Living well and living green, The Quayside by CL3 Architects

The Quayside is an innovative, mixed-use development that promotes a healthy work-life balance with dining, entertainment and relaxation in the heart of Kowloon East, Hong Kong’s CBD2. The CBD2 is envisioned as Hong Kong’s largest commercial district, overtaking the existing CBD on Hong Kong Island. As a whole, CBD2 will ultimately double the current size of the Central Business District in terms of commercial floorspace.
As a development project that fits into the government’s plan to establish Kowloon East as a smart city pilot site, The Quayside is packed with sustainable, high-tech features. Here, work-life balance is not merely a utopian concept, it’s an approach that shapes every aspect of the project by CL3 Architects, from planning to operation, to create an efficient, eco-friendly and healthy commercial and living space for users and occupants, as well as residents of the Kowloon East district.
The development is integrated into a convenient and accessible network, where streets and public transport are linked with pedestrian walkways and cycling tracks. This enables users to make the most of sustainable mobility, and the whole community to enjoy leisurely moments with a stroll or a bike ride along a scenic waterfront that inspires innovation and creativity. This goes towards making The Quayside the incarnation of sustainability and wellbeing, where innovative elements of greenery relieve the monotony of the typical concrete and steel commercial buildings A passive solar design with brise-soleil filters heat around the perimeter of the building. At the same time, the third level 4,300m² podium garden boasts a jogging path with views of the sea, one of the standout elements of this project that contributed to its WELL-CS gold pre-certification. WELL certification includes the concepts of air, water, nourishment, light, movement, thermal comfort and mind to achieve a healthy workplace amidst a stark, industrial backdrop that is undergoing massive change.
The project by CL3 Architects extends from the office lobby on the ground level to retail on the first and second levels. It culminates in the already mentioned large green podium on the third level, with a grand spiral staircase leading up to it. The architects created circular openings to visually connect and integrate the various functions on different levels. 
In addition to WELL GOLD pre-certification, The Quayside also received LEED Platinum certification and BEAM Plus Platinum rating. BEAM (Building Environmental Assessment Method) is the Hong Kong rating tool for green buildings. It is a voluntary private sector initiative conceived in 1996, that has developed into an internationally recognised suite of rating tools for green buildings. It provides guidance and options for building owners and developers to plan, build and create a green building with a lower environmental impact than a comparable code building.
With The Quayside, CL3 Architects created a new, cutting-edge, smart complex with a green heart that runs through every indoor and outdoor environment, with great style and harmony.

Christiane Bürklein

Interior Design Firm: CL3 Architects Limited (https://www.cl3.com/)
Designers: William Lim, Clinton Tsoi, Howard Man
Project Location: Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Site Area: 6,843m²
Completion Time: July 2019
Photographers: Nirut Benjabanpot, Kris Provoost