Over the past three years, I have had the pleasure of working with the talented team at Weave to design and develop uniquely innovative projects that set the standard for community-living in Hong Kong and beyond.
Our journey began in mid-2017 with our first residential collaboration, Weave Studios – Prince Edward, which became a milestone project for both of our young companies. As Weave’s first property and with much at stake, we were honored to be working with them on what would be the first of many to come.
Similarly for us, Weave Studios – Prince Edward was DEFT’s largest project up to that point with 160 bedrooms and over 3,000 square feet of shared spaces, and upon kicking off the project we quickly came to the realization that we had much more to learn about our client, the target demographic, and hospitality design in general.
My team and I spent the next few months applying our experience in space efficient solutions to the 16 different bedroom types, ultimately resulting in multiple types of beds, wardrobes, and desks among others that could adapt to the different room sizes and conditions.
On this exciting design journey we were fortunate to work with a passionate and energetic client in Sachin. One of the more refreshing qualities of working with Sachin (and by extension the whole Weave team in general) is his distaste for sugarcoating. Any and all feedback on our design comes immediately and it comes direct, leaving no room for interpretation. Oftentimes, it has been this straightforward approach that enables us to work quickly and efficiently, with good banter a typical byproduct.
The lessons learned throughout the design and construction of Weave Studios – Olympic gave our studio invaluable experience that we have carried with us to other projects.
Following their successful launch of Weave Studios – Prince Edward in August of 2018 and then Weave Studios – Hung Hom in 2019, we’ve been pleased to watch as their team has grown alongside our own.
From our team of 7 designers at the start of Weave Studios – Prince Edward, to now 26 between our two offices in Hong Kong and Manila, we are currently fully engaged on two more Weave properties: Weave Studios – Olympic (launching within the next month) and Weave Suites – Central West, an exciting new typology of accommodation on Hong Kong island, set to launch later this year.
As a long-running client partnership (3 years and counting!), it might be easy to fall into the trap of design repetition when working on new projects under tight deadlines. Fortunately in working with Sachin, Liz, and Brian, we are given the freedom and trust to constantly push our boundaries (no pun intended), which in turn motivates us to self-evaluate and innovate in order to improve and out-perform.
While 2020 has been a year of challenges and unexpected twists, it has also allowed us at DEFT to double-down on our existing relationships and thank our clients who trust us with their most valuable assets, and to look forward to continued successful partnerships.
Peter Colin Lampard
Co-Founding Partner
DEFT
