The transformer, the project and the transformation

Taiwan designer adds more than shine to squalor, creating space and dignity in a tiny Shanghai home.

After turning a dingy box room of 12 square meters into an attractive modern loft for a reality TV show, Taiwan-born designer and architect Ping Wang has become the latest darling of social media hounds in Shanghai.

Before he got involved with the program, the loft project that turned him into a minor WeChat celebrity would have been considered something of an anomaly for this bashful genius.