‘People want more greenery and indoor-outdoor living’: architect brings nature into apartment block in Hong Kong
- With Courtyard Residence in Ho Man Tin, Hong Kong architect Bryant Lu is championing ‘human-centric design’ that affords access to greenery and fresh air
- Through Ronald Lu & Partners, the architecture firm founded by his father, he continues to push sustainability by underscoring the cost benefits of going green
Few cities offer such proximity to lush natural spaces as Hong Kong; no matter where you are in the city, there’s a country park not too far away. But the greenery often doesn’t find its way into the densely packed places where people live.
Bryant Lu’s latest project sets out to change that.
Courtyard Residence is one of the newest buildings designed by Ronald Lu and Partners (RLP), the architecture firm founded by Lu’s father in 1979.
With seven “vertical courtyards” and spacious terraces overflowing with greenery, the building has 50 per cent green coverage – meaning that planted areas account for half of its 4,550 square metres (49,000 sq ft) of space. Thirty-six plant species, most of them indigenous to Hong Kong, have been used.
It’s a leafy rebuke to the concrete blocks that surround it in Ho Man Tin, a densely populated neighbourhood in southern Kowloon.
