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THE NEW ASIAN DESIGN

When international design luminaries such as Christian Liaigre or Christina Ong set up shop in a city, it's not an everyday occurrence. After all, these are big international names: Ong's Como Hotels is readily recognized as an icon for hip hostelries; and with clients like Calvin Klein, Karl Lagerfeld and Kenzo to name a few, Liaigre's sleek, luxe furniture and interior design style is now a global brand. So when they chose Bangkok for the new Metropolitan hotel and furniture showroom Hyle, design mavens worldwide stood up and took note.

One thing this cool hotelier and hot designer have in common is an up-to-the-minute aesthetic that combines the best elements of East and West. In Modern Asian Living, we showcase a number of spaces - residential, commercial and recreational -that embrace the spirit of modernity that imbues Ong and Liaigre's work. Like their designs, these mostly metropolitan spaces epitomize the modern exotic, yet they rely to a certain extent on tradition. Pan-Asian craftsmanship, motifs and cultural references are mixed with new materials, shapes and forms. Many were created by upcoming names in Bangkok's design scene.

Take Duangrit Bunnag, for example. Lauded as an important "voice" in Thai architectural circles, his work is more Corbusien than Thai. There's a sophisticated simplicity and restraint in his clean-lined projects, yet he insists they are Asian at heart. "Asian architecture isn't about romantic or rustic spaces," he explains. "There also isn't really a set style. What it is about is a philosophy of simplicity- but this isn't even minimal, just sufficient" Check out the house he designed for friends on page 196.

In fact, when we look closely at the homes in the book, it becomes clear that many are rooted in Asian tradition. The shop-house apartment conversion featured on pages 34-39, though no longer narrow and thin because walls have been knocked down, still follows the customary configuration overlooking an internal courtyard. This is true, also, of the recently constructed city-center housing development, the Lofts Sathorn (pages 136-143). DWP Cityspace principal Scott Whittaker explains the concept: "I wanted to create a new model for inner city housing that is spacious and light with internal and external spaces," he says. "But even though the design is contemporary and wasn't inspired by traditional Thai forms, there are many parallels with the shophouse model."

Acclaimed furniture, product and interior designer Ou Baholyodhin sees this Asian influence everywhere. Even though he is now based in London, he travels to Thailand frequently and incorporates an oriental aesthetic from his home country in much of his work. He says that Thais are not immune to the media power of Western giants in fashion, art and interiors, but the best of Thai design keeps true to its roots. "We are a proud nation," he notes, "and however much we are influenced by the West, our designers still strive to maintain their unique culture and tradition."

This is clearly apparent in many of the interiors in this book. Utilizing Asian-designed and made furniture and furnishings, state-of-the-art lighting systems and the work of local artists and sculptors, the enormous variety in interior decor is impressive. Be it a knock-your-socks-off al fresco bar and restaurant in the sky, a small apartment or high-tech office, individuality and imagination are rampant The growth of innovative, high-quality Asian furniture designers, as well as soft furnishing, tableware and interior design companies is extraordinary. We give a complete listing of stockists at the end of the book.

Rocky Hizon of Budji Living (a home concept "store" featured on pages 50-55) sees some ground breaking trends in the global furniture market "In the past we would see Western furniture and interior design ideas permeating Asia," she says, "but today there is a shift towards Asian furniture and design ideas in the West People there are looking at the huge talent we have here. More innovative designers are using natural materials that are beaten, pressed, polished, woven and stained -and the result is more high-end furniture." In the showroom of Budji Living, there are examples of furniture pieces by top designers in the Philippines that have wowed the crowds at Milan's furniture fairs- and are now being exported all over the world.

Mezzanine floor in the penthouse of Somchai Piraban and Brian Renaud features a bright, airy lounging space. An oil painting by Symon, an expatriate artist in Bali, is the strong central element.

