Architecture

Grand Promenade

Sai Wan Ho, Hong Kong  |  2006


Grand Promenade is a luxury residential development comprising a large podium and five residential towers, each of 62 storeys. With a plot ratio of 11 times the site area and 2000 apartments, it exemplifies the type of high-density living found throughout Hong Kong.

As the exterior design architects, the major challenge was to create a strong visual character for a strictly commercial project, which otherwise sought to fulfil the usual aims of maximising saleable floor area and views, and generally increasing marketability. In a market where demand is always high, aesthetics have often been a secondary concern.

From many angles, the five residential towers can appear to form a single monolithic block. A strategy was therefore required that would break down the overall mass and provide scale in a simple and economic way. This was achieved by applying bold vertical strips of colour to each of the towers. The strips were then shifted at the sky garden level, approximately halfway up each tower, to give the facades an extra effect of movement.

The podium facades adopt a similar strategy, but here with the strips set horizontally so that the functions within are expressed externally as individual layers, or strata. Throughout, the colours and textures were selected to express a contemporary metropolitan lifestyle, reflecting the client's branding aspirations.