Joyce Wang Studio's MOTT32 in Hong Kong wins World Interior of the Year 2014

Joyce Wang Studio's MOTT32, an underground bank vault-turned-restaurant in Hong Kong, scooped up the World Interior of the Year 2014 award today at the Marina Bay Sands — where the World Architecture Festival just named the World Building of the Year 2014.

The "super jury" of the INSIDE: World Festival of Interiors competition nominated 60 interior design projects worldwide, which were then narrowed down to nine category winners. When deciding upon the World Interior of the Year out of the category winners, the jury unanimously decided on MOTT32.

The 2014 "super jury" consisted of Festival associate director + head of jury Nigel Coates, Joey Ho, Pernilla Ohrstedt, and David Kohn, whose Carrer Avinyó apartment in Barcelona won World Interior of the Year 2013.

Read on for more about MOTT32 below.

"Located in a former storage facility, which once housed expensive family heirlooms for wealthy Chinese immigrants, MOTT32 is now an atmospheric underworld dining experience. Taking inspiration from the heritage of the site, the restaurant is littered with forgotten heirlooms, Chinese propaganda and industrial materials doubling as furniture and light fittings. Joyce Wang Studio took a decaying space and combined traditional Chinese décor with industrial design elements, already popular in New York and London.

Located underground, with no natural light, the designer embraced the constraints of the venue and used them to create a theatrical and exclusive experience as guests are guided downstairs through a long, snaking corridor."

"Inside the restaurant, bricks twist and turn and form shapes inspired by wind patterns. Light fittings are housed in metal mesh cages and former vaults become exclusive booths. Delicate detailing combines with raw materials, such as concrete and metals, to create a bold design that sees Western and Eastern influences combine. 

When receiving the award, Joyce Wang explained: 'Winning the World Interior of the Year will mean so much to the team. We are a practice of ten people and the project was very personal to the entire team. It was a Hong Kong project, it explored Hong Kong culture both past and present, which makes the project such a special one and winning this award even better'."