The Hong Kong office building on a legacy of pioneering projects

Foster + Partners has been working in Hong Kong for over 40 years, since winning the competition for the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Headquarters project, which began in 1979. The practice’s design completely reimagined the office tower, addressing the nature of banking in the city and expressing it in built form as a series of flexible village clusters. This was followed by another milestone project - Hong Kong International Airport - which is one of the world's largest airports and most ambitious construction projects of modern times.

In more recent years, the practice has completed a range of projects in Hong-Kong including The Murray, a luxury 336-room hotel within an existing 1970s office building; the Ocean Terminal extension, a new gateway to the city for thousands of international cruise liner passengers; the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, which established Hong Kong as the preeminent regional hub for cruise liners and the masterplan for West Kowloon Cultural District, a major centre for music, performance and visual arts on a dramatic harbour-front site. The practice is currently working on a number of ongoing projects in the city, including mixed-used developments in Causeway Bay and Central.

Foster + Partners’ Hong Kong studio is located on the 30^th floor of Tower 2 at the Lippo Centre, a landmark development in the city’s central business district. The towers were designed by Paul Rudolph, the eminent American architect and chair of Yale University's Department of Architecture, who taught Norman Foster in the early 1960s. The Hong Kong team moved into the building in 2008 and have been working there for almost 15 years.

Colin Ward, Senior Partner, Foster + Partners, said: “It is a great privilege to be working on the ground in Hong Kong and building on the practice’s legacy of pioneering projects - such as the bank and the airport - which have profoundly shaped the city.”

Lawrence Wong, Partner, Foster + Partners, added: “We continue to learn from the incredibly dense and well-connected urban landscape, which informs our work across the region.”

The team of 40 is made up of architects, interior designers, structural engineers and BIM specialists, amongst others. Under the direction of the London office, they work on a wide range of projects across Asia and Australia, also collaborating closely with the practice’s global offices.

Perry Ip, Partner, Foster + Partners, said: “Our international team in Hong Kong bring a wealth of experience and varied expertise to every project. We understand the importance of bringing together people from all over the world - and across disciplines - to get the very best results.”

Stanley Pun is an Associate Partner and Architect, who has been working at the practice’s Hong Kong office for over sixteen years.

“I feel very lucky to have worked on five different projects in my hometown of Hong Kong, including a luxury private residence, Ocean Terminal and the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, which was built on the site of the city’s former airport. I have also worked on the South Beach development project, in downtown Singapore. This project creates a highly permeable public realm, with integrated public transport connections, bringing together new architecture with historic buildings.”

Idil Kantarci is an Architect, who has been working at the practice’s Hong Kong office for over two years.

“Since joining the Hong Kong office in 2020, I have mostly worked on competitions for mixed-use schemes. I really enjoy the pace of this work and the opportunity to think laterally about a client’s brief. The practice has such a rich body of work, which we often draw on during the early stages of the design process. It’s exciting to see some of our competition wins - such as the Alibaba offices in Shanghai - coming to life.”

Ben Stevenson is a Partner and an Interior Designer, who has been working at the practice’s Hong Kong office for seven years. Ben previously worked at Foster + Partners’ London office for four years.

“It was The Murray hotel project that brought me to Hong Kong - a city that I love. I started working from the practice’s London studio and was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to help oversee the construction of the building’s interiors on site - an amazing experience - and I have been living and working here ever since. I am currently working closely with the team in Singapore, across a number of interiors projects in the Philippines, including BENCH Headquarters and a residential tower.”

Yurii Petreniuk is a BDS (BIM and Design Systems) Coordinator, who has been working at the practice’s Hong Kong office for over four years.

“As a BIM and Design Systems Coordinator, I am responsible for the digital processes associated with the design and construction stages of our projects. I also support the design teams with more complex modelling tasks and coordinate with external teams that we are working with. Amongst other projects, I am currently working on the Qianhai Guiwan International Talents’ Apartments, a residential project in Shenzhen that is aimed at the rental market.”