Architecture meets Industrial Design

Text & Photography: Foster + Partners

Credit Steve Wong

Blurring the lines between architecture, interior design and industrial design, F+P once again prove that design is seamless and universal

Foster+Partners has proved its design prowess beyond the building industry and carries it forward to designing the interiors and furnishings for acommercial aircraft, drawing on its previous commissions for yachts and private jets.

 

Credit Nigel Young

Following the successful refurbishment of The Wing, Cathay Pacific’s flagship lounge at Hong Kong International Airport, the practice has carried the lounge’s sophisticated design into the first class cabin of the Boeing 777-300ER fleet refreshing the award-winning cabin.

Credit John Nye

Credit Nigel Young

The Wing, which opened earlier this year,is the second in a series of lounges by Foster + Partners for Cathay Pacific at HongKong International Airport. Every detail of the interiors,from the Champagne Bar to the bathroom fittings in the luxurious first class ‘cabanas’, has been custom-designed by the practice to create an exceptional experience for guests.

Credit Nigel Young

Credit Foster + Partners

Besides the plush interiors, the lounges are furnished with a number of unique pieces designed by Foster + Partners, including a marble reception desk, food counter and a free-standing champagne bar with integrated trays – down to the detail of porcelain plates. Alongside the bespoke products and one-off furniture pieces, The Wing also features the Ilium cylindrical table light, developed with Nemo and the Foster 503 armchair by Walter Knoll.The highlight is the Cathay Solus Chair, the airline’s signature developed with Poltrona Frau that responds to the desire for privacy in the midst of a busy public space with its hourglass form and multi-utility constitution: the circular form incorporates a wide,comfortable seat, an integrated a power supply and a table, which can be used as an informal desk. The ribs of cushion at the back of the chair extend in places to form ridges, which can be used as armrests.

 Credit Nigel Young

Credit Nigel Young

Creating a seamless experience for passengers, the cabin’s design shares the lounge’s palette of warm white leather,reflective dark grey surfaces and walnut finishes to create a calm, understated interior. Every element is considered and refined, including the stitch of the bespoke covers for Cathay Pacific’s celebrated first class seat, the handmade woollen carpet, the refurbished bathrooms and the new reading light, which has been custom-designed to cast fewer shadows when working or dining.