In the 1980s, Hong Kong began to rapidly lose its position in the global industry, but successfully retrained as an international financial center. The change in the field of activity influenced the development policy of the city as a whole. Today, large-scale renovation of the former industrial zones and the creation of world-class business centers in their place are planned. The Kwantong Industrial Area in East Kowloon is no exception. For a long time, it housed, among other things, steel foundries, the structures of which will now serve as the basis for transforming Kunton into a new business district.
In 2013, GAW Capital, one of the largest development companies in China, ordered from MVRDV a project to transform the 14-story Cheung Fai warehouse building into a business center with an additional public function - shops, cafes and parking on the lower floors. The building is strategically positioned in the urban context, at the corner of Wai Yip Street overlooking Victoria Harbor, close to the planned Kaitak ferry terminal.
The Cheung Fai renovation will be the first implementation of the MVRDV project in Hong Kong. Conversion options were largely constrained by local building codes, so it had to be tricky - both design and layout - to create an attractive, affordable, well-lit office space. The depth of the building is about 36.5 m, in this regard, an open plan was chosen, and the upper floor with a magnificent view of the embankment was given over to public terraces for relaxation and informal meetings.
The general concept of the project is distinguished by a clean approach and special delicacy. To ensure maximum penetration of light into the interior, non-bearing elements, including floor and ceiling coverings, have been replaced with glass ones, and now even engineering networks are open to the eye. The central core of communications, which provides a vertical connection between the floors, also does not interfere with the propagation of light, since it is made of fireproof glass. The concrete structural structure has been preserved in its original form (it will only be covered with white plaster), which will emphasize the contrast between the old and the new. The permeability of the enclosing structures will make it possible to fully appreciate the image of the “building behind glass” only when the interior is filled with people.
The structural grid overlooking the facades is the naked past of the building: from it one can guess the original solution, which may make the building seem out of date; however, solid glazing and variable ceiling thicknesses carry the observer at the present time. Cheung Fai Warehouse Renovation - First Renovation Project on Wai Yip Street; its implementation, which began this year, will have a positive effect on the quality of the environment there and will serve as an impetus for further transformation of the area, and the service passage behind the building will become an attractive public area. Completion of the work is scheduled for 2015.
