Why Hong Kong designer Tommy Wong of LI&Co. plays with paper models
- Managing director of company’s Hong Kong and Taipei offices likes to think of space in 3D terms to help him create good house designs
- He says job similar to that of mixologist – combining different elements to create something with unique character – ‘like a good cocktail’
Hong Kong designer Tommy Wong likens himself to a mixologist. “It’s about mixing and combining different elements to create something with its own unique trademark and characteristics,” he says. “It’s similar to a good cocktail.”
Wong, managing director of the Hong Kong and Taipei offices of LI&Co., works in tandem with Johnny Li, managing director of the New York head office, to deliver high-end projects across residential, commercial, retail and hotels, as well as its own furniture collection, YILINE.
“Johnny and I have a chemistry,” Wong says. “That’s why I’ve worked here for so long.”
Wong joined the design firm – launched by Li 20 years ago – in 2000. “It’s so lucky that I met Johnny,” an enthusiastic Wong says. “He’s taught me so many things about materials, concepts and lighting.”
