CONCEALED STORAGE

The art of containment has a long history in East Asia, with China the ultimate source. This covers a wide range, from packaging to storage, and all of it shares a common aesthetic background made up of economy, ingenuity and the appropriate use of materials. This has never disappeared from Chinese design, although the form it takes has changed—and continues to change. There is nowadays, if anything, an increased need for maximizing the use of living space as more Chinese move to the cities and deal with ever more restricted space. The three examples here give a glimpse of the kind of solutions that are now being employed, particularly in apartment dwelling. Behind it all is the very Chinese principle of addressing the task of designing for functionality, but with an elegant touch. Eschewing ostentation, classical Chinese house design tends towards neatness, order and low-key refinement, and ingenious concealed storage ideas contribute to this. Multiplicity of function is the order of the day. Going beyond simple concealment, ideas such as these provide, for instance, a floor-to-ceiling door that is all at once a cupboard enclosure, a partition wall and a dressing mirror, sensibly located by the front door. In another case, the enclosure becomes a well-lit display arrangement.

At the entrance to another Hong Kong apartment, a concealed storage area contains shelves for clothes as well as a full-length dressing mirror.

A concealed storage unit just inside an apartment entrance. When closed it is a divider with a display niche, when open it reveals shelving, a cupboard and a dressing mirror.

This wood-paneled wall, with two lit niches containing scholars’ rocks, provides both concealed storage and access to the kitchen and stairs.