{"id":144744,"date":"2025-11-20T13:22:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T13:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/144744\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T13:22:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T13:22:10","slug":"al_a-and-unstudio-design-central-yards-groundscraper-for-hong-kong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/144744\/","title":{"rendered":"AL_A and UNStudio design Central Yards groundscraper for Hong Kong"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Plans for a 400-metre-long glass building in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/tag\/hong-kong\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Hong Kong<\/a>&#8216;s Central district have been unveiled by a consortium of architecture practices, including Amanda Levete&#8217;s firm <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/tag\/amanda-levete-architects\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">AL_A<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/tag\/unstudio\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">UNStudio<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Set to overlook Victoria Harbour, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/tag\/mixed-use\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">mixed-use<\/a> Central Yards development will encompass 148,600 square metres and have a &#8220;biophilic&#8221; design complete with an expansive rooftop garden.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2271187 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/central-yards-groundscaper-hong-kong_dezeen_2364_col_7-852x480.jpg\" alt=\"Render of groundscraper development \" width=\"2364\" height=\"1331\"  \/>A consortium of architecture studios has unveiled &#8220;iconic groundscraper&#8221; for Hong Kong<\/p>\n<p>Designs for the \u00a36.1 billion project, which is being overseen by local developer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hld.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Henderson Land<\/a>, were created by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ala.uk.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">AL_A<\/a> alongside Dutch firm <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unstudio.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">UNStudio<\/a>, local studio <a href=\"https:\/\/lead8.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Lead8<\/a>, US studio <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwpla.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Peter Walker and Partners<\/a> and London-based <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smlightarchitecture.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Speirs Major<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>According to Henderson Land, its design was conceptualised as a bridge that unifies the surrounding neighbourhoods and the harbour.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2271183 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/central-yards-groundscaper-hong-kong_dezeen_2364_col_3-852x479.jpg\" alt=\"Render of terraces within new development by AL_A\" width=\"2364\" height=\"1330\"  \/>The building will span 400 metres<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Centred on a powerful concept of &#8216;the bridge&#8217;, Central Yards is an iconic groundscraper spanning approximately 400 meters along Victoria Harbour, forming Central&#8217;s longest architecture and a new horizontal skyline,&#8221; the developer said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Central Yards is defined by its unprecedented scale of open space and its commitment to people\u2011centric, biophilic urban design,&#8221; it added.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2271184 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/central-yards-groundscaper-hong-kong_dezeen_2364_col_4-852x479.jpg\" alt=\"Central Yards retail space \" width=\"2364\" height=\"1330\"  \/>Retail spaces will wrap around the ground floor<\/p>\n<p>Renders of the proposal reveal a series of soft-edged, glazed volumes, connected by raised walkways shrouded in lush greenery. Lofty openings will carve through the volumes to form sheltered terraces that double as event spaces on the upper floors.<\/p>\n<p>At ground level, outdoor spaces will wrap around a promenade of &#8220;purpose-designed&#8221; stores that contribute to the project&#8217;s 83,600 square metres of retail space.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2025\/08\/28\/snohetta-jesselton-docklands-coastal-development-malaysia\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"191\" height=\"191\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/snohetta-jesselton-docklands-waterfront-district-borneo-sq_dezeen_2364_col_2-191x191.jpg\" class=\"excludeLightbox wp-post-image\" alt=\"Jesselton Docklands by Sn\u00f8hetta\" decoding=\"async\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\"  \/><\/p>\n<p> Sn\u00f8hetta designs waterfront district to echo mountain landscape in Borneo\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Contained within the building will be 65,000 square metres of office and ancillary space, which, according to Henderson Land, will feature the largest office floor in Hong Kong&#8217;s Central Business District.<\/p>\n<p>Other spaces include a 1,100-seat theatre fronted by a dynamic, reflective facade.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2271180 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/central-yards-groundscaper-hong-kong_dezeen_2364_col_0-852x568.jpg\" alt=\"Theatre exterior of development by AL_A\" width=\"2364\" height=\"1575\"  \/>A reflective facade will front a theatre<\/p>\n<p>Alongside its interior programmes, Central Yards will have a sky garden extending 300 metres across the roof.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, at the building&#8217;s front, a pair of terraces will serve as al-fresco dining areas overlooking the adjacent harbour.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2271185 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/central-yards-groundscaper-hong-kong_dezeen_2364_col_5-852x479.jpg\" alt=\"Theatre interior at Central Yards\" width=\"2364\" height=\"1330\"  \/>The theatre will contain 1,100 seats<\/p>\n<p>According to the developer, Central Yards sets new sustainability benchmarks in Hong Kong and has &#8220;registered for the highest standards from nine of the world&#8217;s most respected green and smart building certifications&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>The project&#8217;s first phase is set to begin in 2027, followed by a second phase in 2032.<\/p>\n<p>Another groundscraper to have recently hit headlines is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2025\/06\/02\/heatherwick-big-landscraper-google-kings-cross\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Google&#8217;s upcoming office in King&#8217;s Cross<\/a>, London, designed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/tag\/big\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">BIG<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/tag\/thomas-heatherwick\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Heatherwick Studio<\/a>. It was recently reported that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2025\/06\/17\/big-heatherwick-google-landscraper-foxes\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">urban foxes were inhabiting its rooftop gardens<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The renders are courtesy of Henderson Land.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Plans for a 400-metre-long glass building in Hong Kong&#8216;s Central district have been unveiled by a consortium of&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":144745,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[14246,442,498,499,500,501,156,4431,57598,111,139,69,47626,1621,1774,97515],"class_list":{"0":"post-144744","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-amanda-levete-architects","9":"tag-arts","10":"tag-arts-and-design","11":"tag-artsanddesign","12":"tag-artsdesign","13":"tag-design","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-hong-kong","16":"tag-mixed-use","17":"tag-new-zealand","18":"tag-newzealand","19":"tag-nz","20":"tag-rooftop-gardens","21":"tag-sectionall","22":"tag-sectionarchitecture","23":"tag-unstudio"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}