A living room in central Bang kok decked out with Christian Liaigre-designed furniture from Hyle, the designer's shop that opened in Bangkok in 2004. The low-level coffee-table and chairs in dark wood display the sober aesthetic the designer is so famed for. The large oil on canvas on right (Untitled 2002) is by Taiwijit Peungkasemsomboon and Somyot Hananuntasuk; an experiment in collaborative art, each artist had to maintain his own identity as well as blending with the other.

Extase, one of the restaurants in the trendy H1 complex, resembles a greenhouse with foliage cascading from one wall and cast-iron furniture and stone flagstone floors giving the impression of a garden terrace setting.

The open-plan ground floor in the home of Troy Schooneman and Surachet Timsakul in central Bangkok.

The same is true of leather designers and manufacturers Paragon International. Their world-class lines retail in many an upscale department store, and you'll see their signature pieces in all the European capitals as well as New York, Sydney, Tokyo and Singapore. "Our aim is to produce exclusive products that have a timeless elegance," says partner Vichien Chansevikul, "these range from the custom designed to the hip and trendy, as well as the classic."

One notable improvement in all these furniture companies is in the quality; standards, especially in the finishing, are now very high. That, combined with innovative forms and enticing prices, has contributed in no small part to their success. Another interesting development is the growth of the concept store or one-stop shopping mall. Bangkok's Gaysorn Plaza and Discovery Center are established venues for home furnishers. Featuring a plethora of home decor outlets in a foward-looking, light and airy mall, we've singled out Vihayas (pages 86- 91) as the cream of the crop. A multi-disciplinary store, it is the first choice for many: here you can browse for clothes or candles, tableware or knick-knacks -or simply chill in the boho-chic bar. Cool tunes and eclectic reading material make your retail experience therapeutic.

The H1 complex (pages 166-177) has taken the lifestyle concept one step further. Billing itself as an "escape," it comprises a number of sleek, contemporary, low-rise buildings linked by courtyards and innovative landscaping. You can eat, shop, browse, drink, or simply indulge in a spot of people watching: all the outlets are a treat for the eye, and design-conscious folk love both the trendy vibe and the products on sale. It's a top example of how creative collaboration can produce something truly unique.

Unique, too, are the floral arrangements and installations in the book. The work of Thailand's renowned flower maestro Khun Sakul lntakul, they cover the spectrum from dramatic to demure, sculptural and unconventional to poignant and petite. Always appropriate to site and setting, they're imaginative fodder for the wannabe florist Many are easy to recreate at home, and all are interchangeable with both tropical and temperate leaves and blooms. They accompany the inspired styling of Khun Wongvipa Davahastinna Ayudhya admirably. "In this book the flower arrangements were created as a means of conveying our perceptions of the atmosphere and mood of each location," Khun Sakul explains. "Light, color, style, the selection of furniture and decorative items and the texture and form of each interior are all important elements when formulating an arrangement"

Modern Asian Living is both an up-to-date directory of the region's top product and interior designers, architects and landscape architects, and a showcase of inspirational ideas. It covers a wide spectrum of pan-Asian design: The first chapter 'Tranquil Living' looks at what Rocky Hizon calls spaces "where nothing clouds the mind... [that are] pressure-relieving, Zen, with greater chi and a feeling of lightness and transparency"; 'Drama' is a collection of highly dramatic, for the most part colorful, interiors; while 'Light & Space' deals with the way homes in the tropics integrate their living spaces with the outdoors, with breezy, beautiful results. The three chapters are very different in atmosphere and ambience, but all have one thing in common -a commitment to excellence and a desire to break boundaries.

As Ou Baholyodhin concludes "Good design must come from a profound understanding; it's hard to explain, but you know what's good when you see it" Read through the following pages, enjoy the visuals- and see what he means.

The living room in leather designers and manufacturers Vichien Chansevikul and Michael Palmer's converted shophouse home is full of light and space. The pouts are from their company Leather Paragon, while the sofa was custom-designed by the pair for the corner. Inset alcoves displaying choice mementoes echo the shape of the huge panelled floor-to-ceiling window.