Alex Mok (pictured below) co-founded architecture and interior design practice Linehouse in 2013 with fellow WIN Awards judge Briar Hickling. A collaboration of like-minded individuals from various backgrounds and cultures, it has carried out work in China, the Asia Pacific region and Europe, from the small scale and the intricate, to the grand and public.
“We approach projects in a holistic manner, combining different disciplines,” says Alex.
“Each brief is approached individually, creating a poetic concept for each client through research, site context, history and responding to the client’s vision.”
The studio is currently working on a lifestyle boutique hotel in Hangzhou, two food market projects in China, an office renovation in Haikou, and some smaller food and beverage projects in Shenzhen.
Read on to discover Alex’s five favourites amongst the studio’ past projects.
1. WeWork, Shanghai
"Linehouse transformed a former opium factory in the heart of Shanghai to become the Chinese flagship for co-working company WeWork. We celebrated the grandeur of the building, encapsulating the feeling of a grand hotel. A green steel staircase weaves through the circulation space connecting all three levels of the front of house. This is clad in triangular pieces of oak wood, with one side painted in hues of blue. The colours alternate as you travel up the stair creating a gradient of tones and shifting views from wood to blue. The staircase leads to the two pantry areas that play on the opium factory narrative, with large scale poppy wallpapers, hand painted in gold."
2. Tingtai Teahouse, Shanghai
"This modern teahouse is housed within a gallery space in Shanghai’s M50 art district. The client, a tea enthusiast, wanted to create a traditional Chinese teahouse with a modern aesthetic. The existing space was stripped back to its raw state, exposing the patina of the concrete structure and the old brick walls and ceiling. We stacked teahouses that are framed at either end with full height glass, offering views and natural light from the windows above. The teahouses are clad in brushed darkened stainless steel, emitting a blurred reflection of the surrounding existing space. At lower level a glass horizon frames the teahouse interior."
3. Foodie Social, Shanghai
"We conceived the interior of the food market as that of a Victorian greenhouse. A central double height atrium space is carved out and lined with a series of undulating balconies that serve as occupiable seating niches and planters. Green hanging plants spill over the railing, where visitors can spectate the active market scene below. The patterned paving from the outside lanes extends into the market, and in spring and autumn the large glass doors are pulled open to fully connect the interior and exterior."
4. JNBY boutique, Xiamen, Fujian
"JNBY is a boutique rollout design for one of China’s leading fashion brands. We installed a ceiling of concrete coffers with inset lighting tubes. Below this a screen of textured glass wraps the space, delicately balancing on feet made out of recycled concrete and connected to the ceiling with stainless steel poles. We explored the concept of crafted imperfection, celebrating the handmade and resulting imperfections for the materiality of the fixtures and cashier desk."
5 Fish Market, Shanghai
"We carried out the architecture and interior renovation for this fish market in Shanghai. Our concept began with the creation of a public park as an extension of the project as a place for the community to enjoy. We extended the architectural concrete grid of the existing building to allow the park to extend inside the building, whilst blurring the edge of the indoor and outdoor spaces to give the whole market the feeling of being outdoors."