Opohills… a place of light, space, and warmth for you… a fusion of the best design elements of three continents…
"When I was an undergraduate studying architecture in 1996, our whole class took a four-month trip to Italy. When we arrived, we didn't stay in a hotel or dormitory -- each of the 30 architecture students in our class got a different apartment around the city. In the daytime, we'd take lessons about history and architecture from a local guide, and in the evenings we'd get together in these different apartments and spaces. I learned a lot about what I liked and didn't, what made a space most livable, most enjoyable, most artistic, most welcoming…"
— Janly Lo
"I've spent half of my life in the West and half of my life in the East, and I've tried to bring the best of both places to my architecture and design. North America in particular is incredibly analytical and individualistic. It's about breaking down barriers, being free from barriers, and expressing yourself. Asian culture is often about harmony and fitting-in, making groups and items that work in unison together. There's value to both -- I love making integrated spaces that are calming and welcoming, and then layering on that spice of individuality, that inspirational spark."
— Morris Wu
Opohills draws design elements from three continents, 3,000 years of human history, and the experience of 3 generations. Janly is a Canadian by birth, who experienced the wide-open spaces of Ontario full of light and nature. Morris was born and raised in Taiwan, with its compact and rapidly growing cities, as he was raised during the era when Taiwan came into global prominence.
Morris carries on the proud traditional of architecture and design from his parents, who practiced before him with an elegant Taiwanese style. Morris and Janly bring their own experiences and judgments, particularly from Canada, America, France, Italy, Japan, and Taiwan. And the final piece of the puzzle has been traveling with their two daughters and watching what kind of spaces the children most enjoy and take joy and comfort from when traveling.
A regular guest at Opohills said of her experience, "We come back and stay in the same apartment every time we visit Taiwan. My son wouldn't have it any other way. We come in the summers, and he studies Chinese… and it feels just like another home to us. It is our home, we feel so welcome here."
The grand design for Opohills is modeled after the best elements Morris and Janly experienced when traveling, both single and, later, as a family. Morris explains, "I always preferred staying in an apartment to a hotel. You can get so much more luxury and such a better experience in an apartment, and it's more intimate. It's your own space, and you can interact with the city on your own terms."
Janly continues, "Taipei is a compact city, a lot of people live here. Our apartments are spacious, but I always wanted to give people even more freedom and a sense of relaxation when they stay with us. For inspiration, I'd look at the artistic areas of Japan. Tokyo is very crowded, but the Japanese have a way of making every element perfect. They adorn everything and work to get every little detail right, using their spaces perfectly. That's what Morris and I have wanted to do -- to design, build, furnish, and maintain very welcoming spaces, so you could feel like you've got a real home when you're exploring a new country."
Janly and Morris furnish their apartments with unique artifacts from the countries they've visited, setting them off perfectly with a lovely statue, painting, or other decor. And they put a hand-touch in place too -- immensely creative people by both nature and nurture, Morris and Janly will typically create a unique oil-painting or other hand-designed element in each apartment so it has a unique character that blends the best of modern Asia with a classical international feel.
The end result? "We've stayed in many apartments around the world, it's the only way we travel," said Morris, "And Opohills is the dream place we were always looking for. We created the kind of place we'd want to stay with our own kids, and we want to welcome our guests like our own family."
You can see the beautiful Opohills apartments you can book here, or learn more about Morris and Janly.