07 Acoustic Textural Panel

Designer Mentee: Polly Ho & Andy Wong (Recipient of Design Trust Seed Grant)

Hong Kong-based Mentors: Frank Leung & Irene Lai

Lead Curator: Marisa Yiu (Co-founder/ Executive Director of Design Trust)

Design Brief:

The designers will re-interpret the history and current needs of the Mansion to create a new functional textile item with acoustic possibilities, at the same time challenging concepts of materiality and craftsmanship.

"For us it's very important to keep the stories and heritage alive because one day it may disappear. Therefore we tried to translate these stories into our designs. Working with our mentors and Tai Ping we developed a new acoustic panel for Haw Par with its new musical context." - Polly Ho and Andy Wong

Designer Statement:

Haw Par Mansion, and Tiger Balm Gardens, one of the very first theme parks in Hong Kong, have been the inspiration for our object. The playful scenes of the gardens are forever gone but the childhood memories remain. Having researched into the history and context of Haw Par Mansion, Loom Loop is fascinated by the circular stained glass doors imported from Florence in the 30s, as well as its new identity as a music foundation.

Focusing on the stained glass tiger pattern, and the new musical context, we are developing a functional textile piece to act as acoustic panels. With the help of Tai Ping, our textile piece is hand-tufted with fine wool. The use of wool also adds another dimension to the acoustic panel and can be further developed into a multi-sensory piece.