“Artisanal Home” concept to promote fast-disappearing artisanship

K11 Group announced a collaboration with the K11 Craft & Guild Foundation to promote rare artisanship and design through K11 ARTUS—a 14-storey luxury serviced residence project to be completed in Q3 2019.

By implementing the hybrid “Artisanal Home” concept, K11 ARTUS will feature a comprehensive hotel services and amenities within a design-led environment, including rare Chinese artworks and interactive programming. Focused on nurturing a community of creative leaders, cultural explorers and intellectuals, K11 ARTUS sets new parameters to feature in-house salons led by prominent cultural figures, including playwrights, artists, and scholars.

K11 ARTUS marks the third milestone in Cheng’s Victoria Dockside development, a 10-year project that includes K11 ATELIER, K11 ARTUS, Rosewood Hong Kong and K11 MUSEA, a retail destination set to open its doors in Q3 2019.

K11 ARTUS is the first hospitality extension of K11, the 287 suites feature wraparound balconies that offer guests an open-air views of the Hong Kong skyline. Along with 70 different layouts, each suite reflects a distinctive style of handpicked artefacts along with amenities and service such as AMICI—an intuitive, digital concierge offering 24-hour assistance.

Perched above K11 MUSEA, guests are ideally located within the Victoria Dockside ecosystem, with a selection of cuisine, leisure, art and culture options on their doorstep, including K11 ATELIER (grade-A offices) and Rosewood Hong Kong.

Adrian Cheng, founder of K11, executive vice-chairman and general manager of New World Development said, “I’m delighted to see the launch of K11 ARTUS, K11’s philosophy and re-imagination of an artisanal home. Set in Hong Kong’s Victoria Dockside, K11 ARTUS works with a small group of Chinese craftsmen who share our value in preserving culture and ancient craftsmanship.”

This latest cultural initiative helps to preserve and conserve the fast-disappearing Chinese craftsmanship, dating back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, as well as supporting and promoting modern China’s cultural renaissance in major traditional craft areas.

Creating and conserving Chinese craftsmanship
The five major traditional craft areas which will be supported and promoted by K11 ARTUS will be:
• Guangcai: A traditional crafting technique for producing colourful hand-painted porcelain
• Baibaoqian: An ancient craft of inlaying engraved work with precious stones
• Chinese Literature: “The Dream of the Red Chamber” written by Cao Xueqin, the rare edition on display is considered a masterpiece of Chinese literature
• Wooden Architecture: A distinctive craft in Chinese architectural culture, wooden architecture is inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
• Plaster molding: A technique for crafting shapes with lime on the ridges and walls of traditional Chinese ancestral halls or temples

Rare art pieces that incorporate these traditional craft areas are sourced and produced by K11 Craft & Guild Foundation. One of the most valuable art pieces to be displayed is the ‘Large Jade and Hardstone-inlaid Zitan Panel’ dating back to the mid-Qing Dynasty, featuring baibaoqian techniques.

K11 ARTUS also collaborated with Master Xu, a national inheritor representative of China’s intangible cultural heritage for Guangcai, to produce a new series of ‘K11 ARTUS Guangcai Porcelain Plates’. — Construction+ Online