In an age where the young mostly socialise on virtual platforms, how do we encourage them to engage with their neighbours? Dutch architect Rob Wagemans from concrete shares his ideas.
SKYPARK is a recently completed residential project in Mongkok, Hong Kong. Its over four hundred flats target millennials in their 20s and 30s. Two main features of the project are the clubhouse on the top floor (28F) designed by concrete, and the roof garden connected directly to it. These social spaces are designed to encourage the millennial residents to leave their electronic devices and get to know their neighbours. Rob Wageman, founder and creative director of concrete says, “We see the clubhouse as the analogue Facebook.”
The 8,700-square-foot clubhouse includes a bar, a library space, work areas, sitting out areas, a gym, and a swimming pool. The designer deliberately eliminated walls and corridors in the clubhouse to create an open and seamless space to facilitate social interaction among users of the space. Large windows open the clubhouse to views of Mongkok, one of the most densely populated cities in the world. “We want all the residents to share this spectacular view,” says Wageman.
On the roof of SKYPARK is a garden. Designed in collaboration with landscape architect Adrian L Norman, the sky garden incorporates a variety of vegetation that brings nature to the dense city. Wageman says, “For residents occasionally fed up with the busy life in Mongkok, this [the sky garden] is a place to go.”
The sky garden is connected directly to the open area outside the clubhouse via a staircase. When there are outdoor performances at the open area, the staircase double functions as an auditorium. Lined with plants, the staircase becomes an extension of the roof garden and a casual space for leisure.
Transparent glass walls and doors of the clubhouse provide visual connection between the interior and the outdoor spaces. The use of natural materials such as wood and marble, as well as the natural colour palette of the clubhouse, also evoke a sense of nature in the interior.
SKYPARK’s clubhouse and sky garden offer comfort and tranquility to its residents living in a metropolis. It provides a setting for millennials to encounter each other.
SKYPARK was developed under New World Development’s The Artisanal Movement.
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