HOKO Bakery

A central feature of the space is the Ketley brick counter, constructed using the same brick type found throughout the Barbican Estate. This deliberate choice anchors Bakery HOKO within London’s Brutalist lineage, creating a tactile bridge between the city’s architectural heritage and the bakery’s contemporary identity.

A glass‑brick wall forms a glowing partition between the customer area and the kitchen, incorporating a pass‑through that frames the movement and craft of baking as part of the spatial experience. Its gridded structure echoes the façade logic of communist housing blocks, while its translucency introduces softness and depth.

Columns throughout the bakery are finished in mixed mosaics, referencing the improvised, patterned surfaces found in stairwells and public corridors across Hong Kong’s state‑built estates. These mosaics introduce rhythm, colour variation, and a sense of lived‑in authenticity to the otherwise restrained palette.

“We wanted Bakery HOKO to feel like a cultural and architectural dialogue,” said Nicole Ma and Ryan Leung, Founders of Bakery HOKO. “Justin’s design captures the stark beauty of Hong Kong’s communist‑era architecture while giving it a contemporary London identity. Every material choice carries intention and history.”