From lavish hotels to opulent residences that wow with the craftsmanship and meticulous attention to the smallest details, purveyors of luxury design are buying into the bespoke and paying premiums to live and stay at spaces that provide an allure of decidedly transformative living experiences. Recognising the demand, five-star hotels and property developers are turning more and more to architects and interior designers to craft spaces where architecture, art and design are intertwined to create the highest standards of living, merging traditions, trends and innovation in contemporary design. And, certainly, big names in luxury design are not born overnight. While the featured five creatives behind some of this year’s most prestigious developments may not be household names yet, they are shaking up the luxury design scene with bold, sophisticated concepts that cut through the usual glitz and glitter and offer new perspectives on contemporary luxury. In part 1 we look at two designers: Andre Kikoski and Andre Fu.

Andre Kikoski

ANDRE KIKOSKI
Firm: Andre Kikoski Architect
Firm: New York, US

Andre Kikoski Architect is an award-winning, Manhattan-based architecture and design firm grounded by enduring architectural principles, driven by innovation and inspired to express craftsmanship through 21st-century technology. Named one of Interior Design’s PowerGrid 100 Architects changing the landscape of New York City, and The Architect’s Newspaper’s Top 50 Interior Architects pushing the envelope in the built environment, the firm works globally with The Guggenheim Museum, The Related Companies at Hudson Yards, The Kohler Companies, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Swarovski Crystal, among others. Current projects include 75 Kenmare with Lenny Kravitz, a residential co-living development in Long Island City, the contemporary renovation of a historic compound in Nanjing, We believe architecture can unify people, especially when design activates all your senses, engages your memory and creates emotional connection points. Our goal is simply to create a sense of joy in all who experience our work. China, and mixed-use towers in the Philippines and Saudi Arabia. Kikoskiwas recently featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, The Real Deal and Architectural Digest. He has spoken across Asia, Europe, Latin America and the United States at the American Institute of Architects, the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, The Spectrum of Modernism Conference and World Architecture Day.

Project: One Hudson Yards, New York.

HIGHLIGHT PROJECT
The brief for One Hudson Yards: Kikoski’s interior work at One Hudson Yards holistically rethinks the experience of living in a luxurious and opulent building in New York City, where Kikoski and his team envisioned 180 apartments to propose a new vision of design and community.

A living room designed by Andre Kikoski for One Hudson Yards.

We believe architecture can unify people,
especially when design activates all your senses, engages your memory and creates emotional connection points. Our goal is
simply to create a sense of joy in all who
experience our work.

With this project, Kikoski showcases innovative, artisan-crafted materials and maximises the residents’ emotional and physical well-being by creating spaces to beneficially impact how they think and feel, incorporating acoustics, colour theory, neuroscience, and psychology in the design to promote community living. One Hudson Yards features amenities that provide comfort and conviviality, condensing the social landscape of an entire neighbourhood inside a single new building that is a standard of success for the firm’s client.

Andre Fu

ANDRE FU
Firm: AFSO
Firm: Hong Kong

Internationally acclaimed interior designer Andre Fu founded AFSO in 2000, after graduating from Cambridge University. Since the company’s inception, Fu has been building an extensive portfolio of projects across Asia and Europe that reflect his artistic perspective and timeless sensibility. Fu’s first well-known project redefined the notions of hospitality with the design of the Upper House hotel in Hong Kong, with the project’s success helping to establish a firm foundation to create forward-thinking interiors for other leading brands. Fu’s quietly thoughtful style has garnered him multiple international accolades, having been named Designer of the Year for Maison & Objet Asia in 2016 and honoured in Wallpaper’s list of Top 20 Interior Designers. His analytical approach, reflective of his cultural upbringing in both Asia and Europe, has enabled Fu to cement his name in the hospitality industry, with most recent projects including the Andaz hotel group’s first hotel in Singapore, the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Bangkok and the new suites for The Berkeley Hotel in London.

Grand Pavilion Suite, The Berkeley, London, UK

HIGHLIGHT PROJECT
The brief for The Berkeley Suites: After the launch of the Opus Suite at The Berkeley in 2014, Fu returned to the classic Knightsbridge hotel to create two lavish new suites, inspired by his admiration for the free-standing glasshouses by Rogers & Partners. Fu’s design of the suites epitomises the golden era of modernism and exemplifies the designer’s signature language of related luxury and contemporary classicism with an emphasis on subtle English sensibilities.

Plus dining area @ Crescent Pavilion Suite, The Berkeley, London, UK.

The spirit of my design philosophy is about
provoking new ways of thinking about
what luxury means.

The spirit of my design philosophy is about provoking new ways of thinking about what luxury means. sensibilities. The 3,200 square-foot Crescent Pavilion suggests the experience of a private residence surrounded by a garden, while the Grand Pavilion Suite offers the ultimate urban escape influenced by traditional English touches grounded in the expression of relaxed modernity. Read about this other striking London property designed to a hilt.