Modern mansion, indie soul

Capella Taipei draws inspiration from its surroundings to shape a sanctuary that feels deeply connected to its neighbourhood

- Karen Tee

TAIPEI - Situated on the second floor of a nondescript building in Taipei's Fujin Street is Words, a print and stationery shop where the air smells faintly of paper and ink.

It is the sort of place you find only if you know it exists; its ground-floor entrance is marked simply by a discreet sign above the doorbell.

This quiet street in the residential Songshan district has, in recent years, blossomed into a bohemian enclave lined with modern eateries, indie cafes, intimate galleries and carefully curated boutiques, including a concept store by Japanese lifestyle brand Beams. Yet, it retains a relaxed, lived-in atmosphere.

As I browse vintage postcards, bookplates and ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock art) prints, a bespectacled man strolls in and greets the proprietor.

Drawn into their conversation, I learn he is illustrator Ariel Chi, whose confident, whimsical strokes of ink capture Taipei's spirit with poetic ease.

His work appears on the cocktail menu at Plume, the lobby lounge of the newly opened Capella Taipei, and on a series of hotel stationery. As we talk, he offers to sketch my portrait in a spontaneous, generous gesture as charmingly unhurried as the street outside.

That same spirit of neighbourhood character infusing curated spaces defines Capella Taipei. Designed by acclaimed architect Andre Fu, the hotel is the first luxury opening in the Taiwanese capital in a decade.

The Hong Kong-based Fu whose work includes The Upper House in Hong Kong, Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto in Japan and The Fullerton Bay Hotel in Singapore has created a space that blends contemporary elegance with the intimacy of a private residence.

"My design philosophy is about provoking new ways of thinking about what luxury means," he says. "The overall sensibility reflects the aesthetics I imagined for this contemporary mansion, a feeling of authenticity in the details. My vision is to capture this sensibility with a residential approach."