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Storing a luxury car collection in one’s garage, however sleek or well-ventilated, never feels quite right. This owner who commissioned this showroom – simply called The Library – probably agreed, since this lavish showroom is nothing like your usual garage.
A Work of Substance is the design agency behind the sumptuous 520sqm space in Hong Kong, where the agency is headquartered. It occupies the first two levels of a six-storey building (itself dedicated to the storage and car of supercars), with enough room for both the owner’s collection of eight vehicles and automobile memorabilia; as well as a lounge, study and bar.
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The first-floor entrance, dominated by twin stainless steel car elevators and bare concrete walls, is markedly utilitarian. The second floor, however, is where it’s at. Wall-to-wall timber paneling, subtle lighting fixtures and sumptuous leather and canvas furniture ooze masculine charm without taking away from what’s important.
That is, the memorabilia adorning the wooden shelves around the room illuminated by lanterns; as well as the owner’s car collection, which includes a Ferrari F40, Porsche 911 Carrera RS and Aston Martin DB5.
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Design cues from these vehicles have been incorporated into the space – not just in their svelte forms and angles that so define cars from that era, now reflected in the building’s structures and panelling, but direct design elements, including “cabinetry handles inspired by the ones adorned on a Zagato” and “lounge chairs that pay homage to the Ferrari Dino”, says the press release. There are even stools reminiscent of spark plugs, if you’re not fond of lounging on a hand-stitched leather armchair. There’s even room for a racing simulator – this is for petrol heads after all.
Says the press release, “As a curated library of vast automotive treasures, it is designed with the intent of strengthening the thread that cultivates the avid spirit for driving. Fuelled with endless motion and the purest exhilaration, this place introduces an aura of stillness. Capturing moments of excitement within a split second and honouring it in all its glory.”
Completed in 2021, it’s yet another notch in the cap for A Work of Substance, which also has offices in Paris and Bali. But more than that, it’s a library that we’d love to spend a quiet afternoon in – drink in hand, as we bask in the presence of automobile greats from the 20th century.
For more from A Work of Substance.
