Uncategorized - Brewin Design Office

We are happy to share a recent article on Wallpaper* of the 8,000sqft space we designed for a 20 person family office in the Hong Kong Club Building. Beautifully written by Daven Wu, and shot by CommonStudio, this project encapsulates the best of all things for a firm like ours – A space situated in Harry Siedler’s legendary HK Club Building, where the core of its brutalist architecture was about pushing structural design to achieve a column free floorplate spanning the entire footprint of the building. This allowed the interior architecture to respond to not just the physical context but also the historical significance of the building.

The program of a private family office encouraged us to explore high-quality residential level details and furnishing set within the context of a professional office space that needed functions like an 18 person boardroom, and meeting rooms that had the luxury of seating lounges within them.

It was incredible that we had the opportunity to build all of the custom furniture pieces in France and complimented them alongside vintage pieces by Oscar Niemeyer, Jean Michel Frank, Eero Saarinen, among other canons.

It is an absolute joy being able to work on projects so closely connected to art. Like working on a gallery, designing a home that celebrates art requires an intrinsic connection with the collector, the artists, and their works.

Check out this short clip of the 3,500 sqft apartment – infused with understated luxury, abundant natural light, and an unwavering commitment to let the art take centre stage – here

‘Now Is Not the Time’ is an immersive art exhibition that pays homage to Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew on the occasion of his 100th birthday, in collaboration with Refinery Media, the talented artist Daniel Arsham, animation studio X3D, and fellow contributors Tay Chee Wei, Lasalle Film School, and Nanyang Polytechnic School of Design.

Brewin Design Office is honored to have contributed to this historically significant exhibition, designing “Building Blocks”, a warren of fabric-walled rooms of varying heights and square footage that evokes the emotional life of a city, its challenges and its triumphs.

Building Blocks is a physical environment paving a journey for the visitor, providing an experience that relies on spatial, volumetric, and perspectival design. An abstract metaphor of the urban development that Singapore has gone through over the past 5 decades, we created a series of translucent rooms through the use of gradated tonal fabrics and artificial lighting that allows the audience to journey through variations of scales and transparencies. The installation transcends the boundaries of both temporality and spatiality, serving as a physical rendition of a journey through time and history.

In this interview with Hinge Architecture & Interior Design magazine, Robert talks about his creative journey and latest project OMA by the Sea, a new residential development in Hong Kong that inspires a tranquil approach to living as the ideal complement to Hong Kong’s bustle.

Our goal as lead interior designer for the development was to re-invent the public and clubhouse programs, and to create an aesthetic and experience throughout the facilities and lobbies that is seamlessly connected to the exterior landscape. For the building’s facade, we designed a dynamic and undulating podium exterior to be contrasted against a simple and timeless tower facade language.

Absolutely grateful for a trusting, collaborative and highly capable client that executed the project flawlessly.

Wonderful to be included in Supper Magazine’s issue 30! Many thanks to Shanna McGoldrick and Eleanor Howard for the feature on The Hudson Rooms at Capella Hanoi, one of the capital’s top destinations for food connoisseurs.

“Capella Hanoi is taking an epicurean pilgrimage to New York with The Hudson Rooms, a 120-seat rooftop restaurant and oyster bar inspired by the aesthetics of 1920s New York and the renaissance of travel. Envisioned by Hong Kong and Singapore based Brewin Design Office, The Hudson Rooms is divided into two areas with the main restaurant characterised by archways, vaulted ceilings and highly-reflective materials. Contrastingly, the members’ lounge uses darker-toned timber, stone and stucco to cultivate a more intimate and cosy atmosphere.”

Having designed interiors for luxury residential and hospitality projects, Brewin Design Office is now also immersed in giving ageing commercial buildings a new lease of life.

In addition to the recently-completed 61 Robinson, the studio was also appointed by ARA Asset Management (now ESR Group) to renovate the main lobby of Capital Square office building and its drop off.

Brewin Design Office is introducing a number enhancements to activate the public plaza facing Church Street, where heat and barrenness have been a deterrent in the past. Through introducing more greenery, an expanded pedestrian walkway, shaded seating and an enlarged water feature, the studio hopes to revitalise the underutilised square.

The project is in the final stages of construction and is expected to complete by early 2023.

The studio is excited to be designing the full interiors of a hotel in Kyoto, alongside building architecture designed by world-acclaimed Kengo Kuma and Associates.

