Chef and architect couple on why they became restaurant consultants: ‘we understand a restaurant inside and out’

How would you describe openUU’s aesthetic? Caroline Chou Chih-i: “From the beginning we’ve done an industrial-chic, minimal look. It’s what’s trendy right now – to be clean and modern.”

Is interdisciplinary design the new norm? Kevin Lim Chin-kwok: “For a brand to have a consistent identity, it becomes important to have one language from start to finish, whereas before it was standard practice to hire multiple consult­ants for different elements. Sometimes there’s a lack of communi­ca­tion between parties, so these elements might look nice individually but when you look at them as a whole they might not be coherent. We don’t believe in breaking these elements apart. At Mean Noodles [which specialises in Malaysian hawker dishes], you can see the different components come together.”

You designed Japanese handbag brand Ril Creed’s flagship store in Hong Kong. What was the brief? Chou: “Ril Creed wanted the space to be flexible. That’s why we have three kinds of display wall. The brand has all these ideas of doing collaborations with entrepreneurs, and events such as yoga, so all the display shelves are on wheels and light enough to be moved.”

Tell us about your lighting collection. Chou: “Lighting is always the last thing on people’s minds. When clients choose lighting, it’s always with only three weeks left for the project to finish.”

Lim: “It’s also the first thing clients tend to cut [to bring down costs]. Yes, lighting is often expensive, but it’s important because it really does set the mood of the whole space. You can get the best metal finish you can find but if you don’t have good lighting, the quality isn’t going to show. So we tried to bridge the gap with an affordable light­ing solution that still has a nice design.”