Friday Five with Vincent Lim of Lim + Lu

We spotted Lim + Lu back in 2017 at ICFF and since then their playfully clever furnishings and interiors have prominently stayed on our radar. The award-winning studio was founded in New York City by the husband-and-wife team of Vincent Lim and Elaine Lu who have since relocated to Hong Kong where Lim was born and raised. Along with co-founding the studio, Lim acts as the Creative Director bringing his architecture background that began with a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art & Planning. Post school, he worked in Hong Kong at Davidclovers Architects, Gravity Partnership, and CL3 Architects, and with Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates in New York City. Earlier this year, Lim was featured on the Forbes ’30 Under 30′ Asia for The Arts 2018, after the studio was selected as Rising Asian Talent by Maison et Objet 2017, 40 Under 40 by Perspective Magazine, and the 100 Most Influential Architects and Designs by Architectural Digest China in 2017. There’s no doubt this duo is going places and we can’t wait to see where. In the meantime, Vincent Lim shares five of his must-haves and favorite things, in this Friday Five.

1. Drawing instrument
Before leaving home, I always make sure to grab one of the many drawing instruments scattered everywhere around home. As a designer who draws inspiration from my surroundings, it is hard to predict when an idea may come. Regardless of it being a good or bad idea, I find it helpful to make a quick sketch or jot a note of it which I can later revisit.

2. Hong Kong Tram System
The tram or better known as the “Ding Ding” by native Hong Kong-ers due to the bell noise it makes when traveling down the streets of Hong Kong is perhaps my all time favourite mode of transportation. The double decker trams perfectly contrast the rapid pace of the city as they slither their way through the city. At its slow pace and large windows that flank all sides of the vehicle, the tram experience has a rather voyeuristic quality to it – perfect for people watching and getting inspired by the cityscape. The “Ding Ding” is not recommended if you are squeezed for time.

3. Earphones
As someone who has a short attention span and gets easily distracted, earphones are a necessity for me.

4. Travel
People say travel is one of the best educations and I would agree. The more you travel, the more you see and as a result the more informed you are of different cultures and experiences. A lot of my inspirations come from traveling to new places – when you are exposing yourself to new ways of thinking, living and understanding.

5. My wife
She is the Lu of Lim+Lu. Because we are business partners as well as partners in life, it is impossible to draw a clear distinction between work and play. Our relationship began as a romantic one, and against all the advise, we decided to join forces to start our design studio (I think we made the right call). Elaine and I have very similar design processes and aesthetics as we both received the same Architecture training at Cornell University. We also both bring different skill sets that complement each other in the professional setting.

from Design MilkDesign Milk https://design-milk.com/friday-five-with-vincent-lim-of-lim-lu/

from Home Improvment http://notelocreesnitu.tumblr.com/post/179210656899