K11 MUSEA / KPF + RLP

Curated by 韩双羽 - HAN Shuangyu

Architects: KPF, RLP
Area: 111483 m²
Year: 2019
Photographs:K11 MUSEA, Francis Chen, Vacuum Workshop, K11 Group
Manufacturers: Kuraray
Lead Architect: Forth Bagley
Sustainability Consultants: Arup
Landscape Designer: Field Operations
Entrance and Overall Greenery Design: Plandscape
Overall Lighting Design: Speirs + Major

K11 MUSEA / KPF + RLP - Image 4 of 27 — K11 MUSEA was developed by K11 Group and masterminded by its founder Adrian Cheng. Image © Francis Chen, Vacuum Workshop

Text description provided by the architects. K11 MUSEA is the world’s first cultural-retail destination, and is situated at the heart of art and design district Victoria Dockside, Hong Kong, to enrich the cultural and leisure offerings along the iconic harbourfront. Opened in August 2019, K11 MUSEA is a conceived as a Silicon Valley of Culture, where cross-discipline practices in architecture, art, craft, culture, design, gastronomy and sustainability worked in tandem. And to achieve this ambitious goal, K11 Group founder Adrian Cheng has collaborated with and enlisted the help of 100 architects, designers and artists including Kohn Pedersen Fox, James Corner Field Operations, Ronald Lu & Partners, Leigh & Orange, LAAB Architects, AB Concept, Monstrum and PLandscape.

The 10-year-project K11 MUSEA forms the epicentre of Victoria Dockside, and is enhanced and supported by K11 ARTUS - Asia’s first artisanal home, K11 ATELIER - immersive office spaces committed to fostering creativity among next-generation workforce, and the new flagship Rosewood Hong Kong, launched earlier in 2019. Fringing the waterfront district is the promenade “Avenue of Stars” (modelled after the famous Walk of Fame), and an open public space Salisbury Garden - both redesigned by James Corner with added design features by Hong Kong-based LAAB Architects.

Key features include the imposing Opera Theatre (K11 MUSEA’s atrium) where natural light shines through its 35m high Oculus, down to the centrepiece The Gold Ball, the beating heart of this muse by the sea and a multi-dimensional architectural feature that doubles as a versatile creative space. The atrium features a fluid contour made up of 1,115sqm of hand-painted aluminium panels created by local craftsmen and LAAB Architects. Also in the precinct are over 1,800 lights designed and programmed by Speirs + Major that resemble an inspiring galaxy of lights.

A few steps away, by the towering MUSEA Entrance that features the geometric and exotic MUSEA motif is the Lasvit-designed chandelier Victoria. Its design references Hong Kong’s past as an entrepôt and the site’s heritage as an important transportation hub by the turn of last century. On the exterior, The Sunken Plaza, an amphitheatre which measures approximately 2,000sqft, has a curved glass wall with programmed lighting and water installations that provides the perfect backdrop to a series of events, theatrical performances and talks which form part of KULTURE 11, a cultural events programme within K11 MUSEA. The cultural-retail destination is also home to the first MoMA Design Store in Greater China, and the biggest in Asia. For the first time, MoMA Design Store collaborated with Hong Kong-based EDGE Design for its store design to exalt the heritage and vibrant identity of the city.