Located in the heart of Hong Kong’s central business district, the 36-storey Murray Road project is under construction.
Murray Road project for Henderson Land replaces a multi-storey car park to create an urban oasis adjacent to Chater Garden within a short walking distance to both Central and Admiralty MTR metro stations. Echoing the organic forms of the natural world; the redevelopment connects with the adjacent public gardens and parks. The design reinterprets the structural forms and layering of a Bauhinia bud about to blossom.
A high-tensile steel structure provides very wide span (up to 26m) of naturally lit, column-free, Grade A office space with a five metre floor-to-floor height giving maximum flexibility; its vertical core located on the eastern side of the building to optimise views of Chater Garden and the city’s renowned skyline to the west. The building’s smart management system creates a contactless pathway for all occupants from the street to their workstation that eliminates direct contact with communal surfaces and includes AI-assisted lift controls. Using a mobile phone, contactless smart card or biometric recognition, occupants can enter the building and pass security, call lifts to their office floor and access other zones such as lounge areas and washrooms.
The large double-height foyer at ground level welcomes staff and visitors with its interplay of natural light, planting and organic forms leading up to the second floor public lobby on the city’s elevated walkway network. Located on the refuge floor, the Sky Garden is an outdoor recreational space with running track and an aquaponics planting network that acts as an effective biological air-purifying filter by consuming contaminants. The banqueting hall at the top of the tower offers panoramic views of the city’s surrounding skyline. Designed to withstand the region’s powerful summer typhoons, the façade is comprised of 4-ply, double-laminated, double-curved insulated glass units to effectively insulate the building and reduce its cooling load as well as build resilience.
Video Source: 2 Murray Road by Zaha Hadid Architects from A As Architecture on Youtube ⁄ CC BY
