Rooftop lounging on a Kowloon walk-up

The flat roof of an older Kowloon building can be the largest outdoor space its owner will ever have in the city. Furnishing it is mostly an exercise in constraints.

Everything must go up the stairs

There is no lift. We build rooftop furniture in knock-down modules that pass through a 750mm stair and assemble on site with hand tools — a design decision made at the drawing stage, not a delivery problem.

Keep it light, keep it low

Lower profiles catch less wind and read better against a skyline. Woven seating on aluminium frames gives comfort without mass.

Build shade before you buy seating

An unshaded Hong Kong roof is unusable from eleven until five for half the year. A simple frame with a tensioned sail transforms the hours the space can be used.

Plan for the wash-down

Rooftops collect dust and pollution. Furniture on feet, with removable covers and nothing that traps water, can be hosed down in ten minutes.

Evening is the point

Most rooftop use in Hong Kong is after dark. Low warm lighting integrated into seat bases, and a table surface that does not glare, matter more than any daytime consideration.