The luxurious four-storey hotel is due to open mid-2025 and will comprise 92 rooms with 6 room types, including 1 presidential suite, as well as 3 restaurant concepts and the hotel’s signature Spa.

“The interior design of the 28th-floor unit that commanded the record price is particularly significant to Cheng, as it marked his first foray into customised residential design shortly after he founded Brewin Design Office in 2013. Since then, Brewin Design Office has been behind the design of several other luxury developments. One of them was a show unit at Swire Properties’ Eden at Draycott Park. The 20-unit development was sold en bloc to the Tsai family of Want Want Holdings for $293 million in March 2021.

Cheng was also the designer for the interiors of the 54-unit luxury condo Park Nova, by Hongkong-listed Shun Tak Holdings, a conglomerate with interests in Hong Kong and Macau and controlled by billionaire Pansy Ho. Launched in May last year, almost overnight, Park Nova became the most prominent example of a super luxury condo in Singapore.”

Read more here

Giving an office building’s foyer a facelift is not easy. Not only should the refurbishment improve the layout to facilitate ease of flow, wayfinding and functionality, it should also enhance the feeling of welcome for visitors and a sense of belonging for staff. For the redesign of the main lobby and typical floors’ public areas in 61 Robinson (formerly known as Robinson Centre) in Singapore’s Central Business District, Brewin Design Office has done that. “The eventual overall mood and tone we wanted to create was to bring an element of hospitality into a commercial typology, to create a welcoming and energised space”, Robert Cheng explains.

“The Brewin portfolio ranges from homes and hotels to restaurants and offices, and one after another the various spaces present a sophistication, poise and allure, and yet also a sense of warmth and welcome. They come together with an effortless harmony that belies the fanatical attention to detail underpinning their creation – the rigour and finesse that could only be sustained over year-long projects by an equivalence of passion. A Herculean labour of love.”

In an age of personalisation at every turn, Brewin Design Office founder Bobby Cheng talks through his passionate and painstaking approach to truly bespoke design.

The studio’s friend and esteemed writer Daven Wu elaborates a back story behind a project we designed remotely over the course of a few years. Read the full article here.

We are thrilled to be a part of the rejuvenation of Singapore’s Central Business District through the upgrading of Robinson Centre. Rebranded as 61 Robinson, we worked closely with ARA Private Funds to thoughtfully transform 61 Robinson into a higher grade office building, infused with a hospitality-inspired experience unlike any typical office building in Singapore.

It was with great pleasure that we handed over one of the studio’s most complex and refined residential projects to date. A study of classical joinery detailing with hand-selected timbers, the contemporary residence is a quiet abode that is timeless and most comfortable.

The stunning 54 unit boutique development that has set yet another benchmark for luxury living in Singapore is loaded with unparalleled amenities, and is situated in an area of Orchard where anticipated redevelopment is happening in the next 5 years. Architecture by PLP Architecture, Residential Condo Interiors and Public Facilities, Sales Gallery and Show Unit design by Brewin Design Office.

It was a pleasure working with Swire Properties on their maiden residential development in Singapore. Sharing one of the last looks of the interiors to the fully-sold Ultra Luxury condo EDEN.

While many restaurants designed in an open interior space often feel like an obvious addition to the space, Blossom shows the example of the space being in unity with the existing surrounding.

When it comes to historic structures around the globe, preserving original architectural details often is paramount in any renovation. This holds true for the 1,750-square-foot shophouse turned meditative pied-à-terre in Singapore by Brewin Design Office.

Robert Cheng of Brewin Design Office believes that good work hinges not just on what, but also why we design. He chats with Luo Jingmei about his journey as the firm enters its 10th year.

In designing Andō, a new Japanese-Spanish restaurant by Hong Kong’s JIA Group, Brewin Design Office eschewed distinct gastronomic themes and instead distilled hybridity into a minimalist, textured space inspired by context – abstracting Hong Kong’s man-made city fabric and forms into a bold, brutalist interior.

Robert Cheng, the founder and design director of Brewin Design Office, reveals his design philosophy — to continue the integrity in design.

“To achieve the right design that would satisfy this nuanced balance (between conservation and innovation, the past and the present) was to frame it in a way that would pay homage to the space itself.”

