Little Tai Hang architect Tommy Pao on what inspired his unusual design

Educated at Yale and Harvard universities, architect Tommy Pao’s first project since finishing graduate school was the hotel and serviced apartment tower Little Tai Hang.

Little Tai Hang consists of a glass skyscraper that rises out of a three-storey brick podium. Why did you design the building in two such distinct parts? “Little Tai Hang is a glass-and-aluminium building in a fairly old neighbourhood. I didn’t want the building to stick out like a sore thumb, so the upper tower portion is designed to maximise the views from the rooms, while the lower podium is about blending into the area and engaging with the community.

“I drew from a lot of local vernacular to design the podium, which is [inspired by] mid-century architecture. Hong Kong still has a few mid-century buildings left – the YMCA building [on Bridges Street, in Sheung Wan], the Fringe Club and the Foreign Correspondents’ Club [in Central], and the Faculty of Medicine at Hong Kong University – and I gained a lot of inspiration from them. The podium is clad in brick, rough-cut stone and terrazzo – materials often used during the mid-century.”

Does that mid-century style extend to the interiors? “We have some mid-century-style mouldings in the corridors and, in the rooms, on the skirtings and cabinetry.”

What else inspired the decor? “A lot of hotel interiors have too much going on and we wanted to keep it simple. We want people to focus on the views and to feel at home, so one of our main drives was to remain fairly neutral. Throughout the space, we contrast some rougher, more unfinished-looking surfaces with white walls. For example, for the corridors we designed wooden chair rails [moulding that protects walls], the top portion of which is rendered in a rougher beige finish, and the backwash in the kitchens has a concrete look.”