Press Release
Ap House Social Club by Johnny Li Is Granted the Bronze A' Design Award in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
Johnny Li honored for interior space and exhibition design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 18, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Ap House Social Club by Johnny Li, designed for Audemars Piguet, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Interior Space and Exhibition Design category. The result belongs to the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the Bronze A' Design Award Means
The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.
Regarding Ap House Social Club
Ap House is a social club interior located by the sea in Macao. The design combines the idea of a modern chalet inspired by the Swiss Alps with colonial Macanese heritage. A cozy house sits within a vast space with tall ceilings, so the interior feels serene and intimate while keeping its grandeur. The club offers a bar, dining and watchmaking classes. Details include split-faced bamboo cast in bronze on door handles and table legs, and a solid wenge dining table for twelve. Lighting, audio, video and climate control are managed from a single tablet.
About Johnny Li
Brought up in the US, Johnny graduated at the Rhode Island School of Design with a double bachelor degree in Architecture and Fine Arts. He had worked at international architecture and design companies Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in New York, Koetter, Kim & Associates of Canary Wharf in London, and Herman Czech & Architects in Vienna, before joining Rocco Design in Hong Kong. In 1998, he set up LI&Co. with his long time collaborator and Partners, Mr. David Gibb and Tommy Wong. Johnny is interested in designs that amalgamate different cultures, arts and architecture.
Award Record
With this recognition, Johnny Li is a winner of 2 A' Design Awards. The awards were granted between the 2018 - 2019 and the 2024 - 2025 editions of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Award
The A' Interior Design Award is an international interior design competition recognizing good interior designs by interior designers and architects worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to interior designers, interior architects, architects and decorators from all countries. Typical entries include residential interiors, restaurants, hotels, offices, galleries and retail stores. The awarded interior designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/interior
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/165000
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/165000
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!165000
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/241124
- Further Information from the Laureate: http://www.lincodl.com
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Ap House Social Club
- Function
- Social Club
- Category
- Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture and Packaging & Retail
- Colors
- Rosy Brown, Gray, Dim Gray, Black and Dark Olive Green
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Audemars Piguet
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Johnny Li
- Country
- United States of America
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #165000
Credits
- Image Credits
- All Images : Robyn Lea Photography Captions and Text : Catherine Shaw Video : Johnny Li
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The design studio was shortlisted and selected through a design competition to create a “modern chalet” inspired by Swiss Alpines, mixing colonial Macanese heritage by the sea in Macao. The design brief requested a concept in creating a cozy house that sits in a vast space with tall ceilings, yet the space should feel serene and intimate without sacrificing the grandeur of the interior architecture. Collectively, the social club house also wants the overall look and feel to be understated and timeless, without being ostentatious, stereotypical and cliches.
- Inspiration
- Tracing Time was the design concept for the new house in Macao, initiated by reexamining of the past, to marking of the present, and onto exploring of the future. Juxtaposition of the opposites to create the synergy between Le Brassus and Macao guided the design process throughout. Like the mechanics of time pieces in ticktock dynamics, the design details took references from a hike in Swiss Alpines to leisurely wondering into an oriental garden; a journey interpreted through conceptual abstraction.
- Research
- Extensive Research was made on the history and legacy of Audemars Piguet, the town of Le Brassus, and older period of Macao, especially in the 1920-50s. Multiple visits to some existing AP Houses were made, including Zurich, London, New York, and Hong Kong, Plus The in-house Museum of Audemars Piguet in Le Brassus. Many of the older history in Macao has been lost.
- Challenge
- Delicate balance of creatives are often over shadowed by cliches and misinterpretations of the topics. This was emphasized during design briefing by the client. Sophistication, understated and timeless without being ostentatious, were some of the key words used. Besides the creative challenge, Local regulations and rules in Macao are some of the most extremes in the world, which often dictates the outcome of the projects.
- Realization and Technology
- Some of the details, including HVAC and Architectural elements were 3D printed, surprised a lot of visitors. Customized details of Split-Faced Bamboo casted in Bronze were used in door handles and table legs. Customized Dining table in solid Wenge to seat for 12, were made in Italy. All lighting, Audio and Visual plus HVAC are controlled by a single iPad
- Operation and Interaction
- The new house represents forward thinking in pampering the most sophisticated customers, by invitation to the social club house. Guests often arrange a booking to use the house, where bar, dining, master class for watchmaking are offered. Both DJ/Music Station are also part of the program. Micheline Star chefs are often creating for invited guests.
- Project Duration and Location
- Design Competition September 2022, Competition Awarded March 2023, Soft Opening September 2024
- Keywords
- Audemars Piguet, Social Club House, AP House, Luxury Retail, Watch, Horology