Brewin Design Office’s Principal, Robert Cheng, sat down with The New York Times Style Magazine in the National Gallery Singapore’s new Rotunda Library & Archives just before the circuit breaker, to share his thought process behind the design of the museum’s library – home to one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of archival and reference resources on 19th and 20th century Southeast Asian art.

“A luxury residential tower designed by renowned English architect Thomas Heatherwick in collaboration with Swire Properties accommodates just 20 exclusive apartments—each occupying a single floor. Among them is one with the most intriguing interiors.”

The talented team behind the online publication HNWorth conducted a candid interview with Robert earlier this year, capturing so accurately the beliefs and interests that have been the driving force behind Brewin Design Office these past 8 years.

“For Robert Cheng, dream projects tend to be the ones that allow him to ‘operate “end to end”, and to design the interior architecture, right through to selecting artworks and creating bespoke furniture pieces for the project. His latest work – the 20th-storey suite in the new 20-unit EDEN condominium designed by Thomas Heatherwick – fits the bill precisely.

Heatherwick’s work on Eden is unique for its sensitivity to nature and its quiet references to traditional colonial typologies. ‘It was important for us to create an interior that complimented his detailing but without replicating his language, ’ says Cheng.

Wallpaper* magazine perfectly describes Brewin Design Office’s approach to the interiors at EDEN. Read about it here.

National Gallery Singapore’s Rotunda Library & Archive opened to the public late 2019, after a year-long renovation and conversion that involved close collaboration between the Gallery, National Heritage Board, and Brewin Design Office.

In this informative article by the gallery’s Perspective magazine, learn all about the transformation of this heritage space, as well as the behind-the-scenes efforts to prepare the archival collection for the big move.

A good restaurant, bar, or cafe is more than the food and drinks that it serves. It is an immersive experience, meticulously designed – right down to its finest detail. Anchoring on Brewin Design Office’s reputation for designing highly detailed projects with an emphasis on programmatic innovation, the design responded to the client’s brief for a contemporary and intimate renovation, complementing existing spaces of the hotel, and stays true to Conrad Hotel’s brand identity.

Residents of a Keraton Apartment in Jakarta bought the residence as a bare bones structure, before engaging Brewin Design Office for a full scope design. Brewin Design Office took responsibility for the entirety of this project from spatial planning to furniture, finishings and hardware, forming an ideal blank canvas rivalling that of a new build. Read the full story by ‘Habitus Living’ here.

Robert Cheng, Design Principal of Brewin Design Office, has been included as a Rising Star in Luxury Design offering fresh perspectives on contemporary luxury, alongside 4 other creatives behind some of the most prestigious developments internationally– ranging from New York’s One Hudson Yards to The Berkeley Hotel in London.

The Repulse Bay Apartment is a project designed with incredibly detailed craftsmanship. From the bespoke custom-designed furniture pieces, to six different methods of incorporating American white oak in the interior wood-work, every aspect of the design was conceived to allow the materiality to speak.

Brewin Design Office is delighted to share that the newly minted Blossom Restaurant has been awarded the Special Prize for South Asia & Pacific Restaurant Interior Category, in the 2019 Prix Versailles World Architecture & Design Awards. Prix Versailles is an annual award dedicated to recognizing stores, hotels and restaurants around the world that are particularly remarkable in both their exterior architecture and interior design. Discerned at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris by an independent judges panel, it is the world architecture award that combines the fields of creation, art and economics.

BDO’s design principal Robert Cheng has recently been featured in one of USA’s most renowned design publications, the Interior Design Magazine. Apart from detailing his multifaceted experience in the design industry, writer Sholeen Damarwala also invites Cheng to share his insights and inspirations in both his career and personal life, ones that inevitably influence his exceptional view and approach towards design.

Indesign Live provides an insightful account of BDO’s journey over the past three years, the sensitivities that the firm has continuously retained through this evolution, and an intimate view into Design Principal Robert Cheng’s future plans for the firm.

Design and lifestyle magazine Habitus Living describes how BDO straddles tradition and modernity in the design of the Conrad Centennial Lounge Executive Lounge and Pool Lounge & Spa. Tasked with the embedded responsibility of relating to the post-modern 90s style of the building, as well as the necessary duty of suffusing the space with a relevant contemporary living environment, BDO’s design process is one that is rife with critical gestures, ones that Habitus Living has adroitly captured.

