Zaha Hadid Architects has announced the design of 2 Murray Road, a 36-story, 623-foot-tall project that will rise at the core of Hong Kong’s financial district. The project replaces a multi-story car park to create an urban oasis adjacent to the Chater Garden and is within walking distance to Central and Admiralty MTR metro stations.
The double-height foyer at ground level is arranged for access on multiple levels and welcomes staff and visitors with an interplay of natural light, planting, and organic forms leading up to the second floor public lobby on the city’s elevated walkway network. Suspended above the canopy of its surrounding trees, the lobby’s sculptural glass facade defines a variety of nested spaces. The color palette of these spaces differentiate key destinations within the tower.
Rendering: Cosmocube.
A Sky Garden located on the refuge floor is an outdoor recreational space with a 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 and can host a variety of public and corporate events. The space includes a glazed roof and facade. A high-tensile street structure provides wide span (up to 26 meters) naturally lit, column-free, Grade A office space with five meter floor-to-floor height.
Rendering: MIR.
The tower’s base is elevated above the ground to shelter courtyards and gardens cultivated with trees and plants, creating new civic plazas enveloped by nature. The outdoor areas flow into generous interior communal spaces. The curved glass facade enhances the connectivity between the building’s interior and the surrounding gardens and city.
The facade itself is designed to withstand the region’s summer typhoons. It is composed of 4-ply, double-laminated, double-curved insulated glass units to effectively insulate the building and reduce its cooling load and build resilience. These glass units are the first of their kind in Hong Kong.
Rendering: Cosmocube.
Hybrid ventilation is controlled by the building’s automated management system and enables all office levels to be naturally ventilated. This natural ventilation can be supplemented when required with mechanical dehumidification and filtration to further enhance the indoor environment and air quality.
The building’s air quality monitoring system will detect the degree of occupancy in any interior and automatically adjust indoor air temperature, humidity, and fresh air volume to meet demand. The smart systems learn to predict daily occupancy trends to optimize energy demand, ensuring increased efficiencies with lower energy consumption.
Two weather stations will be installed at street level and roof level to monitor real-time outdoor conditions including PM10, PM2.5, ozone, daylight (solar irradiation), wind speed (m/s) rainfall (mm), temperature, humidity (%), and noise (dB). The weather stations will inform occupants of outdoor air quality and are connected to the building’s automated management system to adjust the tower’s hybrid ventilation as required.
A solar responsive ventilator (SRV) along the western perimeter of each floor enhances the comfort of the occupants. The SRV is powered by photovoltaics to create a channel of air that has the ability to adjust solar radiative heat to the perimeter zone.
Rendering: Arqui9.
A 25% reduction in electricity demand will be achieved through the use of smart chiller plant optimization, high-efficiency HVAC equipment, and daylight sensors that reduce the artificial lighting during periods of sufficient natural light.
The project will rebuilt via a top-down construction method to accelerate the redevelopment program on-site by implementing deep basement and above-ground construction at the same time. The plot of land was purchased by developer Henderson Land for $3 billion in 2017, making it the most expensive plot of land ever purchased.
The design has achieved LEED Platinum and WELL Platinum pre-certification together with the highest three-star rating in CHina’s Green Building Rating Program.
Rendering: PixelFlakes.
Related Stories
Adaptive Reuse | Aug 17, 2023
How to design for adaptive reuse: Don’t reinvent the wheel
Gresham Smith demonstrates the opportunities of adaptive reuse, specifically reusing empty big-box retail and malls, many of which sit unused or underutilized across the country.
Sustainability | Aug 15, 2023
Carbon management platform offers free carbon emissions assessment for NYC buildings
nZero, developer of a real-time carbon accounting and management platform, is offering free carbon emissions assessments for buildings in New York City. The offer is intended to help building owners prepare for the city’s upcoming Local Law 97 reporting requirements and compliance. This law will soon assess monetary fines for buildings with emissions that are in non-compliance.
Office Buildings | Aug 10, 2023
Bjarke Ingels Group and Skanska to deliver 1550 on the Green, one of the most sustainable buildings in Texas
In downtown Houston, Skanska USA’s 1550 on the Green, a 28-story, 375,000-sf office tower, aims to be one of Texas’ most sustainable buildings. The $225 million project has deployed various sustainable building materials, such as less carbon-intensive cement, to target 60% reduced embodied carbon.
Multifamily Housing | Jul 31, 2023
6 multifamily housing projects win 2023 LEED Homes Awards
The 2023 LEED Homes Awards winners in the multifamily space represent green, LEED-certified buildings designed to provide clean indoor air and reduced energy consumption.
High-rise Construction | Jul 26, 2023
A 33-story Singapore tower aims to reimagine work with restorative, outdoor spaces
Architecture firm NBBJ has unveiled design details for Keppel South Central, a commercial tower in Singapore. The project, which is slated for completion in late 2024, will transform the original Keppel Towers into a 33-story, energy-efficient building that aims to reimagine work by providing restorative spaces and connections to the outdoors.
Designers | Jul 20, 2023
Mary Cook Associates brews up coffeehouse-inspired apartment community
The MCA design team worked closely with the developer and design architect to create an interior concept inspired by Decatur, Ga.’s, tree-lined streets, boutique retail, and vibrant restaurant and coffee shop scene.
Mass Timber | Jul 11, 2023
5 solutions to acoustic issues in mass timber buildings
For all its advantages, mass timber also has a less-heralded quality: its acoustic challenges. Exposed wood ceilings and floors have led to issues with excessive noise. Mass timber experts offer practical solutions to the top five acoustic issues in mass timber buildings.
Mixed-Use | Jun 29, 2023
Massive work-live-play development opens in LA's new Cumulus District
VOX at Cumulus, a 14-acre work-live-play development in Los Angeles, offers 910 housing units and 100,000 sf of retail space anchored by a Whole Foods outlet. VOX, one of the largest mixed-use communities to open in the Los Angeles area, features apartments and townhomes with more than one dozen floorplans.
Standards | Jun 26, 2023
New Wi-Fi standard boosts indoor navigation, tracking accuracy in buildings
The recently released Wi-Fi standard, IEEE 802.11az enables more refined and accurate indoor location capabilities. As technology manufacturers incorporate the new standard in various devices, it will enable buildings, including malls, arenas, and stadiums, to provide new wayfinding and tracking features.
Mixed-Use | Jun 12, 2023
Goettsch Partners completes its largest China project to date: a mixed-used, five-tower complex
Chicago-based global architecture firm Goettsch Partners (GP) recently announced the completion of its largest project in China to date: the China Resources Qianhai Center, a mixed-use complex in the Qianhai district of Shenzhen. Developed by CR Land, the project includes five towers totaling almost 472,000 square meters (4.6 million sf).