Taikoo Place is an inclusive open space with lush biodiverse vegetation and sculptural water features set within a mixed-use high-rise office and residential environment. The garden’s development follows the demolition of two office towers. This project illustrates Gustafson Porter + Bowman’s approach to the design of the public realm which in Hong Kong, often flows between interior and exterior spaces. We were responsible for the interior design of One Taikoo Place as well as the design of the surrounding gardens and streetscapes, creating a truly unified headquarters for Swire Properties.

Our 2.3ha landscape masterplan vision has significantly enhanced the public realm and overall experience for office workers and wider community. The concept ‘Transition, Tradition and Transparency’ was conceived as a contemporary reinterpretation of the landscape that surrounds Hong Kong with its geological nature and the City’s cultural refinement observed through a history of high-quality craftsmanship. This also tells the history of the client’s shipping business across water and their urban legacy in terms of waterfront urban development and social value for the community.

The brief later evolved and extended to include the building lobby for the first tower of the development, another garden entrance for a second tower and all the adjacent streetscapes. The large bands of light honed white marble and dark honed brown ‘Picasso’ granite that define the dense lines of vegetation outside, continue into the ground and first floor lobbies of One Taikoo Place and the communal interior spaces. This unification of landscape and interior space embodies a genuinely whole solution and creates a sense of movement between the spaces.

The design for the highly refined interior space creates a tactile environment that seeks to match the level of engagement people will enjoy in the lush gardens outside. Both lobbies are characterised by large interior walls made from light-gold stainless-steel fins. These refract light through a satin finish and a mirror-polished edge to form a rising and setting sun. The fins are set against a textured backdrop of honed grey wave limestone laid with a horizontal grain. This three-dimensional vertical emphasis gives the impression of a veil that lightens the scale of the building and its large lift core. Artificial lighting mediates the transition between the bright external spaces and the warmer lobby interiors. A double-height, unbroken, and 12 meters high curtain wall wraps around two faces of the building, bringing abundant natural light into the lobbies.

The application of colour throughout the scheme is subtle and is characterised by a transition from the silver exterior of the building to a light gold in the lobby interiors, and finally the warmth of American Black Walnut with a straight grain adjacent to the lift cores. Taikoo Square creates a series of terraces and is defined by two large longitudinal pools connected by a cascade and a small water table that references the history of Quarry Bay. Taikoo Gardens is a calm and quiet space featuring an interactive water table for contemplation and relaxation.

Each water feature with its rounded edges, patterning and texturing performs in special ways, bringing movement, sound, contemplation, interaction and comfort within each space. To achieve this, the design of the stonework used digital modelling to create the complex shapes and surface textures.
To promote biodiversity and raise public awareness of Hong Kong’s heritage of Feng Shui woodlands, many of the tree species are native, grown specifically for the project. Feng Shui woodlands are remnants of native woodlands which were protected from agricultural clearance due to their spiritual significance. At Taikoo Place, these remnant tree species are underplanted with open shrubs, ferns, grasses and perennials to encourage flowering and attract wildlife. A preliminary visual survey completed during the establishment period recorded 49 animal species, already exceeding adjacent more established green spaces, and will continue to increase as the landscape matures.

Taikoo Place has adopted numerous, comprehensive and cross-disciplinary sustainable design practices that have led to securing the highest grading in several sustainability assessment tools including BEAM plus, LEED and WELL.

Lead Landscape Architect: Gustafson Porter + Bowman
Executive Landscape Architect: URBIS Limited
Architect: Wong & Ouyang
Civil & Structural Engineer / Sustainable Design Consultant: ARUP
Building Services Engineer: J. Roger Preston Limited
Architects for the elevated walk-way: Hugh Dutton Associés
Water Feature Consultant: Ocmis
Lighting Consultant: Speirs Major Light Architecture
Quantity Surveyor: Rider Levett Bucknall Limited
Planning & Development Advisor: Masterplan Limited
Artist (vent cladding): MIRIAMANDTOM Limited
Industrial Designer & Stone Fabrication Specialist: Wah Poon

Taikoo Place, 979 King's Rd, Quarry Ba, Hong Kong https://maps.app.goo.gl/rF6Pya7vLuQD311TA