Design Anthology magazine details the processes and embedded challenges that BDO’s Robert Cheng faced in bringing the Keraton Apartment from concept to completion. The article also paints a picture of the various exceptional elements that imbue this home with its unique flavour.

National Gallery Singapore has debuted a special exhibition, designed by Brewin Design Office, on one of the most important movements in art history. The exhibition, which opened in November 2018, looks at the emergence, development and legacies of Minimalism from the 1950s to present day and features major works by over 60 artists.

SCMP’s Post Magazine highlights Brewin Design Office’s experience designing the exhibition.

Brewin Design Office is excited to have won the competition to design this permanent new programme at the National Gallery Singapore. Occupying the historically significant space and architecturally revered structure of what is currently the Rotunda Gallery, the new Gallery Library & Archives is envisioned to be an esteemed center of art scholarship and research for both art curators and lovers alike.

The team is eager to embark on this design and build project that is so deeply entrenched in historical conservation, implementing into it our signature artisanal approach and architectural-driven thinking.

Design magazine Perspective has gathered the opinions of architects and interior designers behind several notable works in the past year and strung together a melange of anticipations in terms of colour, technology and design approach in the industry for 2019. Design principal of BDO, Robert Cheng, shares his personal take on what lies ahead for a design firm like BDO.

Indesign Live provides an immersive and richly nuanced account of the recently re-opened Blossom Restaurant that is situated in the central atrium of the Marina Bay Sands.

BDO has designed a set of 5 custom furniture for a project at Tomlinson Heights that exemplify a unique, overarching structural detail. In these pieces, the vertical elements protrude through the horizontal ones and are deliberately expressed on the surfaces — the line between structural integrity and aesthetics are decidedly blurred.

BDO has recently completed the design development stage of an ongoing project at the Shanghai Financial district, where the scope of work encompasses the interior design of the ground floor lobbies and typical floor common areas of an office complex. 8-metre tall, curving travertine walls bound the core of the lobby areas, creating an iconic feature for the otherwise clinical towers.

The largest new structure along the half-kilometre long hotel lobby that straddle 3 towers of rooms, is a series of 7 enormous timber pods, containing both semi-open and fully closed private dining rooms for tables of 8 and 10.

The understated sophistry in the architect’s work sees Brewin Design Office land clients like Capella Hotel Singapore – The Peak Singapore

An order of deep timber portals create archways into different rooms with various functions. Brewin Design Office designs an array of custom furniture pieces and intricate joinery details for the new business lounge at The Conrad Hotel, resulting in an environment that feels like a personalised private residence.

This is the view you need to have if you live along Orchard Road in Singapore. A recently completed apartment at Angullia Park Residences by Brewin Design Office:

View project here: Angullia Residence

This piece by Hong Kong Tatler Homes describes in striking detail the interior qualities of the newly furbished Morgan Penthouse; in particular, how an assemblage of lone elements begets a dynamic interplay of light, color and shadow.

The Morgan Penthouse, one of Brewin Design Office’s recently completed projects, has been featured in The Peak Hong Kong.

The Peak Hong Kong describes the designed features of this apartment that cement its status as a prime luxury home, offering an all-encompassing, panoramic insight into the project.

Prestige Living has recently covered The Morgan Penthouse, one of Brewin Design Office’s latest completed residential projects.

Calm and elegance are the defining qualities of this penthouse, and Prestige Living has expounded on how our team has carefully crafted and manipulated materials and accessories to infuse serenity into every inch of the apartment.

Brewin Design Office has, as of February 2018, completed the Plum & Toro restaurant, a new eatery located in the prime district of InterContinental Hotel Singapore at Robertson Quay.

Wallpaper* highlights the inherent challenges that our team faced in designing the space and the carefully concocted design strategies we employed to create the pulsating and cosy centrum that it is now.

The Morgan Penthouse, a recently completed project by Brewin Design Office, has been featured in Forbes Asia.

Forbes Asia highlights the skyscraping statistics of the luxury apartment and expounds on its well crafted and tasteful design flavor that undoubtedly contributes to its coveted status.

Brewin Design Office has completed the design and fabrication of a custom low table.

The Keraton Low Table is an expression of our firm’s love and passion for using rare stones to craft bespoke furniture pieces. Instead of using stone like a veneer, we found it to be more natural to emphasize the weight of the stone visually. The main surface is ever so subtly lifted away from the ground to reveal a shadow gap while the joints are fabricated to be as seamless as possible.