Taikoo Place,
Hong Kong

A holistic, vibrant and welcoming nighttime experience, mindfully integrated into the local urban context. Complex three-dimensional design balances easy inviting journeys with special atmospheres in shared amenity spaces, encouraging people to stay and socialise after dark.
Client
Swire Properties Ltd.
Date
2015-2024
Walkway Architect
Hugh Dutton Associés
Landscape Architect
Gustafson Porter + Bowman
Executive Landscape Architect
Urbis
Wayfinding
Choi Cromer
Architect 1TKP
Wong & Ouyang
Interior 1TKP
Gustafson Porter + Bowman
Architect 2TKP
NBBJ
Interior 2TKP
NBBJ (with Stanley KC)
Photographer
Jonathan Leijonhufvud
Project Team
Keith Bradshaw, Benz Roos, Neville de Sa, Gordon Chan

We were appointed early to create a lighting masterplan for the entire Taikoo Place development, going on to design the lighting for the lobbies of the new tower buildings Taikoo One and Taikoo Two, an extensive new walkway linking existing buildings and the new buildings together and the entire public realm and ground floor spaces. The client had a strong vision for a neighbourhood where the combination of world-class workspace, shared amenities, and green space would create an environment people would want to stay in after dark and enjoy. 


Click this link to see the full story

“
We are immensely proud of this project, in the sense that we were able to develop a very clear, holistic vision about the nighttime experience of Taikoo and the way it would knit into existing neighborhoods and hold on to that throughout a nearly a 10-year process.”

Having gained an understanding of local lighting conditions, we extensively mapped the journeys, tasks, and activities people would undertake and the key viewpoints they would enjoy in terms of architecture, landscape, and city. 


This understanding supported our development of a holistic language of light for Taikoo: a balance of intensity, colour and texture across the architectural and landscape elements that helps people to easily navigate while shaping a series of vibrant and inviting experiences.

Having gained an understanding of local lighting conditions, we extensively mapped the journeys, tasks, and activities people would undertake and the key viewpoints they would enjoy in terms of architecture, landscape, and city. 


This understanding supported our development of a holistic language of light for Taikoo: a balance of intensity, colour and texture across the architectural and landscape elements that helps people to easily navigate while shaping a series of vibrant and inviting experiences.

“
Our broad scope meant that we were uniquely positioned to address the entire site compositionally and in connection with its surroundings.”

Light from adjacent plots delivered a tangible layer of existing 'grey' urban light to our site. In order to create something atmospheric and interesting, we reset this base layer with a new layer of 'night light' that would deliver a darker tone.


This allowed us to introduce contrast - something unusual in Hong Kong - and develop a unique experience for the site after dark. At the same time, we retained a sense of the local quality and intensity of light so the development connects naturally and cohesively with the neighbouring residential areas.



Walkways

Within Taikoo, people move up and down between the ground level and first floor lobbies and elevated walkways, as well as within the tower blocks. This creates an incredibly complex set of possible journeys, activities and viewpoints. We considered our design in multiple dimensions, orchestrating the views and the experience for each route, transition, and space, both inside and outside. We also had to think about the fifth elevation – the view from above. It became an extensive study of the three-dimensional implications of making decisions about light. 

We worked to find the balance between spaces with their own character, materials, and distinct sense of place while also creating commonality, whether through intensity or the tone of the light, such as a lobby and a walkway naturally blended into one another.


We lit the walkways to support a very gentle, natural experience. As people move, they are enveloped in soft, warm light emanating from a luminous perforated ceiling. We took care in our design to manage reflections in the glass, dissolving the boundaries between interior and exterior so you have unimpeded views of the landscape and building lobbies. From above, the ceiling appears as a luminous 'ribbon' connecting all the space of Taikoo, and from below - with the suspension rods lost to darkness - the soft shimmering effect creates the impression of an ethereal structure floating in space.

We lit the walkways to support a very gentle, natural experience. As people move, they are enveloped in soft, warm light emanating from a luminous perforated ceiling. We took care in our design to manage reflections in the glass, dissolving the boundaries between interior and exterior so you have unimpeded views of the landscape and building lobbies. From above, the ceiling appears as a luminous 'ribbon' connecting all the space of Taikoo, and from below - with the suspension rods lost to darkness - the soft shimmering effect creates the impression of an ethereal structure floating in space.

Lobbies


The lobbies are key moments within the development, designed as places of connection and socialisation. One Taikoo Place has an elegant character, featuring integrated light that is very welcoming and very soft.

Two Taikoo features a striking feature ceiling: a luminous cloud that sits above the lobby space, creating a bold, dynamic image from below. Visually stunning, it also has a softness and warmth that naturally draws people into the public amenities of that space.

Landscape

The gardens are the jewel of the development. A base of dappled silvery monochrome light creates the sensation of taking a stroll in the moonlight, with a warm counterpoint to selected planting and seating creating pockets of domesticity. 


By deliberately using a base light that does not reproduce all the colours in the gardens, the focus shifts to different aspects of the plants and flowers than you would experience in daylight, such as the translucency of the petals or the texture of the foliage, creating a new and special experience at night.





“
With each new project within the development we would refer back to the vision, and that's why it feels as it does – a vibrant and welcoming new place that is part of a community.”

The Light of Taikoo