New World Development announced the naming of the most ambitious project to date from its ground-breaking K11 Group: K11 MUSEA, a new museum-retail complex situated in the heart of Hong Kong’s US$2.6 billion Victoria Dockside development.
The new landmark K11 MUSEA – a name inspired by A Muse by the Sea for its retail concepts – will anchor the 3 million-square-foot, art and design district Victoria Dockside in Tsim Sha Tsui, described by US media as “Hong Kong’s Hudson Yards” and “Hong Kong’s most anticipated opening”, while also doubling as a new ultra high-end experiential retail, art, cultural and dining destination. It is set to reinvigorate the Tsim Sha Tsui harbourfront, one of the most notable pieces of real estate in Greater China, when it debuts in 2019.
K11 MUSEA (pronounced: meu-see-ah) is Adrian Cheng‘s creature, Executive Vice Chairman of New World Development and Founder of K11 Group, who has developed a number of innovative museum-retail malls across Greater China and invests in tech, retail, fashion, property, entertainment, media and design globally.
Helming the architecture of K11 MUSEA is James Corner (James Corner Field Operations) and Forth Bagley (Kohn Pederson Fox). The 10-storey K11 MUSEA will house an extensive selection of international brands – many of which will be flagships – and is the crown jewel of K11’s museum-retail concept, curated to offer visitors the best-in-class immersive retail experience.
In fact, the journey will begin from its exterior. Designed with content-driven global millennials in mind, K11 MUSEA will greet visitors with its rotating world-class art collection. Its façade will feature one of the world’s largest living walls of over 50,000 square feet, while a one-of-a-kind outdoor amphitheatre space and a large LED screen will also be in place for a slew of cultural happenings.
“K11 MUSEA, anchoring the newly designed Victoria Dockside, marks a significant milestone in retail development. And as K11 approaches its 10th anniversary this year, I’m delighted to announce the naming of K11 MUSEA, K11’s proudest project since the brand’s inception in 2008,” said Cheng, who is reinventing New World Development as a “cultural enterprise”.
“Its location, scale and concept are unique, the project involves leading architects as well as over 100 local and international designers and artists. K11 MUSEA will also bring great cultural content back to Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, which has lost its legendary charm since the late 90s. K11 MUSEA will be Hong Kong and Asia’s new cultural destination, where global millennials can come together and discover their muse.”
Pioneering a new immersive experience for global millennials, K11 MUSEA takes inspiration from research that highlights Asian millennials as “Super Consumers”, a prominent driver of global consumption with spending power set to reach US$6 trillion by 2020 as they grow to account for 45% of Asia Pacific’s millennial population.
Travel will continue to be a key lifestyle feature of Asian millennials, who are expected to see an 11% annual growth in outbound tourists. Chinese millennials, in particular, see travel and luxury as part of an indulgent lifestyle reflective of social status. K11 MUSEA caters to their sophistication and preference for exclusivity and bespoke products while positioning itself as an aspirational global destination merging art, culture and commerce.
A new spatial design and curation by Hong Kong’s Iconic Harbourfront represents a world-class public art collection, which will be curated and displayed throughout K11 MUSEA’s premise, establishing it as the next cultural destination, while among K11 MUSEA’s architectural highlights is the 2,100-square-foot Sunken Plaza, modelled on Roman amphitheatres.
The space features a façade with conical-shaped glass panels, the largest of which stands over 19 feet tall. Programmed water patterns and a misting system will also be installed. Together with an LED screen, measuring at 63 feet by 25 feet, Sunken Plaza will become an immersive venue for a slew of cultural events such as film festivals and live music events.
Sustainability is at the core of K11 MUSEA’s offerings. The Project’s core and shell has achieved green building pre-certifications including the Hong Kong BEAM Plus (Gold) and the U.S. LEED (Gold).
Boasting extensive greenery and over 50,000 square feet of living walls, equivalent to the surface area of 18 tennis courts, K11 MUSEA sets a new benchmark for green design in Hong Kong. Its interior features natural materials such as limestone and wood.
Other highlight features include rainwater harvesting which provides for 100% of irrigation water and a seawater-cooled, oil-free HVAC chiller system, which reduces over 12% of annual energy consumption compared to the baseline of the stringent U.S. ASHRAE 90.1 standard.
