From Mandarin Oriental to Rosewood, Joyce Wang’s studio has become synonymous with immersive, story-driven interiors. The Hong Kong-London designer speaks to Cultural Union about building her studio, her creative process, and her vision for the future.
It comes as no surprise that Joyce Wang would have been a film director in a different life. Few interiors evoke atmosphere as effortlessly as those created by the Hong Kong-London designer, whether the monochrome escapism of Tattu, the fantasia of Jin Gui, or the whimsical elegance of the Mandarin Oriental.
Equally impressive is the bandwidth of the studio built by Wang, which now includes hubs in the UK and Hong Kong. Just in the past year, completed projects include Club Bâtard in Hong Kong – complete with four floors, three restaurants, and the city’s largest wine cellar – and a landmark residency in the Whiteley, Notting Hill’s most significant new development in decades. All this while beginning major new projects that include the Rosewood in San Francisco.
Joyce Wang began her journey into interior design with a detour through architecture. Trained as an architect at MIT and the Royal College of Art, she initially found herself working at Foster + Partners, the prestigious architectural practice founded by Norman Foster. “I worked on three airports,” she recalls. “But really, it was 50 shades of grey. I wanted to work with tangible materials.” This desire for hands-on creativity led her to pivot towards interior design, a field where she could see her ideas come to life more quickly.
I loved the immediacy of it. You could see what worked and what didn’t overnight, rather than waiting years.
Joyce Wang
Her first project was a modest one: redesigning a friend’s shop in Hong Kong. “I drew up some plans, helped tile the place, and just really enjoyed the hands-on approach,” she says. “I loved the immediacy of it. You could see what worked and what didn’t overnight, rather than waiting years.”
The project led to her first major commission – designing Ammo, a restaurant and bar at the Asia Society in Hong Kong – marking the beginning of her studio. “It was a step-by-step process,” she explains. “One project led to another, and before I knew it, I had a team.”
The studio’s break came with the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong. “It started as a small renovation – just drapes and cushions – but it grew into a full redesign,” Wang says. The project’s success led to the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok and, eventually, the iconic Hyde Park renovation in London in 2015.
For the young studio, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park marked a crucial turning point. “It was scary,” Wang recalls. “We had just three weeks to put the pitch together.” Wang and her team poured everything into it – a custom-made portfolio complete with renderings, material palettes, and a leather-clad hamper as a presentation device – even a film interviewing the head of Fromental, who had created a bespoke wallpaper for the project.
The effort paid, and Joyce Wang Studio won the pitch – though the two-year project reimagining the historic, idiosyncratic building was to be a baptism of fire. “We had 188 different bedroom formats,” says Wang. “It was all-consuming.”
However, the project would cemented her studio’s reputation. “Nobody would trust us with anything else until it was done,” she says. “But it gave us the confidence to find a permanent space in London, and it taught me that you can do anything if you want it enough.”
The Hyde Park project was transformative for the studio, establishing robust systems that could now handle major global clients and projects alongside a fully functioning London base. Since then, the studio has steadily amassed an enviable portfolio of prestigious and creatively bold hospitality projects, each one speaking to their peerless ability to blend storytelling with design.
There’s Tattu London, with its iridescent feathers, raw slate, jade banquettes and monochrome drama; Jin Gui in Hamburg, an immersive dreamworld of copper geometric motifs and impressionist silk screens; and the Oscuro Cigar Lounge at The Arts Club in London – a lush oasis in the heart of Mayfair.
Or there’s the Magistracy in Hong Kong, combining traditional brass and red leather with ethereal lighting and intricate artisanal reliefs. “There’s always something we’re innovating,” Wang explains. “For the Magistracy, we worked with fabricators to create wood carvings inspired by the building’s history. It’s about finding that secret ingredient that grounds a project.”
It’s about finding that secret ingredient that grounds a project.
Joyce Wang
Her work on Club Bâtard in Hong Kong perfectly showcases this versatility. Unveiled in 2024, the multi-storey members’ club, housed in a Grade I-listed building, features the city’s largest wine cellar, three distinct restaurants and a whisky bar. “It was our first 360° project,” Wang says. “We designed the interiors and the brand identity, from the logo to the coasters. It was a joy to create something so cohesive.”
Also launched in 2024 was Wang’s showcase £17m apartment at the Whiteley in Notting Hill – a mega-development by Foster + Partners anchored by the UK’s first Six Senses hotel. The project demonstrates the designer’s ability to balance scale and grandeur with intimacy. “It was a rare opportunity to have a blank slate,” she says. “We layered the space with custom pieces and collectibles, imagining the life of a well-travelled client.”
Wang’s work is not just about aesthetics; it’s about creating spaces that function properly. “The only times I feel a project is the best I’ve ever done is when it’s operated well,” she says. “It doesn’t matter how beautiful the design is if the service is wrong or the music is off. That kills the experience.”
Looking ahead, Wang is buoyed by the prospect of new challenges. The studio’s current projects include the Rosewood in San Francisco and a bespoke rug collection with third-generation weavers in France. “It’s mohair weaved with metal,” she explains. “I don’t like rugs that have a rigid and clear pattern. Mohair blurs – it makes it more impressionistic and abstract.” She’s also keen to explore resorts, both summer and – as an accomplished snowboarder – winter. “I’d like to do small, lifestyle-driven places,” she says. “A culinary retreat in Mexico would be great.”
For all her success, Wang remains grounded and curious. “I wouldn’t want to stop working in different cities or countries,” she says. “I’m interested in learning and pushing myself beyond my comfort zone.” And while Wang inhabits the role so perfectly that it’s hard imagining her not being a top-flight designer, what would she be doing if it hadn’t happened?
“Film,” she says without hesitation. “I love Stanley Kubrick. When it’s a great film, you talk about it for ages afterwards, picking out details. Interiors should be like that.”
But of course, with her cinematic spaces and storytelling flair, Joyce Wang is already directing masterpieces – just in a different medium.