Lim + Lu is an award-winning inter-disciplinary architectural design practice based in Hong Kong (initiated in New York City), co-founded by graduates of Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Vincent Lim and Elaine Lu.
Lim + Lu's founders Elaine Lu and Vincent Lim
Partners in work and in life, this dynamic duo work internationally to provide architecture, interior, branding, furniture, and product design services, where they are inspired by the everyday and push the trend of individualization by presenting flexibility, practicality and a breath of fresh air to every project. Scroll through the gallery below to explore more about their creative world (Photography: Courtesy of Lim + Lu):
Thank you for the award. It really is an honour being recognized as Emerging Designer of the Year and it means a lot to us. We’re currently working on different projects, in different scales. One of the more exciting ones is a 300-room serviced apartment in Tianjin, which is a milestone project for us. It’s for a five-star hotel brand, and what’s been interesting for us is seeing how a standalone apartment translates into a larger scale, commercial project. This is our first project as such and a great opportunity for us to break into the hospitality arena. What we also love is exploring the different scales of this project – a standalone residential and the relationship with the client compared with a larger commercial space. We find in commercial projects, everything runs a lot more smoothly, more efficient and seamless as the clients usually know exactly what they want, yet they are looking for guidance at the same time.
(Pictured here: Lim + Lu incorporated striking shapes and shades within this 490sqft bachelor pad in Tseung Kwan O)
The end user is for a young, trendy generation of travellers. With everything that’s going on and technology, it’s hard to differentiate between a work or pleasure trip nowadays because you can’t really switch off and it’s so easy to access work at the back of your pocket. This project is meant to cater to this lifestyle – a mixture of play and business. Apart from this, we’re working on some tabletop products, and lighting pieces, so the spectrum of what we do is quite large.
(Pictured here: The Reform geometric custom carpet is a collaboration between the duo and Tai Ping Carpets)
The end user is for a young, trendy generation of travellers. With everything that’s going on and technology, it’s hard to differentiate between a work or pleasure trip nowadays because you can’t really switch off and it’s so easy to access work at the back of your pocket. This project is meant to cater to this lifestyle – a mixture of play and business. Apart from this, we’re working on some tabletop products, and lighting pieces, so the spectrum of what we do is quite large.
(Pictured: The couple's 1,200sqft home in Happy Valley is a study on versatility and colours)
Many of our clients and brands that come to us are traditional, big corporations looking to inject a younger feel and refreshed take to their products. For a lot of our residential projects, many of the clients we see are younger and on the cusp of starting their own families – similar to us – so they see alot of similarities in their lifestyle with ours. We recently finished a restaurant for Yung Kee – Yung’s Bistro in K11 Musea, a younger line to cater to the new generation.
(Pictured:The Mass series feature reconfigurable appointments)
When we first start a project, there’s a lot of dialogue about what the client wants and for us to understand and figure out the chemistry between us and the problems we are helping them solve. Then there’s a lot of internal dialogue between ourselves, a lot of sketching and brainstorming. The whole process is always a thorough collaboration between us and the whole team. Because we both graduated from architecture school, our thinking always stems from an architectural point of view. We start with the spatial planning, then ideas for materials and all other details. Our background is also quite similar in education and family, so we complement each other quite well.
There’s never an off button for us. When we’re on a date night, we’re always soaking in what’s around us and thinking how we can apply this to different projects. Design is really part of our lifestyle. It’s integrated into everybody’s life, and there’s more of an understanding of that now.
(Pictured here: The design duo transformed a warehouse in Hong Kong into an inspiring home and workshop space for an artistic couple)
A passion project (if we can realise it), is again going back to the holistic where everything is integrated. We were thinking having a lifestyle store where everything in it is for sale. But this shop would be setup like someone’s apartment - a closet with all these clothes inside, but all the clothes are also for sale. Books on the bookshelves which customers can buy… this would be very interesting to us.
(Pictured: Mesmerizing bathroom scenarios curated for COLOURLIVING)
For those thinking about a career in design, make sure that this is really your passion as this is a job that requires a lot of it. After graduation, don’t jump into anything right away – I think it’s good to learn the process and humble yourself until you feel ready on your own. It’s important to invest in yourself as that plays a part in driving home how design matters. Create your own projects and try different things. The spotlight on Asian designers is increasing so really passionate designers should ride the wave, make yourself known and established - the world is looking at us right now.
