NOVO LAND by TROP: terrains + open space

Built in 2024 / 2025 Built Landscapes / 2025 Entries / 2025 Residential Parks / Hong Kong /
trop.land

NOVO LAND: A Green Urban Sanctuary in the Concrete Density of Hong Kong

In one of the world’s most densely populated cities, where vertical residential towers dominate the skyline and open space is increasingly scarce, NOVO LAND emerges as a striking counterpoint a large-scale residential development where landscape is not just an accessory, but the core framework of design. Situated in the Tuen Mun district of Hong Kong, NOVO LAND is conceived as a living green oasis that redefines what urban life can feel like in the heart of a concrete city. Rather than accepting density as a constraint, the project transforms it into an opportunity to explore how landscape can connect people, improve wellness, and introduce nature as a daily experience.

The site’s monumental scale provided a rare chance to imagine a comprehensive green system layered throughout all levels of the development. From the ground level to podium decks and elevated rooftop rings, landscape elements are seamlessly integrated to support everyday living, multigenerational interaction, and environmental resilience. The design takes a landscape-first approach, embedding green spaces into every possible corner not as leftover or decorative areas, but as essential parts of the residentia…
Upon arrival, residents are welcomed by a green urban threshold a tree-lined drop-off zone with a softscape edge that transitions gently from the city into a quieter, greener world. This entry sequence, designed to de-stress and decompress, leads into an expansive landscaped ground floor where activity zones, jogging paths, and plant-lined walkways create a recreational ring around the residential towers. Pools are arranged to cater to all age groups, with toddler pools, fun pools, training pools, and jacuzzies set in a water garden atmosphere. Adjacent to this, a cluster of social functions including barbecue areas, co-working spaces, a family game zone, and wellness stations establishes an active and inclusive community core.

Above the ground, a more intimate green layer is formed on the podium level. This elevated landscape offers a balance between openness and enclosure, carefully zoned to accommodate a wide range of activities while maintaining a sense of retreat from the more vibrant ground floor. Families can find shaded seating, fitness paths, and a sculpture garden here, while children explore natural play features nestled among trees. The presence of a cascade garden brings sound and texture into the space, while also managing stormwater and enhancing the site’s microclimate.

The landscape continues upward, culminating in a rooftop activity ring that ties the project’s vertical elements together. This elevated loop, lined with fitness trails, planting beds, and social terraces, provides sweeping views of the surrounding city and mountains. Here, landscape becomes the connective tissue not only between towers, but between people and the sky, between high-rise life and natural rhythms. These rooftop gardens are not merely about aesthetics they are lifestyle extensions of each home, inviting movement, mindfulness, and community engagement above the skyline.

What makes NOVO LAND truly distinct is how the landscape has been choreographed to respond to the needs of a multigenerational urban population. The design team understood that in a compact city like Hong Kong, open space must be many things at once: it must be playful yet peaceful, private yet public, restorative yet lively. As such, each outdoor room within NOVO LAND serves multiple functions accommodating children’s play, elder exercise, social gathering, and solitary retreat within overlapping green zones. This flexibility ensures that the landscape grows with the needs of its residents and continues to serve as a living stage for daily life.

Beyond social programming, the design also addresses the city’s environmental challenges. Landscape infrastructure in NOVO LAND contributes to urban cooling, biodiversity, and sustainable water management. The use of native plant species, permeable surfaces, and vegetated slopes helps reduce runoff and heat accumulation. Vertical greening and tree canopy provide shade and visual softness that mitigate the hard edges of concrete architecture. These systems work quietly yet effectively in the background, ensuring the site is not only beautiful but ecologically responsive.

Perhaps most importantly, NOVO LAND reimagines how landscape can shape a sense of belonging in dense urban settings. In contrast to the anonymity and isolation often found in high-rise living, this project uses open space to foster human connection. Landscape is deployed not as a decorative finish, but as a tool for building community from shared gardens to co-living patios, from quiet corners for the elderly to energetic playgrounds for children. Each path and planting bed contributes to a network of care, movement, and encounter encouraging neighbors to see one another, to gather, to participate.

In doing so, NOVO LAND presents a new vision for urban housing in Asia, one that does not treat nature as a privilege, but as a necessity. It proves that even in hyper-dense cities, it is possible to live not just vertically, but joyfully, healthily, and greenly. This project is not only about building homes; it is about creating an environment where life, human and ecological, can thrive together. Through its layered green strategies and inclusive design approach, NOVO LAND becomes more than a residential complex. It is a living landscape, a vertical neighborhood, and a blueprint for how cities of the future might grow upwards, yes, but always rooted in nature.

• Landscape architecture offices of the landscape:
TROP: Terrains + Open space by Pok Kobkongsanti (Design Director)

• Local Landscape architecture offices of the landscape:
Sun Hung Kai Architects And Engineers Limited

• Architecture offices involved in the design:
Architect: P&T Architects and Engineers Ltd
Interior Architect: Richards Basmajian

• Other credits:
Owner: Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited (SHKP)
MEP: Sun Hung Kai Architects and Engineers Limited
Structure Engineer: Sun Hung Kai Architects and Engineers Limited
Lighting Designer: Isometrix Lighting Design Limited
Signage Designer: Graphia International Ltd
Main Contractor: Sanfield Engineering Construction Limited
Softscape Contractor: Sanfield Landscape Company Limited
Photographer: Holi