The Cascade
Beau Cloud Mansion
Situated adjacent to the urban jungle of Hong Kong, Beau Cloud Mansion is hidden away in the winding and layered cascaded hills of the Mid-Levels. The apartment is to be dog-friendly and spacious, with the potential to be transformed to welcome new family members in the future.
The former three bedrooms, two bathrooms apartment would be completely revamped into an open plan apartment with an ensuite master bedroom, a guest bedroom/study room, guest bathroom, lounge, reading area, open-planned kitchen with breakfast bar, dining room and a spacious helper’s room and WC.
Bean Buro team: Kenny Kinugasa-Tsui, Lorène Faure, Kirk Kwok, Jay Jordan
Client: Private
The Narrative: Cascading Flow
Inspired by the external Mid-Levels topography, the concept of the ‘cascade’ is an architectural strategy to create a strata effect; using horizontal forms to smoothen the flow of spaces, allowing an open, comfortable and airy feel for the apartment.
The Process: A Stratified Approach
As every window in the apartment faces the incredible natural greenery sloping towards the peak, the space offered a variety of opportunities to locate the private and social areas. The design process explored different spatial approaches to examine the priorities of views, natural light, room sizes, storage, circulation strategies, and the amount of built-in furniture.
“We interpreted the cascading topography of Mid Levels Hong Kong as various horizontal elements, as a way to stratify the different functions of the apartment.”
— Kenny Kinugasa-Tsui, co-founder of Bean Buro
The Solution: A Wrapping Volume
The solution is the creation of a horizontal wrapping volume at the core of the apartment that serves multiple functions. It encases the ensuite master bedroom, a semi-open study (that can become a guest room), a guest WC, and a built-in TV unit on its outer face that faces the lounge. The volume horizontally sways from side of the lounge to the other, emphasised by a continuous lighting effect at the low level that relieves the heaviness, forming a characterful front of house space that feels large and generous.
To further accentuate the horizontality of the strata effect, a black datum line is incorporated into the bespoke joinery that runs consistently at the same height throughout most of the apartment. This consistent black datum line occasionally rises up or down to form a small arc, to express its playfulness.
Storage efficiency was part of the brief, bespoke joinery connecting living and dining room allow dense storage. Customised storage in the living room allows the client to store away long snowboarding equipment, mastered room and guest bedroom offer a multitude of spaces, including a large walk-in wardrobe.
The Materials: Neutral & Airy
The interior materiality takes inspiration from the natural surroundings, utilising natural oak flooring in long planks as well as herringbone patterning. The wall finishes are kept simple with off-white paint colours. A full-height drinks bar constructed in brass metal finish is created between the dining area and lounge. The dining table is also tailor-made in high-quality timber and stone top, with brass metal details.
Wellbeing: Human and Pet Comfort
The design provided a very comfortable reading corner for the lady of a house, with a hanging swing chair for relaxation with a good external view. The reading space is filled with natural light, with plain gallery walls ready for displaying photography artworks. A sleeping area is designed for the family dog, and various horizontal platforms designated for the dog to relax and play. The open kitchen can be enclosed with sliding partitions during cooking, but it is left open for most of the day, allowing the dog to roam around the apartment in the day.
“We kept the materials palette bright and neutral to maximise the poetic qualities of natural daylight as much as possible. The horizontal black line (in the joinery detail) playfully emphasise the notion of horizontality and continuity.”
— Lorène Faure, co-founder of Bean Buro