revolved around the concept of having all elements done in simple forms and shapes, yet with intricate and highly thoughtful details. It is the refinement in the detailing that escalates the overall sophistication of the product we are offering.”

Guests enter the hotel through a Bedonia stone doorway façade, designed to create the intimate impression of a curtain being drawn to welcome guests into a private residence. A subtly-lit driveway carries guests towards a pure glass box that appears to float weightlessly above pools of water. Guests are granted access into the intimate lobby area via a dramatic, 13ft-high, textured nickel door.

Inside, a circular bamboo enclosure, the Lantern, marks the beginning of an upward journey. A dimly-lit escalator lined with bespoke lamps transports guests to Level 6, which is flooded with daylight and dominated by a beautifully-crafted lawn.

Surrounded by a sculpted topiary box hedge, the lawn is representative of the overall Upper House ethos – simple yet tasteful.

In the guestrooms, Fu has adopted a contemporary, monochromatic design, featuring natural timber, shoji glass, limestone and lacquered paper panels.

All rooms, including the hotel’s 21 suites and two penthouses, promote two sensuous colour schemes: ‘Bamboo’ features solid ash flooring, bamboo limber and lilac upholstery, while ‘Celadon’ features green tea upholstery, limed oak flooring and cream oak timber. Rooms are spacious, with 300ft² bathrooms featuring walk-in rain showers, dressing areas and free-standing limestone-clad baths offering panoramic harbour or island views.

Lined with Italian Perlato Svevo natural limestone floors and beige Turkish Terre d’Oriente limestone walls, the bathrooms reiterate the uncluttered simplicity that defines the new Swire hotel.

“The ultimate product has transcended my original vision for a hotel that speaks of residential calmness; a hotel that is Asian influenced and elegant,” Fu said.