A business hub connected to its natural setting

Located on the northwestern coast of Hong Kong’s Lantau Island, Tung Chung East is envisioned as a next-generation hub for business and commerce. As a transit-oriented development sited near an existing MTR station, the project is set to energize the city’s planned extension to the east, while serving neighboring residential developments. Composed of two towers rising above a multifaceted podium, every aspect of the design is centered on creating memorable experiences, reinforcing connections with nature, and optimizing the architecture for efficiency and performance. 

The low-rise podium is inspired by the vernacular architecture of the nearby Tai O fishing village, where stilted structures are surrounded by informal community spaces. The architecture of Tung Chung East is a composition of stacked, staggered, and protruding volumes, accessible via street-level stairways and walkways and an elevated pedestrian bridge. Commercial spaces are thoughtfully paired with public areas. Indoor and outdoor landscape reinforces a connection to the natural surroundings, and the design of these spaces offers visitors light-filled retail and dining options across multiple floors.

Engineered for high performance

Oriented toward the Tung Chung mountains, the glass office tower features an innovative structural system of exposed steel X-braces, which gird the tower against high wind loads in a typhoon prone region. This highly efficient design minimizes carbon impact by reducing material quantities needed in construction, while enabling open, flexible floor plates and unhindered views of the surrounding landscape. 

Outdoor spaces are distributed throughout the tower, providing opportunities to take in the beauty of the natural surroundings. The 11th-floor sky deck is almost completely open to the elements, with landscaped areas, lounge seating, amenity decks, and an open assembly area. Tenants will enjoy access to a roof garden on the 27th floor, as well as eight balconies on the east and west sides. The primary elevation, facing south, is clad with BIPV solar fins, producing substantial on-site energy for the development—covering up to 6.5 percent of its energy needs.

Integrating a vertical data center

To maximize the site’s potential, the second tower within the development houses a vertical data center, the first of its kind in the region to be integrated into an urban setting. The building’s compact design is optimized for cost and efficiency, employing modular stacks of servers separated by mechanical floors. With its gridded facade and flexible floor plates, the architecture of the data center is adaptable; it is designed with the potential to be easily transformed to serve other uses in the future, such as retail, office, or educational spaces.