Joyce Wang Studio brings the award-winning Mott 32 design concept from Hong Kong to Vancouver. In Vancouver, the approach has been to combine the feeling of Mott 32 in Hong Kong, with local influences in the division of the spaces, use of materials and design references. Here the studio borrowed materials, textures and colours from the local natural landscape and industrial heritage.

“It was important for us to translate Mott 32’s intriguing narrative to the context of Vancouver,” Wang explains. “We wanted it to feel rich in references to the local culture, but to still retain a Chinese flavor, in keeping with the food offer and origins of the restaurant.”

The Chinese Diner has relaxed booth seating, combining the character of a Chinese brasserie with a more American diner feel. Decorative elements and objects, found and designed, bring their own stories to the different spaces: hanging vintage bird cages, calligraphy brushes and vintage opium pipes, repurposed as lighting and screens, are just some details that add character to different rooms, suggesting the mysterious lives of those who might have inhabited the space in the past.

The Study feels like the intimate atelier of a private collector; one private dining room has subtle military and political references, with a painted mural of a distant political icon on slate bricks.